The Retailing Column on 
How social media and mobile have changed attitudes to privacy
When it comes to softening up shoppers and making them more comfortable sharing personal information with retailers, nothing has done a better job than social media sites. Mobile devices, with their geolocation capabilities and beaming out a continual "this is who I am" signal to anyone who chooses to listen, come in a close second. Read full story
PCI security problems—the practical versus the perfect
Security rules are wonderful things and nowhere are they more needed than in retail and payment card data. But a common criticism of the organization that handles such matters—the PCI Council—is that it delivers security edicts in a vacuum, with minimal regard to how different kinds of merchants function in the so-called real world. Read full story
Amazon's same-day delivery boosts conversions but has few users
With all the attention recently being paid to same-day delivery by retailers, including eBay, Walmart, Macy's, Nordstrom and tons of others, here's an interesting stat—and a delicious contradiction—from the largest same-day retail deliverer: Amazon. Read full story
Are JC Penney's latest moves bold or foolish?
When a CEO takes over a troubled chain, bold moves are generally encouraged. But when the chain is a much-beloved 110-year-old, 1,100 store $17 billion household name, bold can be very bad. Read full story
Some good ideas are emerging on 'showrooming'
In the otherwise futile battle against showrooming—do you really think making it harder for your shoppers to compare prices on their mobile devices isn't going to backfire?—some chains have started to get clever. Read full story
Walmart is quietly becoming quite the mobile hipster
Despite a staggering $444 billion in annual revenue, Walmart has generally been sluggish and conservative, allowing tech innovations to be toyed with by rivals such as Amazon. Read full story
Cyber thieves are smarter than you think
There are two opposite views on the best way to protect sensitive retail data, including payment card, CRM, inventory, pricing and payroll data. Read full story
Why is mobile payment failing in the US?
In the States, mobile payment is one of those magical concepts where all of the relevant players are in complete agreement that this is a must-have. And yet, despite the fact everyone says they want it, it's not getting anywhere. Read full story
Cloud complexity may be the death of us all
Like any new retail toy, the cloud has repeatedly been proclaimed this wonderful approach that will cut costs, improve operations and most likely cure cancer. Read full story
