A new study by Retail Forward entitled “Retail Innovation: Ten Opportunities for 2010” is an interesting read covering the trends and potential opportunities for the retail sector. The report focuses on the 10 retail innovations that go beyond technology and operating strategies, and instead looks at new ways for providing consumer benefits. The report does a very good job in explaining the concepts especially its use of real-life illustrations of the concepts presented. According to the report, here are the 10 retail innovation opportunities to watch out for: Catch a Wave – the need to respond to demographic, societal, economic

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If you are running an e-commerce business, do you wonder how you are doing relative to other businesses on the Web? Do you ask how your conversion rates are compared to others? Or how your marketing costs stack with the rest? If you are selling on the Web, I highly recommend checking out e-tailing.com’s report “The Merchant Speaks,” which is the result of The E-tailing Group’s annual survey of e-commerce executives conducted during the first quarter of 2005. Below are some interesting findings from the study: What is your conversion rates?When asked what is their conversion rates, majority of survey

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In a recent survey done by The E-Tailing Group and some results published by the Internet Retailer magazine, they found that retailers are finding success in using traditional retailing tactics to their web operations: Traditional Retail Tactics What Works on the Web (features rated as very/somewhat valuable): Seasonal promotions (94%) Email as a merchandising vehicle (91%) Site search (81%) Sales or specials (90%) Cross sells (84%) Traditional retail tactics seen as having growing importance on the Web: Gift centers/suggestions (68%) Coupons/rebates (67%) Retail locators (50%) Frequent buyer programs (47%)

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Market research is a critical activity that many home-based entrepreneurs fail to do for their businesses. Some simply do not know how to do it; others feel that they already have a good sense of their market; while some do not have the time or resources to do it. One misconception is that market research is a time-consuming activity that requires a tremendous amount of resources. My standard response is that the cost will depend on how you want to go about it. You can hire a market research company and pay them $20,000 for a survey including analysis, or

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Not totally related to small and home business, but I thought it may be interesting to share the results of the recently released the American Time Use Survey conducted by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. This is the first survey conducted by the Government on how Americans are using a very critical resource — time. The survey collected data on the activities people do during the day and how much time theyspend doing them. Below are some of the interesting findings: On an “average day” in 2003, persons in the U.S. age 15 and over sleptabout 8.6 hours, spent 5.1

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We all know about the growing menace of identity theft. We may even know of someone who has been a victim of identity theft (or you may even be a victim of one!). Chances are, the stories we hear of identity theft often relates to someone stealing a credit card to purchase mostly big-ticket items. Hence, we often read of warnings to e-tailers (PowerHomeBiz has several articles on credit card fraud) about large orders with a request to ship the items immediately as a sign of possible fraud. Well, today, we realized we were a victim of credit card fraud

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It is tough to run a home business. Not only are resources oftentimes limited, but home businesses face a barrage of challenges from government itself! Despite claims that majority of small businesses are operated from homes, the government has not really made it easy for ordinary folks to start and run a business from home. For one, there is the perennial question of zoning laws. We often read or hear stories of those wanting to operate a business from home, but has to go through the eye of a needle in getting a zoning permit. In a recent news story

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Home-based businesses are the predominant form of small businesses (estimated to be roughly about 60% of small businesses) but the lack of data on this sector can be frustrating. The latest official government data goes way back in 1992 when the last Characteristics of Business Owners Survey was conducted by the Bureau of Census. Nonetheless, below are some pertinent characteristics of home-based businesses based on the Census survey: Over 90% of home-based businesses are sole proprietorships Majority (60%) are in the service and construction sectors A huge majority (90%) have no employees, and 7.2% have less than 5 employees (The

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One of PowerHomeBiz.com visitors asked if it is possible for a partnership to exist with only one person. While partnership by definition involves two or more people, what happens if one partner dies or leaves the business? Our incorporation Expert and CEO of New Ventures LLC Chrissie Mould discussed the often overlooked issue of what happens when a partner is disassociated from the business for whatever reason. Read full advice

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Starting a home business has become a wonderful and attractive alternative for parents across the country. With the advent of the Internet, email and cell phones, working at home has been a very viable option. No other alternative allows parents the opportunity to create their own hours and work around their children’s schedules while earning an income. But before investing in any home business opportunity, it is wise to take appropriate steps to research the opportunity and the company. Unfortunately, there are deceitful businesses ready to take advantage of parent’s deep desire to be at home with their children. These

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