If you want to hold onto customer trust, telling the truth is a step in the right direction. Yet, retailers still manage to shoot themselves in the foot. A recent holiday experience with the flagship Lord & Taylor store on Fifth Avenue in New York City demonstrated just how.

The year 2017 will be that of the AI-powered bot, predicts David Schoonover, senior manager and head of digital, social, CRM and .com at Kia Motors America.

I was reminded, however, of the power of the personal sale recently on a trip to the local Shop-Rite, where my intention was very much to grab two items, find the shortest cash register line, and then go!

Self-service is a wonderful thing, until it isn't. Perhaps nothing is more irritating than needing to address a complicated question about a product or service and finding no one to phone or contact on a company's website.