Below you will find helpful and relevant articles that we carefully curate for the benefit of our B.R.A. Retail Members almost every day. Be sure to scroll through the most recent article or use the Search/Lookup feature to find topics and keywords related to articles that may help you to lower costs, increase margins or create more remarkable customer experiences.


“Retail Staff Management: How to Hire, Develop, and Keep a Team That Sells” by Bob Phibbs via The Retail Doctor Blog

“Retail Staff Management: How to Hire, Develop, and Keep a Team That Sells” by Bob Phibbs via The Retail Doctor Blog

by | Aug 17, 2026 | Brick & Mortar, Customer Experience, Customer Service, HR, Opinion, Resources, Retail Strategy, Sales Training

Why is turnover so high in your stores? Why are your managers exhausted by closing time? And how do you get the same selling behavior in location 1 and location 200? Your team is your customer experience. In a punishing labor market, the retailers who win are the ones...
“AI Agents Buy Sight Unseen. Salespeople Keep You Off the Wrong One” by Bob Phibbs via The Retail Doctor

“AI Agents Buy Sight Unseen. Salespeople Keep You Off the Wrong One” by Bob Phibbs via The Retail Doctor

by | Jul 20, 2026 | Artificial Intelligence / CHAT GPT, Brick & Mortar, News, Opinion, Resources, Retail Strategy, Sales Training

What an AI shopping agent actually does At Google’s I/O event, the company announced Universal Cart. Here is what it does, in plain terms. An AI agent is not a search box. It is a runner you send out. You tell it what you want, set a budget, and it goes shopping...
“Retailers’ Ace in the Hole Was Product Knowledge – in the 1950s. Here’s What It Has to Be in 2026.” by Bob Phibbs via The Retail Doctor blog

“Retailers’ Ace in the Hole Was Product Knowledge – in the 1950s. Here’s What It Has to Be in 2026.” by Bob Phibbs via The Retail Doctor blog

by | Jun 17, 2026 | Brick & Mortar, Customer Experience, Industry, News, Opinion, Resources, Sales Training

Product knowledge was a legitimate competitive edge when customers had no other way to get it. That world ended decades ago. Today’s customer walks in already researched. The retailers winning in 2026 aren’t the ones with the most knowledgeable associates...