Most retail pundits assume victory in the chain wars, will be determined by e-com apps and delivery speed. And while making that consumer-to-product connection in the fewest number of keystrokes may be the holy grail of retail tech, often absent in this conversation is any mention of “merchandise.” So how did this happen? How did merchandise […]

A few years back, Randy Haley and his wife Tawni, of Bryant Arkansas were having dinner with friends who had just spent a frustrating afternoon shopping for a baby stroller for their twins. Between the local mall, big box stores and the internet, their friends had looked at hundreds of strollers. Unfortunately, none offered “all” […]

The modern toilet just became a lot more modern. The flush-down toilet seat closer by AON Invent

 While the retail industry has been investing billions to develop technologies to improve the speed and efficiency of customer transactions, AON Invent has been collaborating with every-day consumers and independent inventors on four continents to develop new and innovative products for them to sell. After all, who knows more about the “stuff” people want to buy, than […]

“The one thing that ceases to exist the moment it is shared.” Many retailers see “private label” as their competitive advantage protecting their consumables margin, but what about broader categories of general merchandise?  Brick-and-mortar retailers need proprietary innovation in all categories and lots of it. This is no secret. All retailers and CPGs realize that innovation is more […]

We began this series with the assumption that “perceptions of risk matter”. We noted that risk is complex. When you wish to change someone else’s behavior (essential for sales), you try to affect their situation as YOU see it. But this is not enough. You must also influence how THEY “see” the situation. After all, […]