As the DIY trend continues to grow, new homebuyers are visiting your stores and tackling projects on their own. In fact, according to the National Association of Realtors, over half of homebuyers completed a home improvement project within three months …

Retailers who focus mainly on increasing customer counts and average ticket sizes are missing a key metric: conversion rate. Conversion rate is the ratio of people who enter a store compared to how many actually make a purchase. Only 35 percent of retailers …

In the February issue of Hardware Retailing, the Trends sections illustrated the top four subcategories within the housewares sector, but the industry comprises other categories. Below is data the International Housewares Association published in its 2014 State of the Industry …

The Home Depot is supplying store associates across the U.S. with new hand-held devices to help customers look for products, but also to track data and use like typical smartphones. Employees will be able to use the next generation FIRST Phone, a Zebra Technologies Device, …

Gone are the days of retail employee training via VHS tapes and three-ring binder manuals – or are they? Many retailers are still using old training methods due to a lack of options, but there are now alternative training materials available. …

In the February 2015 issue of Hardware Retailing, we featured retailers who are incorporating locally sourced housewares products into their home improvement stores. The housewares category provides great opportunities to source products made by local vendors and a number of …

A look at Starbucks’ business offers lessons on retailing, such as how to effectively run a company, treat customers and manage employees. The coffee shop powerhouse is present in over 65 countries, operates more than 21,000 stores and experienced 11 percent sales growth …

Most reports about millennials have shown that this younger age group is delaying major purchases and life changes due to the recession and an immense amount of college debt. Most millennials are single, pay rent and spend less on items …