Research and Guides

Some California retailers’ model for offering each other business feedback inspired this peer critique that Hardware Retailing tested with two retailers in the Midwest. The goal of the project is to provide you with resources and ideas for connecting with and learning from …

“I’ll be brutally honest with you if you’ll be brutally honest with me” is what three retailers in California promised each other when they started visiting each other’s stores to offer feedback. Those retailers started what they call the Pterodactyl …

Retailers know what they want their relationships with sales reps to look like, and their participation in a North American Retail Hardware Association (NRHA) study offers insight into their preferences. About 69 percent of home improvement retailers prefer sales reps to …

The shop-local movement is sweeping neighborhoods and Main Streets across America. Many consumers are starting to understand the benefits small businesses provide their hometowns, and they are shopping at local stores for that reason. Therefore, it is important to share …

Keeping employees motivated and excited about their work is difficult. Some retailers say they have difficulty finding hard-working employees in the first place and then retaining them are even more challenging. So how do retailers find employees and promote job …

Fall and spring wholesaler markets are great places to see new products, get special promotional prices and network with industry professionals. However, some markets are so expansive they can be overwhelming and hard to use efficiently. Depending on the season, …

You might already know how you want to spend your years as a retiree, but have you thought through how you’ll feel during the transition into retirement? Whether you hope to keep working part time or want to leave retailing far behind …

More homeowners and apartments dwellers are using whatever space they have, be it backyards or containers, to grow fruits, vegetables and herbs for at-home cooking. This growing interest in gardening comes from consumers’ desire to know where their food comes …