Retail Education
Home furnishings and lighting retailers face many challenges in this ever-changing economy. From new consumer expectations to online competition, today's retailers work hard to ensure their customers have access to on-trend products and great customer service. In this section, you'll find all things retailing — news, features, analysis and tools — needed to make your retail business a success.
Bright Ideas to Boost Summer Showroom Traffic
Ah, the good ol’ summertime. Longer days, rising temps, and slower traffic — on the roads and in your showroom — are enough to bring on a case of the summertime blues. Have no fear, says one industry…
Catching Up With Joss & Main
Despite what certain pyramid schemes and the Internet would have us believe, age is not the enemy. And just as humans grow wiser and more interesting as we get older, most of our favorite things —…
4 Key Takeaways from the 2018 Houzz & Home Report
Each year, Houzz.com releases its annual report on home renovation trends, and its 2018 Houzz & Home Report delivered key findings and helpful insights as to what homeowners are renovating and…
Education for All: Opportunities for Manufacturers, Retailers and Interior Designers
Remember a long, long time ago when you couldn’t wait for school to be out for the summer? No more quizzes, books or bossy teachers for three whole months! Oh, how times have changed. Turns out…
SFC, NWF Launch Wood Furniture Scorecard for Retailers
This week, the National Wildlife Federation (NWF) and the Sustainable Furnishings Council (SFC) have launched the Wood Furniture Scorecard, a comprehensive assessment of wood sourcing policies for…
Last Look: AphroChic
In 2007, then-lawyer Jeanine Hays launched AphroChic, the design blog that celebrated modern decor and Hays’ African heritage and culture. Two years later, Hays and her husband Bryan Mason…
How Showroom Events Could Attract Millennial Males
Katherine Cullen, Director of Retail and Consumer Insights at the National Retail Federation, knew that, in general, Millennials love going to retail events — more than any other demographic. But as…
Retail Road Trip: Denver
Urban Lights
In 1976, David Nestor opened Foothills Lighting in Denver. In 2010, after being out of the lighting game for nine years and now in the middle of a recession, he opened Urban Lights. The…
States Allowed to Collect Sales Tax from E-retailers, U.S. Supreme Court decides
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favor of South Dakota in the landmark sales tax case of South Dakota v. Wayfair yesterday, overturning more than 25 years of legal precedent that stopped states from…
Ode to Outdoor (Lighting)
If interior lighting is the delicious strawberry cream cheese filling between the perfect layers of sponge cake, then outdoor lighting is, of course, the icing on the cake. (Or maybe we’ve just been…