Blog

2017: Observations in Review & What’s to Come

The following was re-posted from Convenience Store Decisions. The original posting can be found here. As the year ends, it’s a time for reflection and to look into the future.  By Ed Collupy It’s that time of the year when it’s always good to take time to look back, reflect,...

The Voice Assistant: A New Mobile Frontier for Merchants, Part I of II

Voice activated personal assistants like Amazon’s Alexa or Apple’s Siri have exploded onto the scene.  It’s expected that by 2022, 50% of US households will have at least one smart speaker with personal voice assistant capability.[1]   While the number of devices in use is huge, the functionality they currently offer...

W. Capra and McAfee Services

The following video was created by McAfee for their MPOWER Cybersecurity Summit. Featuring W. Capra Partner Matt Beale, the video discusses the professional relationship between McAfee and W. Capra. https://youtu.be/CU3kh9dePG8

The Lifelong Value of Retail Experience

Run a register before you run a company 13 years ago, I traded in the manager’s keys of my gas station for a computer, a cubicle, and title of Operations Analyst.  Many titles and office-based jobs later, I continue to call on the skills and experiences from my job as...

Answer 7 Questions to Discover a Winning App Strategy

The Android and Apple app stores now present more than 5 million apps1 to consumers and are dominated by two behemoth brands, Facebook and Google, which publish 8 of the top 10 apps.2 Developing a winning app strategy in this hyper-competitive app marketplace is a challenge for any size retailer....

The Expanding Back Office

The following article has been re-posted from Convenience Store Decisions. The original posting can be found here. Cloud and mobile are among the technologies pushing the envelope of internal store systems. By Ed Collupy Recent store visits have often allowed me to spend time in the ‘back office’ and have...

To PIN or Not to PIN?

A PIN— a Personal Identification Number. A customer’s PIN is the number that can verify a customer’s identity during a transaction. Most consumers and merchants believe that a PIN should be the de facto method for validating a cardholder’s identity. The question of whether or not a PIN will be...

Creating the Frictionless Journey Your Customers Want and Demand

The following article has been re-posted from Convenience Store Decisions. The original posting can be found here. Create a powerful customer experience solution where the customer can easily identify and manage their relationship with your brand. By Ed Collupy These were insights & remarks I prepared for a session on...

Know Your Decision Makers and Build Your Community of Support

Having trouble getting a project or initiative in motion?  Are people your biggest challenge? Regardless of your level or position within a company, you need to gain support for your effort and get the commitment to the next steps. Knowing how people respond to change and how they make decisions...

Whitepaper: Managing Risk in Faster Payments Systems

Under direction from the Faster Payments Task Force (FPTF), the United States seeks to modernize its payments infrastructure and develop a new system which can provide safe, ubiquitous, and faster payment capabilities to all stakeholders in the payments value chain. The opportunities created by the instantaneous movement of money around...

Pardon the Interruption

Reprinted from NACS Magazine [September 2017] with permission. For more information about NACS and subscription information for NACS Magazine, please go to www.convenience.org or contact NACS at (703) 684-3600. NACS Magazine interviewed the late USA Today founder Allen “Al” Neuharth in September 2008, a time when headlines screamed that print...