Shoppers have an idealized vision of holiday shopping. Unfortunately, they are too often met with a reality of crowded stores, out-of-stock merchandise and rude employees. Fear not: Improving the customer experience is possible if you use these 12 research-generated solutions.

Finding new avenues for customer experience improvement requires not only listening to consumers, but also relying on them for ideas. Through an online community, consumers generated three winning ideas to improve holiday shopping.

Perfecting the ideal college recruitment ad is an important initiative for a university. Schools aim to create ads that are relatable, exciting, and that represent the university in a positive light. However, once ads have been running for a while, it is important to make sure they are still representative of the university and fit the style preferences for future college students.

As kids settle into their school routine, retailers are reviewing their results from the back-to-school season. It’s a good time to consider how these six research-based back-to-school marketing ideas can help you improve next year’s approach.

Back-to-school shopping isn’t just about price and coupons -- it’s an important time for family bonding. New back-to-school marketing research reveals why and how retailers can leverage this annual event as a memorable family experience.

We recently conducted research that revealed why and how moms make their purchasing decisions. In this post, experts at marketing-to-moms shared both their reactions to the study as well as resources that can help marketers reach moms in smart and effective ways.