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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.

Cocktail Party

Shake up a bar setup with accent furniture for any palette. Eye on the Sky Touch the clouds and sip your vodka drink of choice. From Julian Chichester, the Pollock drinks cabinet makes a…

Twin Star Home Enters Partnership With WellnessMats

Twin Star Home announced this week it has entered an agreement with WellnessMats, the leader in ergonomic anti-fatigue floor mats. Consumers who purchase a Twin Star Home adjustable height desk will…
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Next Round of Tariffs to Directly Impact Furniture and Lighting Retailers and Interior Designers

The trade war between the U.S. and China escalated yesterday and continued through this morning. Yesterday, President Trump announced another round of tariffs on $200 billion worth of imported…

Casual Market Chicago 2018 Preview

Held in the Merchandise Mart Sept. 25-28, this year’s show is the place to be to scout new intros for outdoor and casual spaces. In creating the Knot lounge chair, designers at Janus et Cie used a…
Adobestock A/B testing graphic
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How to A/B Test an Email

According to research from eMarketer, the median email marketing ROI is 122 percent — four times higher than any other digital marketing channel. But, no business will ever reach that return unless…

How to Bring Manufacturing to the U.S., According to the Reshoring Initiative

One of the main arguments for tariffs involves improving U.S. manufacturing. In theory, if it costs too much or the same to manufacture offshore, then companies would move production back to the U.S…
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Retail Jobs Up, But Not In Furniture and Home Furnishings Sector

By just about any measure, the U.S. economy is doing very well. Unemployment remains low. Consumers are spending and fueling the economy. Though the threat of tariffs remains poised to wreck much of…
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Instagram May Be Getting a Shopping Platform: What Retailers and Designers Need to Know

This week, a report from The Verge announced that Facebook was working on a separate shopping app for Instagram, one that would allow users to shop products in posts and even on stories. There's no…

What Sofas-in-a-Box Actually Feel and Look Like

After almost two years and hundreds (okay probably tens) of couches sat on, I consider myself to be a couch connoisseur, maybe even a bit of a couch snob. You see, I have a lot of demands for my…
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Chasing IMAP

Most consistent marketgoers would describe the summer show scene as sleepy, but for lighting retailers who attended the first meeting of the Facebook group Lighting Showroom Coalition at the new…
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