IN THE NEWS
Find out all the latest happenings at Merchant Mechanics. We are growing rapidly
and want to keep you informed about all the buzz surrounding this exciting company
and its groundbreaking services. Stay tuned!
Recent & Upcoming Events
March 9, 2008 - Merchant Mechanics president, Matthew Tullman will deliver an interactive presentation at the upcoming 2008 SPECS Show at the Hilton Anatole in Dallas, TX. The interactive presentation is entitled "Translating Consumer Information into Good Design" and will address the question: "What do you do with consumer research and information to make a real impact on the store environment to help drive purchases and consumer loyalty?" This session will take a closer look at available research resources, design elements and post implementation of consumer testing and provide attendees with valuable insights on in-store consumer behavior and how attitudinal and behavioral data impact the design process.
This year marks Merchant Mechanics' 4th year presenting at SPECS, a 44 year old event attended by retail executives involved in the planning, design and construction of retail chain stores nationwide and produced exclusively by Chain Store Age magazine. Click here for more info.
February 28, 2006 - Merchant Mechanics president, Matthew Tullman and Lilia Flores, Vice President of Research & Strategic Planning at DRAFT Worldwide jointly presented an interactive insight session at the 2006 SPECS event (Store Planning, Equipment, Construction Services) at Lake Buena Vista, Florida. The interactive presentation entitled "Dumping Data Into Design" addressed the question: "How much do we think about the consumer when designing stores?" This session provided attendees with valuable insights on in-store consumer behavior and how behavioral data can impact the design process. Discussion topics included determining when to seek new research and how to implement value-add benchmarking practices. Click here for more info.
October 18, 2005 - Merchant Mechanics president, Matthew Tullman, will present the firm's latest kiosk research findings at the Fall 2005 edition of The Kiosk Show. The Kiosk Show will be held at the South San Francisco Conference Center October 17-18, 2005. This seminar will focus on empirical field research that has shed light on issues of kiosk placement, customer instruction & way-finding, ergonomics & interface, POP graphics & promotion, and new technologies. Further deatils can be found at KioskShow.com.
February 22, 2005 - Merchant Mechanics president, Matthew Tullman, will present the firm's latest kiosk research findings at the Spring 2005 edition of The Kiosk Show. This event will be held at the Gaylord Palms Resort in Orlando, FL on February 22, 2005.
February 2, 2005 - Merchant Mechanics VP, David Levy is scheduled to speak at the upcoming Christian Booksellers Association (CBA) "Independents Day" conference in Nashville, Tennessee. The seminar, entitled "Drawing Retail Traffic: Merchandising to All the Senses" will be held on Tuesday, February 1 at the Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center. Mr. Levy will discuss the current state of today's visual overload in retail, and solutions relating to the optimal sensory ratios of in-store communications. This presentation will further educate attendees on how to reduce a store's "visual liability" through objective analysis of existing mix of POP messaging media. Click here for more.
June 16, 2004 - 2004 NeoCon World Trade Fair - Chicago, IL - Merchant Mechanics President, Matthew Tullman, will be teaming up with Jerry Gelsomino, principal of Prospect, the Santa Monica based retail insight firm, to present a new seminar entitled "Truths & Myths About Retail Consumers" at this year's NeoCon World Trade Fair in Chicago.
March 2, 2004 - 2004 SPECS Show - Kissemee, FL - Merchant Mechanics President, Matthew Tullman, has been confirmed as a featured speaker at the 2004 SPECS Conference in Orlando, FL. Click here for details of the 2004 SPECS Store Planning Seminar Track.
Merchant Mechanics in the Media
July 1, 2004 - "Revitalizing Visual Merchandising"
Merchant Mechanics president, Matthew L. Tullman, and VP of research,
Dr. Kimberly R. Clark, share the latest insight in their article "Revitalizing
Visual Merchandising" in this month's issue of Chain Store Age Magazine.
This cover story explains limitations of today's shoppers' visual sense
and explores options retailers may wish to consider before implementing their
next visual merchandising campaign. Click
here to read the article.
June 16, 2004 - "Dynamic Digital Signage -
Beyond The Pilot"
Dynamic Digital Signage (DDS) has garnered much interest in today's
retail industry. We are pleased to announce the publication of Dynamic
Digital Signage - Beyond The Pilot, "an informative analysis
of a market which has just begun to reach its potential." Authored by Merchant
Mechanics' founder and president, Matthew Tullman, this article is published
in the June 2004 issue of Systems Contractor News.
October 24, 2003 - The online channel of Systems Contractor News, provides pre-study coverage of the forthcoming In-Store Audio Study hosted by Merchant Mechanics & Stiernberg Consulting. Click here to view the coverage.
October 20, 2003 - Merchant Mechanics shares its vision for Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology. Commentary by Merchant Mechanics is available now at rfidnews.org, a leading on-line source for news and information relating to RFID technology and application. Click here to view the article. This article has also been published by the In-Store Marketing Institute.
October 1, 2003 - Visualstore.com, the online version of VM+SD, provides pre-study coverage of the forthcoming In-Store Audio Study hosted by Merchant Mechanics & Stiernberg Consulting. Click here to view the coverage. (Also see our official press release: Click here)
June 1, 2003 - Visual Merchandising & Store Design technical editor, Sean O'Leary, reports on Merchant Mechanics' groundbreaking in-store research practices and their implications, now and in the future, for retailers and store fixture manufacturers. Check out this informative feature in the June 2003 issue of VM+SD.
June 1, 2003 - Retail Construction Magazine covers Merchant Mechanics' latest research findings. Check out this informative article in the June 2003 issue.
March 4, 2003 - Display & Design Ideas Magazine writes about research conducted by Merchant Mechanics in its March "GlobalShop" issue. The feature article, by New York editor Vilma Barr, showcases groundbreaking research on retail shelf lighting commissioned by Hera Lighting with the cooperation of General Nutrition Centers (GNC). Click here to read the story.
March 3, 2003 - Merchant Mechanics to jointly present groundbreaking research findings on retail illumination with Hera Lighting and General Nutrition Centers (GNC) at Global Shop's first annual Day Of Design conference. The presentation, to be held on Saturday, March 14, 2003, will center on results from research conducted by Merchant Mechanics for Hera and GNC and will highlight future opportunities for answering age-old questions in retail lighting.
January 13, 2003 - This week, Crain's New York Business looked to Matthew Tullman for commentary in a special report by Cara Trager on retail design trends in Manhattan's SoHo region. Mr. Tullman offered insight relating to the risks associated with the over-use "retail-tainment."
May 14, 2002 - Merchant Mechanics breaks
onto primetime cable television scene!
Merchant Mechanics founder, president and CEO, Matthew
L. Tullman, sat for an interview on the popular program Tech Live airing
on Tech TV, the only 24-hour cable television network dedicated to showcasing
the impact technology has on our everyday lives and the world at large (click
here for more on the story).
Mr. Tullman provided commentary and expert insight on the relationships between
retail stores, technology, and shopping behavior. Topics discussed included:
emerging trends in technology for use in retail environments, responses by consumers
to new retail technologies as observed during the shopping process, and how
retailers may improve their chances of employing a winning combination of tech
and tradition that attracts consumers and gets them to buy! This
30-minute program aired at 8:30pm on Tuesday, May 14, 2002.
May 1, 2002 - The International Lighting Review covers the latest research conducted by Merchant Mechanics. The story, written by Dr. Fred Oberkircher, centers on two in-store evaluations of the use of color and light to impact shopping behavior. Click here to read a reprint of this article from the Philips Lighting Global Website.
January 2, 2002 - Outdoor Retailer Magazine is buzzing about Merchant Mechanics in their January 2002 issue. Read Sharon Leicham's article entitled: "Retailers Can Profit by Studying Human 'Buy-ology'" in the Minding Your Business section of the Outdoor Retailer Magazine.
Press Releases
October 1, 2003 - Merchant Mechanics announces groundbreaking collaborative research initiative for commercial audio industry.
May 16, 2001 - Murder In Local Mall: Retail Forensics® Takes On The Case
March 22, 2001 - Merchant Mechanics Unveiled at Global Shop
Publications by Merchant Mechanics
July 1, 2004 - "Revitalizing Visual Merchandising"
Merchant Mechanics president, Matthew Tullman, and VP of research,
Kimberly R. Clark, share insight in their article "Revitalizing Visual
Merchandising" in this month's issue of Chain Store Age Magazine.
This cover story explains limitations of today's shoppers' visual sense and
explores options retailers may wish to consider before implementing their next
visual merchandising campaign. Click
here to read the article.
June 16, 2004 - "Dynamic Digital Signage -
Beyond The Pilot"
Dynamic Digital Signage (DDS) has garnered much interest in today's
retail industry. We are pleased to announce the publication of Dynamic
Digital Signage - Beyond The Pilot, "an informative
analysis of a market which has just begun to reach its potential." Authored
by Merchant Mechanics' founder and president, Matthew Tullman, this article
is published in the June 2004 issue of Systems Contractor News.
October 20, 2003 - A Vision for RFID: In-Store Consumer
Observational Research
Much interest has been generated within the retail industry over Radio Frequency
Identification (RFID), a tiny device with huge potential. RFID is currently
being explored by many retail and consumer packaged goods (CPG) companies for
its use in supply chain management, compliance and inventory control. One application
for RFID that has not been highlighted, or thoroughly investigated, is its use
in augmenting in-store consumer observational research. However, it should not
be surprising to posit that this technology could represent a major advancement
for in-store consumer behavior research.
Read this article at: RFID
NEWS.org & In-Store Marketing
Institute Website. The article is also available here on our website: RFID
Commentary (.pdf)
March 22, 2000 - Chromatic Illumination
& Shopping Behavior
White Paper detailing the impact on customer behavior of using color,
light and motion in retail environments. Published by the Yaffe Center for Persuasive
Communications at the University of Michigan.
Executive Summary l White Paper (.pdf)