Smith Brain Trust

Convenience is invaluable for both sides in business-customer interaction. Thus, companies increasingly are integrating live chat and messaging – an advancement from voice and email – into the customer service channel mix. Third-party apps facilitate and fuel this trend. “The top three apps (…

Target missed the mark when calculating this season’s inventory and now the retailer is scrambling to liquidate extra items. The company is slashing prices to move items like patio furniture and household appliances to free up space on shelves and in warehouses. But how’d they get it so wrong?

Check out the 19th annual Summer Reading List for Business Leaders, with recommendations from faculty members at the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business. This year’s list includes new and older books on the Fed, problem-solving, entrepreneurism, memory, vaccines, and human…

Banking Bans More Likely Than Oil, Vodka Boycotts to Influence Russia’s Ukraine Stance

Do you shop differently now than you did a few years ago? If so, you’re not alone, says Maryland Smith’s Jie Zhang.

If a single theme emerged from the deluge of Super Bowl commercials for cryptocurrency, electric vehicles and online booking agencies, it was one that steered viewers away from the worries of the last two years.

On-site spectators will be missing Friday as athletes parade in Beijing for the XXIV Olympic Winter Games opening ceremonies. There will be pandemic-inspired protocols in place, extending through the competitions – similar to the ones adopted at the most recent Summer Games in Tokyo. And there's a…

In the mood to indulge in some retail therapy? Take a seat on the couch. See a mixer that you like in the "Great British Baking Show" or a favorable shade of lipstick on an actress? Shoppable TV is here to put those products in the hands of consumers. The latest marketing method to hit the small…

Despite booming business, Facebook’s reputation has been in decline – from 2018’s Cambridge Analytica scandal  through recent revelations of the platform’

With the COVID-19 pandemic, retailers have innovated and tweaked the shopping experience to meet the demands of the moment and keep consumers safe. But even as the pandemic begins to subside, don’t be surprised if some of those changes stick around for good.