A recent study released by the National Retail Federation reports that the number of businesses victimized in the past 12 months is up from 79% in 2007 to 85% so far in 2008. More and more businesses are seeing their stolen merchandise popping up for sale in other locations (the internet clearly being one of the most prevalent places).

E-fencing is quickly becoming the primary modus operandi for thieves as they can resell the stolen merchandise anonymously without raising any eyebrows. One of the most important findings is how much "new in box" items are worth to the criminals. These items can render up to 70 cents on the dollar whereas traditional black market methods only render around 30 cents. This means "new in box" products are being stolen at a higher rate than ever. Loss prevention respondents estimate that nearly 40% of current "new in box" items for sale on auction sites is stolen.

The survey’s conclusion sites training and awareness, utilizing exsisting relationships among trade associations and the government and communication/advocacy as solutions to help reduce this trend. To read the full report, click here .

The Federal Trade Commission announced in a press release today that it will soon be publishing clarifications to the CAN-SPAM Act of 2003. The following topics are to be addressed:

(1) an e-mail recipient cannot be required to pay a fee, provide information other than his or her e-mail address and opt-out preferences, or take any steps other than sending a reply e-mail message or visiting a single Internet Web page to opt out of receiving future e-mail from a sender.

(2) the definition of “sender” was modified to make it easier to determine which of multiple parties advertising in a single e-mail message is responsible for complying with the Act’s opt-out requirements.

(3) a “sender” of commercial e-mail can include an accurately-registered post office box or private mailbox established under United States Postal Service regulations to satisfy the Act’s requirement that a commercial e-mail display a “valid physical postal address.”

(4) a definition of the term “person” was added to clarify that CAN-SPAM’s obligations are not limited to natural persons.

Keep your eyes peeled for it. The good news is that if you are already conducting an ethical email marketing campaign, these specifications should not affect you one way or another. If not, you may want to revise your strategy. For some guidance, check out Keeping Your E-Mail Campaigns Legal .

The earthquake tragedy in China is only the most recent example of how harmful disasters can be. Not only are they costly in human lives and sheer destruction but also in the number of businesses that will never open their doors to customers again. Disaster can occur on a smaller scale as well such as burglary, fires, hardware crashes and many more.

A White Paper produced by HP and SCORE reveals that about one-third of all respondents to a survey in the paper said they backup their data rarely, if at all. Most of the rest did it less than monthly, and yet 70% of small businesses that suffer a major data loss will go out of business within a year.

We can’t prevent disasters from happening but we can do our best to prepare for the worst. Here are some ways to minimize the loss your business could incur in case something should happen:

* Of course, the easiest and most obvious preventative measure you can take is simply to backup your data , and not just in the same location, but remotely.
* Important documents should be kept in a fireproof safe.
* Software should be utilized to prevent computer worms and viruses from destroying your hard drives.
* Create a plan to keep things running if something should happen. Assign roles and responsibilities as a part of that plan and walk through them with employees. Then keep the plan updated.

Insurance is also another key factor in salvaging a business in the aftermath of a disaster. Check out Small Business Insurance and Why You Need It for more advice.

It’s begun. The Great Consumer Schism is effectively working its way through America-an event last experienced in this country in the ’70s. Economic disparity in America is nothing new. But in times of recession the division is inflated and even more apparent as seen through shifts in spending habits. It makes perfect sense of course that middle to lower income households are switching from brand name items to generic in order to save a few bucks.

So what does this mean for retailers? Well, if you sell cheaper products, this is great news! If you sell brand name (and therefore more expensive) products you may want to reconsider your strategy. Here are a few suggestions:

• Consider including cheaper items in your inventory as an alternative for customers with tighter budgets.
• Revamp your advertising to appeal strictly to wealthier customers.
• Revamp your advertising to enforce the value of brand name products over generic.
• Offer "freebies" along with the purchase of certain brand name items.
• Have a sale! Who doesn’t love a sale?

These are just a few ideas to get you started thinking in the right direction. For more tips check out Don’t Let a Slow Economy Slow Down Your Business

It’s almost like that gopher pounding game at the carnival. As soon as you bop one on the head another pops it’s mocking little head out of the hole which you must smash into oblivion…and so on and so forth for what seems like forever. Just as law enforcers find a way to prevent a crime, criminals find another way to commit it. We often stereotype criminals as dumb but in reality, in order to be a successful criminal you have to be smarter than the system that’s designed to keep you from violating it. It’s the nature of the beast I suppose and they’re back at it again.

In what is termed "credit card shaving" people buy gift cards or take stolen credit cards and test a 16-number sequence either by trying to make a purchase online or by calling a verification number the way merchants do. The scammers then scratch up the new card’s magnetic strip so a store clerk has to enter the numbers manually, what’s called "forcing a transaction."

The result is a card that ends up looking like it went through the ringer a few times but apparently merchants are accepting these cards. The people who’s accounts the numbers match up to are left dumbfounded as to how their card information has been stolen because they still have their cards and no mail has been stolen from them…it’s a sheer case of dumb luck. And its taking off.

As a merchant, you can help customers by not accepting suspicious looking cards as well as cards with inoperable magnetic strips. This seems like common sense but the scammers tend to target low end small businesses where customer traffic is heavy. Just be sure you remain diligent and educate your employees to do the same.

Grab your coconut bras and grass skirts and jump on the organic textiles bandwagon! More and more retailers are beginning to cater to green fashion and it would appear that it’s more than just a fad.

The reason for this? One day not long ago some forward thinking entrepreneurs realized that people will spend bucket loads of money on fashion…so why wouldn’t people do the same for organic clothing as well? They looked around and said to themselves "the only organic clothes available look like burlap sacks!" "Ces’t tres horrible! " they gasped in unison, aghast at the utter disaster of the whole situation. And thus the organic fashion revolution began. (and this obviously happened in France because that’s where the best revolutions take place…at least in fashion, right? and I think Al Gore was there too…)

**note the above story is purely hypothetical in nature and should be regarded as mere imagination on my part as to how this whole thing began…but however it happened, it’s here.

Now companies such as Linda Loudermilk and Figleaves.com are selling$230 bamboo jeans and100% organic cotton undies for $28. While the prices may seem steep there appears to be a market for these items…and it’s growing.

So if you are a would-be entrepreneur looking for an idea, use this as a starting place. The market has scarcely been tapped and if you play your cards right you might just get in on the ground level of a phenomenal retail trend. Plus, with more and more people becoming interested in this niche, someone’s bound to come up with a new way to manufacture these goods for the masses…will it be you?

There is quite a lengthy article on the Modern Distribution Management website that explores one of the biggest problems the wholesale/retail industry faces — counterfeiting. It sites statistics such as "The Counterfeiting Intelligence Bureau estimates counterfeiting accounts for 5 percent to 7 percent of world trade" and "most counterfeit goods (close to 95 percent) can be traced back to China, according to a report from the International Anti-Counterfeiting Coalition."

While counterfeiting is not a new trade by any means, what IS new is how the development of e-commerce has aided in its proliferation. “The Internet has made it possible for people to represent themselves more readily to more people in a professional manner that makes it look like they are legitimate.” So what is the industry doing to counteract this widespread (and growing) problem?

Well, there have been many associations; national government policies; and international agreements that were formed as part of the World Trade Organization. Individually, companies can create agreements with "authorized distributors" as well as pursue legal action upon catching any counterfeiters.

What are you doing to protect yourself from fakes ?

For years now, consumers have enjoyed the benefits of being able to use their Visas, Mastercards, American Expresses, etc. practically anywhere there are things to buy. Consumers sign up for credit cards to pay off other credit cards and with the ease and accessibility of online shopping, the credit industry is booming.

What consumers don’t know (or didn’t) is that the cozy relationship between merchants and credit card companies, isn’t really all that cozy. Up until now, credit card companies have imposed what is called an "interchange" fee on merchants every time a consumer uses a credit or debit card to make a purchase. These fees are calculated independently by the credit card companies and are effectively hidden from the consumer who also ends up paying the fees in the form of product mark ups. The average cost per household is $350 a year. The total amount of interchange fees Visa and Mastercard collected in 2007? $42 billion.

Well, now congress is involved and things are looking up for merchants and consumers alike. Last week, House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers, D-Mich. introduced the Credit Card Fair Fee Act. This proposed legislation according to the National Retail Federation website (who is, in fact, leading the campaign for the approval of this legislation):

"The Conyers bill would require credit card systems possessing “substantial market power” to negotiate with merchants to reach a voluntary agreement on credit card terms and conditions. If an agreement cannot be reached, both sides would be required to submit to binding arbitration by a three-judge panel appointed by the Department of Justice and Federal Trade Commission.

The arbitration proceedings would take place with a limited 60-day discovery period and other statutory deadlines, and the judges would be required to apply a market standard reflecting a perfectly competitive system where neither side had market power. Terms and conditions set by the panel would be in effect for three years, at which time the process would repeat itself. Both sides would receive limited immunity from antitrust laws in order to participate in the process.

The legislation requires that terms and conditions set under the process be available to any merchant regardless of size, industry or location. Individual merchants or groups of merchants would remain free to negotiate voluntary arrangements with credit card companies and their banks."

The legislation is coming about in response to a hearing in July 2007 where the NRF argued that the credit card interchange fees violate antitrust laws. If it goes through, consumers and businesses alike could see an impact on how much money they save. Stay tuned…

Here are some of the specific circumstances where the wholesaler-distributer can be held liable:

• Some wholesaler-distributors provide installation, service or repair work as a "value-added" for their customers, which may increase their product liability exposure in the process.

• Wholesaler-distributors that modify, repackage or re-label products may assume a greater liability than those who don’t. Modification of the product can include any modification of instructions or warranties.

• Repackaging under the wholesaler-distributor’s name may increase the exposure substantially.

• The United States has some of the most stringent product safety standards in the world. When goods are produced overseas, they do not necessarily comply with these standards. When a wholesaler-distributor imports products from a foreign manufacturer who does not carry U.S. product liability coverage, they can assume the product liability exposure.

• If the manufacturer is insolvent or otherwise unavailable (foreign manufacturers with no coverage inside the U.S. for example) the wholesaler-distributor can be held liable for any defect in the product.

• When the wholesaler-distributor is directly responsible for the defective condition, i.e. if they have damaged the product while repackaging, or by making product modifications, they may be held liable for product liability.

• If a wholesaler-distributor had knowledge of the defective condition prior to the sale and did nothing, they can be held accountable.

• If a wholesaler-distributor recommended an unsuitable product for the job they may be liable

Be sure you are aware of any instances where you could be held liable for the wholesale products you sell. Any lawyer will tell you that "ignorance is no defense."

Did you know that every year the National Retail Federation’s conference and expo features the latest advancements toward the stores of the future. The X08 is a "mock store" where buyers can try before they buy. IBM is already trying to incorporate this virtual technology into their business. Their version of the virtual store allows customers to choose from various features and get a nearly complete sense of what they’d be investing in, using 3D technology.

And electronics is just the beginning. A company called Fit Just Right has visions to create a virtual shopping experience for shoppers that would include the store knowing your measurements so that you get the right fit whether in store or online as well as featuring a jazzed up dressing room.

It starts with a sales assistant scanning your clothes so that he or she knows exactly what you’re taking into the Retaligent dressing room.

"As the customer is in the fitting room, you can request a different size, different color for a particular item," said Russ Miller of Retaligent Solutions. "They may want to request coordinating items. They may just want to page the associate for additional assistance, so they’ll use the kiosk in the fitting room to do those things, and then the associate will get a page on their mobile device that says bring a blue medium or bring the coordinating sweater for this item or just stop in and help." (Virtual Store -BeepBeep.com )

Amazing.

This is a trend that, while still in the works, you need to consider as a possibility for growing your business. The opportunities of combining cutting edge technology and more efficient customer service may prove to be worth the investment.

Keep your eyes peeled!