RSR’s newest research study, “Walking the Razor’s Edge: Managing the Store Experience in an Economic Singularity,” sponsored by Epicor and SAP, shows retailer recognition that low price alone will not help them gain or maintain market share.

“Perhaps one of the biggest turn-arounds compared to previous studies on this topic is the full-blown recognition within the retail enterprise that store technologies really do matter,” said Paula Rosenblum, managing partner at RSR Research and co-author of the report. “Retailers understand they cannot efficiently maintain or improve the customer experience without it.”

“Retailers still have a long way to go in unlocking the potential of these technologies,” added Brian Kilcourse, managing partner at RSR Research and co-author of the report. “Retailers selling General Merchandise and Apparel have been hardest hit by the economy, and also have the most to gain from taking better advantage of store solutions.”

RSR’s new study, “Walking the Razor’s Edge: Managing the Store Experience in an Economic Singularity,” explores the challenges retailers face in the worst economy of our lifetimes. The report, with benchmark data captured from April and May 2009, provides recommendations on how to improve the in-store experience even in an economic downturn.

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After laying off 3,000 workers last month, Motorola has announced an additional 4,000 workers to be cut to save a reported $700 million on top of $800 million estimated savings from fourth quarter cuts.

This report is another big blow from large companies feeling the pinch of the depreciating economy. The choice right now for most companies is really to survive or to close and obviously, the former is the logical recourse.

But along with that choice comes a sacrifice that points towards thousands of people having to be cut to save on expenses.

The actions we are taking today in our Mobile Devices business will allow us to further reduce our cost structure and positions us for improved financial performance in 2009. Together with these actions and the announcements made in the fourth quarter, the Mobile Devices business expects to recognize annual cost savings of approximately $1.2 billion in 2009.

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[tags]feeling_the_pinch, financial_performance, fourth_quarter, mobile_devices, recourse, sacrifice, motorola, economy[/tags]

The US Postal Service unveiled Thursday a drastic downsizing scheme for the embattled public company, including cutting 35,000 jobs, as it seeks to avoid collapse amid a “new reality” in the economy.

“Faced with a massive nationwide infrastructure that is no longer financially sustainable,” the USPS said it was proposing sweeping changes aimed at saving the organization up to $3 billion a year.

Among the proposals being studied were cutting more than half of its processing facilities, limiting service, and eliminating as many as 35,000 jobs, the company said in a statement.