As retailers look for new ways to drive revenue and improve the customer experience, mobile devices are migrating from the back office to the selling floor. Fueled by an expanded menu of devices and applications, leading retailers are now using mobility for much more than barcode scanning. Next generation mobile implementations are now delivering functionality such as real-time couponing, gift registry/wish listing and assisted shopping right into the hands of store associates.

However, in conjunction with the expansion of their wireless networks, retailers are also realizing the need to take measures to secure and service these devices. A new report from Aberdeen Group, “Mobile Field Workforce in Retail: Strategies to Reduce Total Cost of Ownership” found 73% of Best-In-Class Retailers have had a mobility initiative in place for one year or more. The report states that the mobile initiatives are enabling these Best-in-Class retailers to deliver: a stronger brand promise; a customer-intuitive process through improved focus on assisted and self service; and an agile retail process workflow in the field including stores.

Retailers are about to embark on the holiday season of the serious bargain hunter. According to NRF’s 2009 Holiday Consumer Intentions and Actions Survey, conducted by BIGresearch, U.S. consumers plan to spend an average of $682.74 on holiday-related shopping, a 3.2 percent drop from last year’s $705.01.*

It comes as no surprise that the economy was an overriding theme throughout this year’s survey. Two-thirds of Americans (65.3%) say the economy will affect their holiday plans this year, with the majority of these consumers saying they’re adjusting by simply spending less (84.2%).**People will also be shopping for sales more often (55.0%), using more coupons (41.7%) and putting up last year’s decorations (34.0%).

According to Reis Inc., a New York real-estate research firm, 10.3% of the retail space at U.S. shopping centers -- open-air centers typically anchored by a grocery store or big-box retailer -- was vacant in the third quarter. That was up from 8.4% in the same period a year earlier and was the highest vacancy rate since 1992. At enclosed malls, the vacancy rate rose two percentage points to 8.6%, the highest rate since Reis began tracking mall data in 2000, according to The Wall Street Journal. The hardest-hit retail properties were those completed this year with 30% opened half-empty or worse, according to the data.With Retail Store Closing at 8,300, Retail Vacancies Hit All-Time Highs