NYT has an amazing interactive graphic showing the results of the American Time Use Survey. The good news for bank marketers is that you can see the ebbs and flows of how customers spend their time.
The bad news: Americans spend on average no more than 6 minutes per day doing “assorted services,” a category that [...]

While many of our European readers bask in the Mediterranean sun, we offer this collection of links directly and not-so-directly related to the world of banking and retail. Enjoy.

How tech is changing banks – Depositing checks using an iPhone? Making mobile-to-mobile money transfers? It’s all coming your way and bound to have an impact on [...]

It doesn’t take a genius to figure out that longer queues and wait times are frustrating for customers. But how long is long? At what point do customers do bail? At what point does the customer experience turn sour — even if the customer sticks around to complete their transaction?
Bonnie McGeer delved into the matter [...]

Have you heard about Starbucks’ new retail experiment? The coffee chain that spent the last decade stamping out carbon-copy store locations is “de-branding” a number of locations, starting with a Seattle location, now called “15th Ave Coffee & Tea.”
Gone is the familiar green and white mermaid logo. So, too, are the automated espresso machines. In [...]

It’s so tempting to take exciting new technology and go in search of problems. However, it’s often the pragmatic applications of new tech that ultimately wins the day and ushers in broader acceptance.
Take RFID. It’s certainly not a new technology by any stretch, but the practical application of RFID within the context of in-store digital [...]

If you are introverted, shy or self-conscious (or know someone who is), then you can probably relate to Rob Horning’s comments in a recent blog post:
“I just started to ride my old bike…and..realized that I need a few things for riding in New York City—mainly a helmet and new handle grips. Even though there is [...]

Looking to get into multi-touch interactive? Apparently, you’ve got options beyond Microsoft Surface, including building one yourself. That’s what Maximum PC did, assembling a used PC, some infrared LEDs, a PS3 Eye camera and a projector. The cost? $350. You can see a demo below or go to the blog post, which documents the design [...]

Since the advent of Internet, we’ve seen fed-up consumers leverage the Internet to take revenge on companies whose products and services left them unhappy.
An early example is the case of the customer who asked for Neiman Marcus’ cookie recipe and was outraged when the quoted price of “two-fifty” turned out to be $250. Unable to [...]