In the 1950s, when science fiction writers dreamed about the coming age of computers, they assumed that like everything else in their experience, computers would get ever larger as they got more powerful. Some predicted computers would be as big as small towns, maintained by thousands of workers.

The number of eco-labels in the marketplace continues to grow. According to Ecolabelindex (http://www.ecolabelindex.com/, Oct 27), 426 labels circulate in 246 countries and 25 industries. Most commentators are quick to point out the negative consequences: consumer confusion, disinterest and mistrust.

Why has Google arguably become the most popular advertising platform on the planet, attracting a whopping $36.5 billion in ad spending in 2011? And why has Facebook, with an expected IPO valuation of around $100 billion, become such a juggernaut in digital marketing?

Mobile marketing has been the “next big thing” long enough that it almost seems like old news. Mobile advertising is projected to reach $55 billion in 2012, and has the distinction of being the fastest medium to reach $1 billion in spending; it took only five years, versus 16 years for the Internet to hit that level of investment.

Mobile payments provide retailers an opportunity to take advantage of the newest method of payment. The Center of Retail Research recently released some interesting figures, numbers that clearly shows the growing trend of customers using mobile money.

A lot has changed between the early 20th Century, when John Wanamaker delivered his famous quotation about the inexactitude of advertising, and March 2011, when Chris Calabrese argued for greater consumer privacy protections at a U.S. Senate Committee hearing.

The economic challenges sweeping the country have been tough, but, like most things in life, it’s not the challenging times that define you, but what you do during them. For leaders in the retail industry the last few years have led to great innovation, providing the retail industry every opportunity to reinvent in areas across their operations including in the area of environmental sustainability.

The outlet mall industry has undergone a major transition during the past decade and has never been better positioned for future success. This is a significant change from 10 years ago when a stale product mix targeted to a transient shopper base had raised serious questions about the viability of the outlet mall.

The existence of hunger in America and the concept of food deserts are hard for most Americans to grasp. Simple observations suggests that the majority of us are not missing many meals and grocery stores are so prevalent that profitably operating a food store is a perpetual challenge because of intense competition and the resulting pricing pressure.

For years, many retailers have at least informally been on the lookout for customers who abuse the return transaction process, and in some cases, declined to engage in further business with customers perceived to be engaging in abusive or even fraudulent return transactions.