Innovations being tested by Walmart and McDonald’s, among others, could go a long way toward fixing the shopping experience, starting at that backed-up checkout line.

The days of misleading and manipulative marketing are over. Here's why honesty and kindness should be the new norm.

Even the most ordinary item has the potential to be improved if you just look at it through fresh eyes--those of the people who really use it.

Social media already changed how companies measure success. Now, it's changing how companies deal with failures.

We live in an age when retailers can--and do--track every purchase we make. And the power of big data is quickly making old-school spamming tactics look pretty embarrassing.

Customers now look to social media as a direct line to customer service. They want to be heard--and they want immediate answers. Is it possible to make everyone happy?

How would a genuinely trustable credit card company function? Answer: exactly the opposite of how they do now.

If you really don't want to know what your customers are thinking, then don't ask.

Wish you could read minds? Find out what your customers are thinking--and what they want from you.