by U.S. Chamber of Commerce
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    Our best expert advice on how to grow your business — from attracting new customers to keeping existing customers happy and having the capital to do it.

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Joan Verdon

CONTRIBUTOR

About Joan

Joan Verdon has been covering business and retail news for the past 25 years. She has covered trends in tech, manufacturing, real estate and retail, first for The Record of North Jersey and USA Today, and now for CO—. She is a senior contributor, retail, for Forbes.com. Her passion is reporting on how Americans buy and sell. She has covered the birth of billion-dollar companies and the evolution of 100-year-old brands. Previously, she has been an education, general assignment and investigative reporter for The Grand Rapids Press and Buffalo Courier-Express. She spent a year working on Capitol Hill as an American Political Science Association Congressional Fellow.

Latest—

How Google Is Expanding Its AI Tools to Help Small Businesses Connect With More Customers
Brands now can add images, videos, and reviews to their profile pages, and boost customer engagement with AI-generated immersive ads.
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How Bugaboo North America Created a Parent-Friendly Culture That Yields High Worker Satisfaction
Expanded paid maternity leave and remote-work flexibility has resulted in improved employee engagement and happiness.
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Founder of Menswear Brand UNTUCKit on Taking an Innovative Idea to Profitability and Plans for Future Growth
The 13-year-old company is growing its store footprint and expanding into wholesale.
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How ‘Retail Concierges’ (Both Digital and Human) Are Poised to Disrupt the Shopping Experience
AI-powered virtual sales assistants and improved tools for store employees will anticipate shoppers’ needs and provide VIP-level service at scale.
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Future Shop: Retail Innovations That Will Change How Consumers Spend in 2024 and Beyond
A look at tech ranging from scan-and-go checkout and AI-fueled digital ‘humanoid’ assistants to other breakthroughs that experts say will transform the customer experience.
READ

This Startup Landed Walmart and Costco by Tapping Into the $400 Billion Breakfast Market
The founders of Blanket Pancakes & Syrup on how they leveraged their homemade recipes into a million-dollar brand.
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How Meal Solutions Startup Hungryroot Is Using AI to Fuel Its Growth
The grocery delivery and meal planning company taps AI to know what its customers want to eat and buy.
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How Holiday Spending Will Shape Retail in 2024
Consumers surprised retailers this holiday season with the strength of their spending and their willingness to use next-generation digital technology, like AI-shopping assistants, to make purchases.
READ

Meta, Google, and Shopify Execs Share AI Sales Tools for 2024
AI-enhanced commerce exploded this holiday season, giving merchants new ways to sell and changing how consumers shop.
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GROW » MARKETING

Small Business Saturday
Small Business Saturday falls on November 30 this year. Here are tools small businesses can use to encourage their community to shop small this holiday season.
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