Retail publications are essential to anyone in the retail business. Retail is a fast paced, ever changing environment and is it important to stay on top of your game and up-to-date with all the newest trends, information and news by using a retail industry magazine or various retail trade journals.

You will probably want to subscribe to a handful of dependable retail industry publications while always looking for additional sources of information. When researching retail industry publications news and trends, do the following:

1. Find a retail book or retail magazine that can give you the news and trends for your area of expertise.

2. Look for the best retail publications format to fit your business's needs.

3. Seek out retailer publications that target your management level of the retail industry.

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Choose retail publications that are specific to your niche in the retail industry

As a retailer, you need to know what is going on right now in your area of the business. Get up-to-date knowledge to your specific retail industry niche by selecting specific retail publications. There are publications that cover the important news and trends of every major retail sector.

I recommend: If you are in the sports retail industry, check out SportsOneSource. It can help you stay up-to-date with a daily newsletter and online article access. Nielsen Business Media offers Progressive Grocer either in print or online. It gives you all the news and trends in the grocery industry.

Select the right retail journal format that fits your particular needs

Choose from either online publications or by mail publications. Make sure to choose a format that you will be most likely to read and that will be able to give you the most up-to-date news and trends.

I recommend: RetailNet is retail news brought to you online. You can register with it and customize the information you want to receive. It can email you retail news alerts, get you financial information on many retail companies, and keep you accurate and alert with their research. Management Ventures offers several retail publications that you can receive daily or weekly online.

Subscribe to retail publications that relate to your specific position in the industry

From top retail executives, to store managers, it is best to stay informed on every level. Select the best publications to keep you informed about what affects your position and positions you would like to move up to.

I recommend: Stores Magazine, a magazine on retail, gives you all the information you need to know from every position in the retail world. Subscribe to Chain Store Age, a website dedicated to keeping top retail executives informed 24 hours a day. It has many newsletters to choose from and its website is a great source of information for anyone working in retail.

Retail is a fast-paced competitive business that requires its players to possess a true work ethic to be successful. One of the easiest and most accessible ways to stay on top of your game is by regularly reading retail industry publications. Mandatory reading for the industry's elite can come in a number of forms, from a longstanding retail journal to a trusted retail book.

You can use free retail magazines to gather insights on store organization, check on market statistics and find economic indicators for the industry. When choosing which publications to add to your research arsenal, consider the following:

1. Blanket retail industry publications should provide comprehensive coverage of the industry complete with breaking news and how-to information.
2. Retail publications that gather insights from executives are some of the best tools for helping you reach the top.
3. Sector-specific retail industry publications zone in on important sub-topics in the industry, such as Internet retail and mass marketing.
   

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Find retail trade journals that provide useful general information

Look to these retail publications for up-to-the-minute news and information affecting your retail business.

I recommend: Stores is a comprehensive blanket retail journal for general retail news as well as in-depth features on issues facing facets of the retail industry. Retailing Today is a frequently published journal of retail that's a reliable 24-hour news source for the retailing industry.

Read retail publications geared toward executives

Retail executives hold the keys to a successful retail venture, and often share their experiences and secrets in retail publications. Look to executive-focused publications for the secrets to making it into the CEO's chair.

I recommend: Chain Store Age is a monthly retail magazine for retail executives that covers retail technology, store planning, marketing and more. Integrated Solutions for Retailers is a retail magazine that aims to help retail executives make operational and technology decisions for their retail company.

Find retail publications that cater to specific sectors of the industry

Internet and mass marketing retail are two burgeoning sectors of the retail industry. The successes--and failures--of these two sectors should be closely watched in retailer publications by all members of the retail industry.

I recommend: Internet Retailer is a retail book that caters to the specific needs of retail companies that operate exclusively or almost entirely on the Internet. Mass Market Retailers caters to the needs of drug stores and other chain establishments.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  Aside from using retail publications to help you gain an edge in the industry, use commercial retail magazines to place your products. Magazines that rely heavily on retail product placement are great places for ads--or press coverage.

Retail industry publications are mainly sources of information to help your retail business get ahead of the competition. That being said, retailer publications can be provide different types of information. It is up to you to choose a retail trade publication that will be the most useful to your business.

There are many retail publications to choose from. Make sure you narrow down your search to get the information you need. When looking for the best retail industry publications applications and uses, consider the following:

1. Retail magazines that will keep you up-to-date on your retail business niche are essential to your business.

2. Retail publications that are geared towards top executives will provide ample learning tools for you.

3. Retail books or reports can give you valuable information on the economic trends in the retail industry.

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Subscribe to a retail magazine that will keep you informed about your specific business niche

In order to make sure you are informed about your specific industry, subscribe to several retail publications that focus solely on your industry. If you are in the drug store industry, find publications that cover all aspect of that niche, if you are in the shoes industry look for magazines that talk only about retail shoe stores. This will help you stay up-to-date on what is happening with your competitors, the latest trends and any other important news specific to your business.

I recommend: Subscribe to Drug Store News if you are in the drug store industry. This useful publication will keep you informed on everything related to this industry. Check out WWD.com (Women's Wear Daily), it offers a special publication called Footwear News. This is the leading publication in the industry of footwear. If you are in the footwear industry, you will find useful information in this publication.

Learn from the best with subscriptions to retail publications for top executives

Retailing journals and other retail publications that offer insight from top level executives can be a great tool for your business and your career. Learn best practices from the top level down to help you run your retail business.

I recommend: Chain Store Age is an online retail journal that is geared towards the top executives in the retail industry. Check out STORES Magazine, it offers insight from people at all levels of the retail industry including top executives.

Select a retail book or report that can keep you informed of important conomic trends

Study the trends and economy that is affecting your retail business and other retail businesses around the world with a retail industry journal. Retail publications that focus on the trends can be very useful to you in helping you position your business for the economy and to help you predict sales trends for your business.

I recommend: The National Retail Federation offers a yearly retail book called Retail Industry Indicators that can give you all kinds of useful information on retail trends from a given year. It includes valuable information about the retail industry impact on the economy and sales trends. Retail Industry News Weekly is an online report that gives you a lot of information about the weekly trends in the retail industry.

Whether your business consists of a tiny boutique or giant department store, staying on top of the ever-changing retail industry trends is a must. Fortunately, there are numerous publications targeting the retail industry. There are monthly, weekly, bi-monthly or quarterly magazines, trade journals and newsletters covering retail topics ranging from store design and advertising to dealing with theft. Some cover the retail industry in general, and others are very specific to individual industries. Before deciding which one to subscribe to and which ones are relevant to your retail business, learn the following retail industry publications key terms.

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Advertising Age

Advertising Age, also shortened to AdAge, is a weekly magazine all about marketing and advertising for retail businesses. It covers everything about advertising from news to analysis of certain techniques and tactics to data collected across all industries.

I recommend: Find out more about the weekly magazine Advertising Age at their website.

Display and Design Ideas

Display and Design Ideas magazine is a monthly magazine helping retailers set up the most dynamic and constructive store set-ups and designs, from product arrangement and displays to aesthetic value in interior decoration.

I recommend: Go to DDI Magazine to read much more about this monthly retail industry publication.

STORES

STORES magazine is the monthly publication by the National Retail Federation that covers all areas of general interest across the entire retail industry, from the latest trends in consumer spending to the hottest retail technology.

I recommend: STORES Magazine has much more information on the most widely distributed retail publication in the world.

Shop.org

Shop.org is the online publication by the National Retail Federation, which can be accessed with a membership. Retailers can trade first-hand industry information and have access to retail data and analysis of sales and marketing techniques.

I recommend: Learn more about Shop.org by visiting the site.

Retail Merchandiser

Retail Merchandiser is a monthly published magazine directed towards managers and executives of large retailers, discount stores and department stores. It covers a wide range of topics from merchandising and marketing to consumer trends.

I recommend: Visit the website of Retail Merchandiser to see the online edition and learn more about the magazine.

StorefrontBacktalk

StorefrontBacktalk is a retail industry online publication that specializes in content about retail technology and e-commerce, with free weekly email newsletters on the latest and greatest advances and trends.

I recommend: Check out StorefrontBacktalk for free by visiting the site.