The rapidly evolving retail landscape has resulted in a spate of thought-provoking books on the subject. A few recent releases to consider:

1. The Retail Revival: Reimagining Business for the New Age of Consumerism (by Doug Stephens) explains how demographic, economic, and technological shifts are inexorably altering consumer behavior.

2. People Love You: The Real Secret to Delivering Legendary Customer Experiences (by Jeb Blount) focuses on the role experience plays in retail.

3. The Customer Rules: The 39 Essential Rules for Delivering Sensational Service (by Lee Cockerell) lays out obvious-but-brilliant rules for serving customers, such as asking “What would mom do?”

4. Local Online Marketing: Small Business Online Advertising for Retail and Service Businesses (by Claude Whitacre) educates retailers on the finer points of online marketing—e.g., how to get page-one Google results.

5. Retail Marketing and Branding: A Definitive Guide to Maximizing ROI (by Jesko Perrey and Dennis Spillecke) examines ways to stretch marketing dollars to positively influence the bottom line.