The restaurant business is tough. Known for unpredictable revenue and narrow margins, the business of food requires a willingness to adapt and evolve beyond traditional dining services and typical dining hours (and delivery methods). In this podcast, we highlight advice from some of New York City’s top chefs on how to help any restaurant thrive in today’s competitive and crowded food culture, where convenience and flexibility reign supreme.

PNC Bank Retail and Restaurants

Retail Food Trends: Tips from Some of Today’s Top Restaurateurs

Let this sink in: The generation born between the mid-1990s and 2010x, known as Generation Z (the one after the millennials), is the largest in history. Gen Zers wield an estimated $44 billion a year in buying power, so learning the nuances of their preferences and expectations for retail is crucial to keep pace. The customer is still always right. This podcast outlines what you need to know about this major retail demographic.

Meet Generation Z

Retailers of all sizes are prioritizing their mobile commerce efforts this year. Why? The data around adoption is hard to ignore. The National Retail Federation reports that sales on smartphones surged 65 percent year over year in 2016. A bad mobile experience for shoppers, however, is a big turn off. Mobile shopping is not the same as shopping on a website. There are some unique attributes to know. This podcast gives tips and techniques for ensuring your mobile shopping experience is truly designed and optimized for customers on the go.

3 Ways to Turn Shoppers Into Buyers

The rise of ‘push button services’ such as Amazon’s Dash Button is a trend with opportunity. When Amazon launched its push button in 2015, many laughed it off as a gimmick. Two years later, over a hundred products and rising have their own branded Dash Button. Consumers wants convenience, especially for products they are loyal to and plan on replacing with regularity, such as laundry detergent, food essentials and every day toiletries. But it’s not limited to only the essentials. Specialty items such as coffee, beer, wine and even haute couture fashion are in play as subscription services. This podcast shares strategies for taking advantage of trends in convenience.

Convenience Is King

If you’re having trouble recruiting the right talent, the problem may not be with the applicant pool or job itself, but with the job descriptions you’re posting. Re-examine what you’re looking for in a candidate and make job descriptions more accurate. This podcast helps you target and attract the most qualified candidates by giving you three questions to ask before you craft your next round of job postings.

Looking for Better Applicants?

More than 76 million baby boomers are turning 65 at a rate of nearly 8,000 per day, according to 2014 U.S. Census Bureau data. It’s a demographic that demands the respect of the customer service staffers who serve them. And don’t forget: Boomers still control most of the country’s wealth and wield most of its purchasing power. This shifting demographic means that many retailers will have to update customer service programs to meet the unique needs of an increasingly aging society. This podcast helps listeners build trust — and loyalty — with this important group by sharing some of its key characteristics.

Prioritize Stellar Customer Service for Seniors

Blog With Brand Authority

Social Engagement Strategies to Cut Through the Noise

Flash sales are one of the hottest trends in e-commerce these days for one simple reason: They work. As with any marketing campaign, though, planning is critical. Follow these four steps to help ensure that your flash doesn’t fizzle.

Four Tips for Flash Sales

Online shopping is expected to continue growing exponentially over the next five years. But according to a recent report from customer-service specialist TimeTrade, total online sales will still be a fraction of the 5 trillion dollars that U.S. shoppers are expected to spend in physical stores by 2020. This podcast reviews some highlights of TimeTrade’s report titled "The State of Retail 2015."

What to Know About the State of Retail

According to Gallup research, very few non-management employees are engaged with their jobs. As a result, many small business owners often spend a disproportionate amount of their time dealing with the ramifications, including poor morale, lower productivity and higher turnover. Here are some tips that can help you take better care of your employees, who, in turn, will be better at serving your customers and your bottom line.

3 Ways to Boost Employee Productivity and Profitability

Black Friday as we now know it was created by and for the big-box stores. But that doesn’t mean smaller retailers need to be left out in the cold during the official kickoff of the holiday shopping season. With the right strategy, you can pull some of that increased traffic into your store and turn those discount-focused shoppers into long-term customers.

Tips for Developing a Black Friday Game Plan

According to the Human Capital Institute, companies with highly engaged employees enjoy profit growth three times the rate of their competitors. So taking a little extra time to get and keep your employees engaged with your business could generate a significant return. This podcast offers a few tips to drive employee engagement.

Happy Workers Are Good for Business

Everyone likes the idea of getting something for nothing, so splashing the word “free” across a page is a surefire way to get customers’ attention. The downside, of course, is that everything you give away will cost you something. This podcast explores how to make free promotions work for both you and your customers.

How Much Does Free Cost?

Do you know why clients choose to work with you over the competition? And if so, can you articulate this competitive advantage and use it as a tool to help you grow your business? A strong value proposition will help you connect emotionally with people, and people are more likely to do business with people they can relate to. This podcast reviews three tips to discovering your true value.

3 Tips to Find Your True Value

PNC Bank is a highly diversified and growing financial services organization spanning the retail, business and corporate markets. PNC Bank's retail and restaurants podcasts help keep you current on industry developments, and provide informative banking commentary for retail and restaurant businesses.

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PNC Bank Retail and Restaurants

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