Connectivity by MegaPath

The Holiday Retail Season is fast approaching, and smart businesses are preparing themselves to be able to better compete for the consumer’s dollar. The NPD Group has released their 8th annual survey, and the outlook for this holiday season indicates that consumers will be spending less, which they say reflects the overall state of the economy. However, there are various factors that will come into play, and the top 10 items consumers intend to buy as gifts remain apparel, toys, movies, books, electronics, accessories, music, video games, fragrances and food. The National Retail Foundation has released its eHoliday survey results, and they indicate that they expect many consumers may spend more of their money shopping online, indicating just how competitive the holiday retail season will be this year.

Black Friday, of course, will continue to kick off the biggest shopping weekend of the season. Retailers need to be ready this year to handle these transactions securely and efficiently. Consumers expect a fast transaction, and don’t want to wait for their credit card to be authenticated over a dial-up network as they stand at the register. Stores with MPLS VPN connections from the right partner will have an advantage, as they are able to more quickly and more securely process the transactions their customers are making. Not only will they improve their bottom line by saving money over those competitors who continue to use old-fashioned networks, but by working with MegaPath, they can be connected to a PCI compliant network (pdf) that processes transactions over a secure payment extranet, directly connecting retailers with credit, debit, gift and loyalty card processors.

The bottom line is that retailers are looking at a competitive holiday retail season, and it is important they head into this busiest time of the year with a great game plan, great partners and secure solutions that will improve their cost position. By working with MegaPath, they will have a partner with many years of experience in the retail sector, who can bring to the table Nationwide Broadband Coverage, who will serve as a Single Point of Contact, who has a Comprehensive Product Set, providing Secure Information Transport and a Managed Implementation, with 24/7 Proactive Customer Support, all with Best-in-Class Service Level Assurances. MegaPath Sales & Marketing teams also assist franchisors with communication programs designed to help ensure network implementations are consistent across the franchisee organization.