As the retail industry continues to closely watch the daily deal and flash site model for what “lessons” can be learned, it has become clear that exclusivity and excitement are the key components of success.

During this week’s Shop.org Annual Summit in Boston, MA, Rue LaLa CEO Ben Fischman sat down with Sucharita Mulpuru, VP & Principal Analyst, Forrester Research, for a candid Q&A. Fischman highlighted the growth of the mobile channel, as 28% of Rue LaLa’s business comes through mobile devices, and as much as 38% on weekends.

Mulpuru pointed to the recently released State Of Retailing Online Report (SORO), which found that 29% of retailers have grown their businesses via social marketing strategies.

Empowered, savvy shoppers are leveraging a variety of technologies and tools to make smarter shopping decisions every day through a variety of shopping channels. The convenience of online shopping has made it increasingly critical for retailers to find innovative ways to bring shoppers back into the brick-and-mortar store.

The store environment presents a number of challenges for retailers looking to keep shoppers at the shelves longer and increase basket size and shopping frequency. Those challenges include a plethora of SKUs, a variety of point of purchase (POP) displays and a growing number of private label products on the shelves.

The recent economic downturn has significantly impacted consumer preferences and shopping behavior. Private label (PL) brands have surged in popularity in response, and rather than trying to mirror competing brands, retailers are moving to develop packaging that promote the private brand as a first-choice alternative.

Think about your cell phone. You never leave home without it, right? But what does it actually do? Right now, people primarily use mobile devices for communications ― calls, texts, emails — and some extend the use to Internet, games, apps and music. But, what if we could broaden the role that mobile devices play in people’s lives even more to store and share the critical payment information we use every day?

Near field communication (NFC) technologies, combined with convenient contactless payment applications, play an increasingly important role in retail. Plus, with this year’s announcement of Google Wallet, this type of technology is getting more publicity than ever before. Not only can these applications drive revenue at a time when retailers need it most, they can also increase in-store customer satisfaction and loyalty.