Here’s what I am reading right now.

Retailers feast on free Facebook tools, shun ads

Krishan Agarwal, president of online luxury watch vendor Melrose.com, told a roomful of attentive Internet retailers last week how Facebook had helped his company generate about 25 percent more sales in two years.

Then he dropped a bombshell: Melrose spent less than $1,500 on Facebook ads during that time. Everything else the company did with Facebook was free.

Minimum Presentation Reduction: Inventory Optimization in the Retail Sector

Minimum Presentation Reduction is an inventory optimization technique that allows retailers to realize substantial reduction in the presentation quantities of SKUs by optimizing the Planogram Quantity per Facing (PQPFs) defined for them in their associated planograms. With this inventory optimization technique, retailers can reduce inventory costs and increase margins and total sales.

Walmart, Procter & Gamble drive mobile shopping with QR codes

Walmart and Procter & Gamble are placing QR codes on bus shelters and trucks to encourage on-the-go consumers to scan and instantly buy products from brands such as Tide, Pampers and Gillette.

Shopper Sentiment: How Consumers Feel About Shopping In-Store, Online, and via Mobile

Which do US consumers prefer: In-store, online, or mobile purchases? Among U.S. consumers surveyed by Nielsen earlier this year, the answer is a resounding, “that depends…”

Online purchasing was rated the “Overall favorite” by 59 percent of those surveyed, as well as the “Easiest” (68%) and “Most convenient” (68%). But people trust traditional stores the most when making purchases: Bricks-and-mortar stores won the highest marks for “Most reliable” (69%) and “Safest” (77%).

As the newest channel, Mobile has a long way to go before it gains broad acceptance. It was in third place across all measures except for two: It was a distant second to Online for “Most convenient” (38%) and “Easiest (27%).

A Closer Look at Mobile Enablement in Retail

The retailers that are really driving these initiatives forward have made mobility a strategic initiative to drive customer engagement. They are looking to mobility to enable new business processes across the organization, from engaging the customer, to empowering associates, to enabling management to be more responsive to business and customer needs.