Press Coverage

Classroom teachers spent an average of $468 out of pocket on classroom supplies and equipment in the last year — amounting to nearly 1 percent of an average teacher's salary in the United States. Nearly eight in 10 teachers — 77 percent — spent "at least" $200, with some as high as $5,000, according to the latest results of an annual survey from SheerID and Agile Education Marketing . The results were based on responses from 674 educators.

It has become a common theme among schools across Rhode Island. In addition to buying new clothes, backpacks and notebooks as their children prepare to go back to school, parents in communities throughout the state are also being asked to help stock classrooms with basic supplies that used to be paid for by school districts. An Eyewitness News review of school expenditures shows Rhode Island public schools spent about $15 million on supplies during the 2016-17 school year, with districts often dedicating less than 1% of their total budgets to classroom necessities like paper, crayons and scissors. Now schools are turning to families to chip in, providing parents lists of needed supplies that can cost between $50 and $100.

Buckle is a proud champion of the military, and shows its support in many ways, including by sending care packages to soldiers overseas. Additionally, a percentage of the proceeds from select merchandise goes to military members and military non-profits. since 2016, combined donations have totaled more than $95,500.

Today music streaming service Spotify has announced the launch of Spotify Premium for Students in Australia (and 33 other countries, but that's less crucial). The deal boils down to a half-price subscription for ad-free music streaming and offline listening, meaning you'll only be playing AU$5.99 per month. Before you get excited and claim to be a "student of the life experience" or something, Spotify has partnered with SheerID to verify that you're an actual student before you can take advantage of the deal. You'll get 12 months at that price, before you'll need to prove your ongoing studenthood to resubscribe.

Above: Spotify Image Credit: Paul Sawers / VentureBeat Hot on the heels of the news that Spotify is launching a shiny new Facebook Messenger bot, the music-streaming giant has now revealed that it’s expanding its student-focused Premium subscription discount to 33 new markets. advertisement Spotify first introduced its half-price student subscription back in 2014, kicking off in the U.S. before expanding into the U.K. and Germany, but today’s news represents a significant increase in the student subscription availability. New markets include Austria, Australia, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, Japan, Hong Kong, and Indonesia. The 50 percent discount applies to all registered students for each year of their study. But, of course, students must first verify that they are indeed students by registering here. For the initiative, Spotify says it has teamed up with SheerID, a company that specializes in verifying consumer eligibility.

Hot on the heels of Pandora’s public launch of its on-demand streaming service, Pandora Premium, rival Spotify is looking to make its service more appealing to younger users by rolling out discounted student pricing to more countries around the world. The company announced today that its roughly half-priced version of its Premium service is now available to students who qualify in 33 new countries, in addition to the U.S., U.K., and Germany where student pricing is already offered. The new countries where student pricing is now available includes: Austria, Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Columbia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Ecuador, Estonia, Finland, France, Greece, Hong Kong, Hungary, Indonesia, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Lithuania, Latvia, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Philippines, Portugal, Singapore, Spain, Switzerland, and Turkey.

While serving in the U.S. Army in Oklahoma, Cody McGraw of Portland would help connect his fellow platoon members with military deals and savings. When they asked him where to find a list of the deals, McGraw had the idea for an application that would keep an updated account of stores offering discounts for veterans.

By now, it’s more than obvious that focusing on a single channel is not a long-term, sustainable business model. Even while storefronts are struggling, the organizations that master how to create a seamless experience for customers using in-store, online and mobile strategies are poised for growth.

Promotions and discounts are the prime force behind customer loyalty programs despite the fact 75 percent of companies are slicing margins to offer the discounts, reveals a new SheerID survey. This year more than 84 percent of companies plan to offer promotions and 64 percent will offer exclusive loyalty promotions to specific customer groups, such as teachers and military personnel.

Projects backed by Lane County’s technology leaders in recent years are starting to produce results, including improving access to affordable high-speed Internet service in downtown Eugene and deepening the pool of tech talent. “We will be one of the best places in the country for Internet access in 2017,” said Matt Sayre, director of the Technology Association of Oregon, an industry association.

Product promotions and discounts are clearly a driving force behind customer loyalty programs—so much so that according to new research from eligibility verification firm SheerID, even though a reported 75% of companies sacrifice margins to offer exclusive discounts, over 84% of companies plan to offer promotions in 2017. On par with the industry as a whole, 64% of those companies surveyed are already offering or planning to offer exclusive promotions to customers such as students, teachers and military members.

SheerID, which provides a solution that verifies whether consumers taking part in a promotion are qualified to do so, said its research suggested that the growth of targeted discounting, while strong, might be hampered by fraud. The company released a survey involving 76 companies in the United States that looked at exclusive promotions, their bottom line impacts and their effect on loyalty programs.

Voyager Capital – one of the Puget Sound region’s oldest and most active venture firms – is bringing on a Silicon Valley venture capitalist to allow the firm to make more investments in the Seattle area. James Newell leaves Menlo Park, California-based Institutional Venture Partners to join Voyager as a partner. Newell has more than a decade of experience working as an adviser and investor to technology startups including Casper, DoubleVerify, General Assembly, Sauce Labs and Zerto.

These are the best of times for retail. The industry is coming off a record-setting holiday shopping season that formally kicked off with Black Friday online sales of $3.34 billion — an all-time high, up 21.6% year over year. In all, holiday spending surged 3.8% to $196.1 billion in 2016, the strongest rate of growth since 2011, research firm Conlumino found.

Joanna Moore asked for playground equipment, Malia Gutierrez for iPad minis, and Marissa Phillips for phonics lessons. These weren't wish lists for Santa. They are requests from local teachers posted to the crowd-funding website, DonorsChoose.org, which teachers across the country often turn to to raise money for extra materials and supplies for their students.

Tableau, Costco and Symantec are just a few companies using new technology that expedites promotional campaigns, prevents fraudulent purchases, captures and retains consumers and uses analytics to analyze consumer-purchasing trends.

Teachers digging deep into their own pockets to finance their classroom supplies is a regular part of the school year for pre-K-12 educators, but a bill prefiled by state Rep. Jeff Jones, R-St. Simons Island, seeks to provide some relief. …Read More

Birdies for the Brave, a national military outreach initiative proudly supported by the PGA TOUR has partnered with SheerID, a point-of-sale verification provider, to verify status of active duty, Reserve, military retirees, dependents, and veterans interested in obtaining complimentary and discounted tickets offered at select PGA TOUR, Champions Tour, and Web.com Tour events.

49. SheerID (Eugene, Oregon) Oregon-based software company SheerID verifies the identities of online bargain hunters who use sites like Amazon. Desks at the office are made from repurposed doors, the company keeps lots of snacks around, and employees can work flexible hours or telecommute if they need to. …Read More

Birdies for the Brave, a national military outreach initiative proudly supported by the PGA TOUR has partnered with SheerID, a point-of-sale verification provider, to verify status of active duty, Reserve, military retirees, dependents, and veterans interested in obtaining complimentary and discounted tickets offered at select PGA TOUR, Champions Tour, and Web.com Tour events.

As a response to overwhelming interest in Bunion Booties by active duty military and other members of the military community, Bunion Bootie has introduced an exclusive Military Discount Program, protected by SheerID. Eligible active duty service men and women, veterans, retirees, and military spouses qualify for a 10% savings on each and every order placed with Bunion Bootie.

As more technologies are being developed to supplement and enhance existing point-of-sale (POS) systems, it’s becoming more important than ever for retailers to determine which types of software and applications are integral to reaching their end goals. While Google’s recent emphasis on e-commerce indicates that the big players see growth in online sales and revenue, well-known e-retailers like eBay, Etsy andPiperlime, a division of Gap, are opening showrooms, pop-up shops or developing other strategies that make them relevant in the brick-and-mortar space.

SheerID is a new national business based in Eugene providing merchants and service providers with opportunities to offer discounts to verified active duty military personnel and their families, and other targeted groups. David Shear, Marci Hansen and Jake Weatherly are co-founders. “We are a team of marketing geeks, programming whiz kids and creative account advisors who are transforming the world of ecommerce,” reads the company’s mission statement at sheerid.com.

When a theater or a sports team offers a discount to senior citizens or military veterans, what was intended to reward a customer sometimes can take more effort than it is worth. “So many venues that offer special discounts or free tickets to military service members and families or students, most, if not all, of those tickets, in terms of customer experience, means that you come here on the day of the event, wait in line at the box office, show an ID and gain access to a special price,” said Jake Weatherly, co-founder and CEO of SheerID.”

If perpetrators of retail crime are good at anything, it’s identifying vulnerabilities and exploiting them. Targeted discounts, used by retailers to extend their brand to new or existing customer groups, are precisely the kind of initiatives that are potentially exploitable.

This week Diane Fraiman, a partner at Voyager Capital, offers a look at the dynamics at play during the fundraising process. A fatal mistake when raising money is not giving yourself enough time. You have the disruptive model in a very large market and the team who can articulate the value. But do you have realistic expectations about how long it will take to raise that first institutional round?

SheerID, point-of-sale verification provider enabling merchants to offer discounts to special interest consumer groups, has announced its free active duty military verification solution created to help retailers and companies give back to the men, women and families who sacrifice for their country every day. The free, fraud-proof technology verifies active duty military without requiring a service member to share a social security number or any sensitive information, or become a "member" of any community.

SheerID, point-of-sale verification provider enabling merchants to offer discounts to special interest consumer groups, today announced its free active duty military verification solution created to help retailers and companies give back to the men, women and families who sacrifice for their country every day.

Last May, Amazon pledged to offer 10,000 service members, transitioning military personnel, and military spouses free membership to AWS Educate as part of Joining Forces, the initiative that works hand in hand with the public and private sectors to ensure that service members, veterans, and their families have the tools they need to succeed throughout their lives. AWS Educate helps individuals learn the skills needed for in-demand cloud computing jobs through AWS service credits, online career pathways, provision of micro-credentials, and the AWS Educate Job Board.

Fathead, the leading brand of officially licensed sports and entertainment wall graphics, today announced the launch of an everyday discount for military members and their families. This exciting new program, valid for 20% off all Fathead product, everyday, is open to United States active and retired service members, veterans and members of their immediate families. Fathead is partnering with SheerID, an automated verification solution, to validate military status.

Jake Weatherly, David Shear, and Marci Hansen met while working for a software company. But Jake and David had dreams of creating their own company. It wasn’t long before they quit their jobs and found themselves spending countless hours at Agate Alley Bistro brainstorming and trying to poke holes in their idea. Once they had an idea cemented, they worked through an accelerated business incubation program at Beaverton’s Open Technology Business Center.

Veterans Day is a time to celebrate the service of those who have sacrificed so much to keep us safe. While military members don’t serve for recognition, it’s nice to know that many companies and organizations set aside a day to honor their service. This page lists a variety of Veterans Day offers for our nation’s servicemembers – past and present. These offers include free haircuts, free oil changes, free car washes, retail discounts, and much more. Please see the following resources for more Veterans Day offers:

We asked industry leaders, movers, and shakers, and founders of some of the most innovative mobile companies the question: “How is mobile technology changing the world?” The answers tell a story of innovation, disruption, and a whole new business model that unchains consumers and businesspeople alike from not just the desktop, but from the office entirely.

SheerID, point-of-sale verification provider enabling merchants to offer discounts to special interest consumer groups, ended 2012 having achieved several company milestones. As of Q4 2012, SheerID is the most comprehensive point-of-purchase verification vendor, the only company enabling businesses to customize discounts and savings for special interest consumer groups, such as students, teachers and the military, and to verify their eligibility.

Special thanks to SheerID for sharing these Veterans Day deals and discounts for 2016. Calling all Veterans, Active Duty Military, Guard, Reserve, Retired … Veterans Day is your day, and rightfully so. Thank You for your service and sacrifices ♥ Here is a list of all the Veterans Day Freebies and Deals for you taking place this year! Don’t forget, some establishments require proof of service … such as the following: U.S. Uniform Service ID card, U.S. Uniform Services Retired ID card, current LES, show up in uniform, American Legion or VFW member card, or DD Form 214.

A Eugene web-design manufacturer hopes it means more jobs for the high-tech sector. KVAL’s Tom Adams joins us with more on the “Silicon Shire”.

With Veteran’s Day only days away, both large and small organizations across the country have partnered with verification company SheerID to extend exclusive offers to those who have served in the United States Military. As a token of their appreciation, brands such as Quiksilver and Men’s Wearhouse, among many others, are providing veterans and active duty military men and women, as well as their families, with offers only available to America’s heroes.

Startup SheerID is attempting to solve the problem of seamlessly providing customers with offers based on their verified segment. Perhaps you have heard of the oft-repeated marketing joke where a CMO says, “We know 50% of our marketing is working, but we do not know which 50%.” The advent of tools and technology that provide data on customer behavior and buying habits is useful to determine the success of your marketing campaign.

From a Portland startup vantage, our Seattle neighbors appear to have several key resources that our own burgeoning community craves. Aside from a major research institution seeding the local computer science landscape, it is home base for several venture capital firms. Oregon is not. That so-called “indigenous capital” is commonly thought to make it easier for nearby startups to find the risk tolerant investors needed to seed a vibrant startup community.

With retail sales continuing to gain traction throughout the year, there's little doubt that the holidays (November and December) will be a major revenue driver for U.S. retailers. According to eMarketer's holiday sales preview forecast, total U.S. retail sales will increase 3.3 percent over the same period last year to $884.50 billion, while e-commerce sales will jump to $94.71 billion, representing 10.7 percent of total holiday retail sales — the largest portion ever.

As the holiday shopping season looms, a new study from verification solutions firm SheerID has found that today’s consumers want an in-store experience without actually stepping into a store. Conducted in September 2016, the survey of over 500 U.S. shoppers who have made purchases online looked at shoppers’ habits, likes and dislikes, as well as holiday spending plans for the upcoming holiday season.

SheerID, the only instant online student verification provider, shares advice for how to reach college students this back to school season, with the help of four industry experts. SheerID went straight to the source and asked college students how and where companies should market their student discounts.

The holiday shopping season is well underway and while industry experts are predicting a prosperous season across the board, online sales will be its main driving factor with 61% of shoppers planning to do 50-100% of their holiday shopping online according to a new study by SheerID. It surveyed 500 US shoppers to find out their preferences in online shopping habits, pinpointing consumers’ likes, dislikes, and holiday budgeting.

According to a recent study by SheerID, 52% of college students buy their academic software in the college bookstore or through their college IT department. Only 34% of college students surveyed shop online for academic software, a surprisingly low percentage considering the advantages to purchasing software online.

The official start to the holiday season is less than one month away and retailers are hard at work perfecting their strategies to maximize their revenue-earning potential, which includes analyzing how consumers perceive a promotion. SheerID surveyed 500 U.S. shoppers, who have made purchases online, to look at their habits, likes and dislikes, as well as holiday spending plans. One of the most interesting insights from the survey centers around how shoppers define a good deal. Thirty-five percent of those surveyed want a discount of 30 percent to feel they are getting a good deal, while 26 percent need a discount of 40 percent or more. The majority (63 percent) of shoppers, however, can agree that, "it is important or very important that the products they buy are discounted."

U.S. consumers are expected to do the majority of their holiday shopping online this season, but there are still quite a few barriers that will have them abandoning shopping carts. For the most part, these shoppers expect the online experience to match that of the physical store, especially the checkout experience.

SheerID, a technology provider, has integrated its instant verification API with e-commerce platform Magento. As a result, retailers who use a Magento powered e-commerce platform will be able to protect their targeted discounts by using SheerID’s verification plug-in to confirm that customers qualify for special offers such as military or student discounts.

August research from the Berkeley Research Group shows loyalty programs will be a massive contributing factor for consumers when deciding where to shop this holiday season. A wide range of businesses, from mass merchandisers to office supply retailers, will feel the impact as 24 percent to 55 percent of consumers reported that access to loyalty programs will affect their purchasing decisions. With the National Retail Federation reporting holiday sales will see a 3.6 percent overall increase over last year, totaling $655.8 billion, it's important retailers are listening.

College students are notoriously frugal spenders. Their diet consists mostly of fast-food value menu items and anything you can buy in packs of 20. This college football season, METRO and the University of Houston have worked together to ease the pain on wallets by helping students reach UH games. Any University of Houston student with a valid school ID can ride for free. But METRO isn't the only place where university students can get a free pass, or as least a discount. According to Sheer ID, a company that verifies student identification for businesses, there are 21 million enrolled U.S. college students with a spending power of $417 billion.

A new twist on an old idea. The good folks at SheerID recently purchased a number of used doors at BRING and outfitted their entire office with desks and tables made from them. Instead of simply setting the doors on old filing cabinets, they worked with

As retailers across the country watch the back-to-school season start to slow down, we all know that they are far from breathing easy. September marks the beginning of fall, which means that the holiday season is just around the corner.

Consumers who demand tighter mobile security do so in large numbers. According to NTT Data, Inc., a Plano, Texas-based business and technology services provider, 75% of consumers say "guarantees against monetary fraud would accelerate mobile payment adoption." The report also found that almost 50% of financial consumers believe mobile wallets are less secure than cash. "Fear is a powerful inhibitor, and fraud fear is top of mind for many consumers," says Peter Olynick, senior practice lead in retail banking at NTT Data Consulting, Inc. "Consumers are not just worried about losing one or two transactions, they fear."

The long-simmering online sales tax issue may finally be reaching a boil. State governments are applying pressure on Congress to enact a law that would require online retailers to collect sales tax on most transactions, something many web-only and catalog retailers don’t do today. And if Congress doesn’t act, several states have passed laws that directly challenge the U.S. Supreme Court decision that has exempted many e-retailers from collecting sales tax, which could lead the high court to reviewing its 1992 decision within the next year or two.

Not so long ago, when mobile shopping and online purchasing were figments of our imaginations, loss prevention professionals were focused on catching criminals who lurked within brick-and-mortar retail. And while that is still an important part of retail loss prevention, it comprises a much smaller segment of the loss prevention specialist’s responsibilities in today’s digital world: In one U.S. retail fraud survey of over 100 companies, researchers found that store fraud prevention spending declined from 0.6% of sales to 0.5% year over year, while investment in online fraud prevention increased from 0.2% to 0.34%, a change representing millions of dollars in corporate spending.

Perception is king and, as most luxury retailers know, success is dependent on how a brand is perceived. When consumers think of luxury, certain terms often come to mind such as exclusive, high quality, special and expensive. All are indicative of an experience that consumers consider themselves lucky or privileged to have. Because brand integrity is key to any luxury retailer’s growth, many often shy away from a practice associated with less-sought-after brands: discounting.

Why is account based marketing (ABM) so hot today? More and more companies have reached the epiphany that while B2B marketing still has its place for B2C-style branding and awareness, demand generation should be uniquely B2B. And they’re changing everything from their organizational philosophies to the technology they use to accommodate the shift. Consider SheerID. Like many companies in recent years, SheerID found itself executing a B2B marketing strategy that wasn’t very B2B-ish. SheerID, which helps corporate clients such as Spotify, Foot Locker and the PGA Tour instantly verify consumers’ eligibility for special offers, adopted digital programs aimed at reaching as many people as possible within organizations and generating as many leads and contacts as it could. That’s the sort of elaborate fishing expedition more closely associated with B2C than B2B.

Jasmine Lauer, an English teacher at Sanderson High School, says she spends up to $200 of her own money on school supplies each semester. If North Carolina still had an annual tax-free weekend, Lauer could keep about $27 of that. It might not sound like much, but Lauer said every dollar adds up, especially as schools depend more on teachers and parents to buy tissues, dry-erase markers and glue sticks.

Why is account based marketing (ABM) so hot today? More and more companies have reached the epiphany that while B2B marketing still has its place for B2C-style branding and awareness, demand generation should be uniquely B2B. And they’re changing everything from their organizational philosophies to the technology they use to accommodate the shift. Consider SheerID. Like many companies in recent years, SheerID found itself executing a B2B marketing strategy that wasn’t very B2B-ish. SheerID, which helps corporate clients such as Spotify, Foot Locker and the PGA Tour instantly verify consumers’ eligibility for special offers, adopted digital programs aimed at reaching as many people as possible within organizations and generating as many leads and contacts as it could. That’s the sort of elaborate fishing expedition more closely associated with B2C than B2B.

Whether you’re a full-time student, holding part-time status and working, a veteran student (thank you for serving!) an Eagle alumni, a freshman, or a teacher adding more to your resume, I hope you find some time today to reward yourself whether you plan to hit the mall or shop online! Keep your valid HCC student ID, teacher ID, and veteran IDs on you at all times, because today is National Student Discount Day!

Summer is coming to a close, meaning it’s almost time for teachers to return to the classroom. Many teachers aren’t given a hefty budget to cover the cost of school supplies, so they’re forced to use their own funds to make up the difference. For the 2015-2016 school year, teachers spent an average of $487 of their own money stocking their classrooms, according to a survey conducted by SheerID and Agile Education Marketing. This can become a huge financial burden even when items are purchased during a teacher sale. Being a good teacher can cost a lot of money, so many retailers offer special discounts for teachers to help cover extra expenses.

Terry Rooney is a teacher, which means she is well versed in organization, planning and executing those plans, none of which seems to help when it’s time to pay her monthly bills. Rooney organizes her activities very carefully, budgets expenses prudently and plans to pay for it all at the end of every month, but it almost never happens. “Student loans,” she explained in a humble voice. “It’s a burden every single month and it feels like it’s never going to end.” Rooney is single, owns a home and just bought a new car when her old one died. She borrowed $37,000 to get her degree. Her first job was a pre-K teacher at a parochial school that paid $35,000.

Staples and pop singer Katy Perry are teaming up to provide full funding on all middle and high school literacy projects — as well as college and career prep projects — posted on DonorsChoose.org, a charity that has funded more than 700,000 classroom projects for teachers and has impacted more than 18 million students in the United States, according to a news release.

Back-to-school shopping is in full swing, and 81 percent of K–12 teachers say they now shop online for classroom items, according to a new survey released by SheerID, a verification company, and Agile Education Marketing. The third annual survey found that more teachers are using mobile methods to shop, and organizations that offer teacher discounts are more likely to gain long-term customer loyalty from teachers.

A recent Google consumer survey conducted by employee-verification company SheerID asked more than 500 respondents about employee-discount usage within companies. The results revealed that only 22 percent of workers use their employee discount programs often. However, if these programs were easier to use, 46 percent said they would use them more often.

A few years ago, most people would have scoffed at the thought of ecommerce becoming a necessity for retail success. Now, we know that it’s very much required for many retailers to survive. According to Forrester’s Ecommerce Forecast looking at the next few years in retail, ecommerce accounted for over nine percent of total U.S. retail sales in 2015, which is roughly $334 billion.

Eugene-based SheerID's latest product line could expand the startup’s reach even further into the identity verification market. The company's latest product, aimed at corporate customers, allows organizations to streamline employee purchase programs.

Subject lines can be tricky, especially when creating campaigns for cold leads. It’s all about spiking the readers’ interest enough to open your email. Try A/B testing a few different methods, like teasers, questions, and click-bait ("What you may not know about…"). Depending on your readers, different subject lines might illicit different responses, so try a variety to see what gets the best open rates. Keep your email copy and landing pages consistent with your subject lines to give your readers a cohesive user experience.

Running a successful influencer campaign has the ability to bring brand visibility that many marketers can only dream of. A study conducted by Schlesinger Associates found that 81% of marketers who have conducted an influencer marketing campaign agree it is effective. While putting together one of these programs may seem simple, there are a few tactics that shouldn’t be overlooked.

Simon Spencer, Director of Marketing Operations at SheerID, a discount verification software for large retailers, also sees ABM as a forcing factor that will help align Marketing and Sales. Spencer agrees that ABM can help to correct a broken design that has long lead to mis-alignment: “When you think about the traditions of B2B businesses and how they’ve set up their Marketing and Sales departments, it was set up to be a battle of the metrics.

On their own, each industry is rapidly evolving in Oregon. But to really see the forest for the trees, you need only look to Eugene-Springfield, where these seemingly unrelated industries are punching through the canopy. While the largest trees may command the most attention, it's often the smallest seedlings and youngest saplings - and in this case, a fire - that is sparking diversity in this green, economic forest.

"Tech is booming in the South Willamette Valley," says Matt Sayre, director at the Technology Association of Oregon, which opened a new office in Eugene early last year. Media stories increasingly refer to the area as the "Silicon Shire," he notes.

Lots of merchants will celebrate Memorial Day by honoring those who serve. Service members, vets, and family can save at Newegg, Sprint, Expedia, and more.

When it comes to an email marketing list, size shouldn’t be what matters most. Although upper management and potential partners may be impressed by sheer volume, the real value of your list should be measured by how actively engaged its subscribers are.

Are you a music lover? All you want is free music into your playlist with the best software? If you are a student than apart from studying, you will require a list of songs to relax or chill down in your free time.

The omnichannel evolution represents a unique opportunity for retailers to create loyalty that goes deeper than club cards or cashback rewards. Empowered by technology and data, retailers can now connect with their customers across several channels to meet their needs and offer personalized service.

Amazon is going the extra mile to get products to your door even more quickly. The e-commerce giant is opening two new fulfillment centers in New Jersey that would help the company quickly ship orders to a greater scope of its customer base, according to ChainStoreAge.

As Portland’s senior class of software companies eyes exits, a look at the next generation of up-and-comers. For several years now, Portland’s booming software sector has been defined by a handful of high-profile companies. You know their names: Puppet Labs, Elemental Technologies, Act-On Software, Urban Airship, Janrain, Jama Software, Simple and Viewpoint Construction Software.

Oregon tech companies SheerID and Concentric Sky traveled to Washington, D.C. with tech companies from around the U.S. for ACT The App Association’s App Economy Conference. Katie Keller of SheerID tells us that the company’s co-founder and CEO, Jake Weatherly, and Concentric Sky President Cale Bruckner, “will spend three days with senior members of Congress discussing contentious issues that plague companies across the U.S. and in Oregon.”

For the past seven years, the Oregon Athletics Department has used the annual Spring Game as a platform to honor and pay tribute to active and veteran members of the military. Each of the five branches are represented in pre-game festivities: Army sets up an inflatable obstacle course, Army National Guard brings Humvees and other large vehicles, Marines interact with a chin-up bar challenge, Air Force allows fans to use a Halo jumper and night vision gear, Coast Guard flies in a helicopter, and Navy does a push-up challenge.

The Thunderbirds are once again inviting all First Responders as well as Active, Reserve and Retired Military personnel and one accompanying individual to be their guests (free of charge) at the 2016 Waste Management Phoenix Open. This is the 15th year that the tournament host Thunderbirds have extended this free invitation as a small gesture of thanks for all these heroes do for our country.

The new Portland team of Eugene-based tech company, Sheer ID, has a tradition of making desks out of doors, so when the company opened a new location in NW Portland, they naturally had to carry that tradition. Repurposing doors all found at Rebuilding Center, the Portland team was able to create more door desks full of character to make them feel at home in their new space.

JEGI held its first Emerging Company Dinner of 2016 on April 6th at the 21 Club in New York City starting at 6PM with cocktails. These events are structured as roundtable discussions and provide a stimulating evening of great conversation and networking.

Herd Freed Hartz, LLC (HFH) announced today that it placed Rocky Scales as Senior Vice President of Sales at SheerID. The position is based in Portland, Oregon. Mr. Scales was previously Vice President of Sales at OnDot Systems in San Jose, California. The search was conducted by Kelley Pecis, Managing Director, and Jeff Markham, Managing Director, at HFH.

For several years now, Portland’s booming software sector has been defined by a handful of high-profile companies. You know their names: Puppet Labs, Elemental Technologies, Act-On Software, Urban Airship, Janrain, Jama Software, Simple and Viewpoint Construction Software.

Being a student in the age of the Internet has its perks. From accessing databases from the comfort of your dorm room to applying for internships and jobs online, the academic side of being a 21st century student is more than enough reason to celebrate. But today, as online shopping becomes more ubiquitous than ever, several retailers are also extending special offers to students.

The World Golf Championships-Cadillac Championship showed its appreciation to military members and their families by hosting a Military Appreciation Day ceremony before the opening round on Thursday at the historic Blue Monster course at Doral.

SheerID, a company specializing in eligibility verification tech and located in Eugene, Ore., announced two new executives are joining its team in its new Portland, Ore. office. Julianne Matzell has been appointed the VP of Product and brings over 15 years of experience in software design, go-to-market strategy, and product management. Prior to SheerID, Matzell was with Portland-based Janrain, where she directed its product management. Scott Hollingsworth will be the VP of Finance for SheerID. Prior to this, Hollingsworth worked with The Clymb as its director of analytics and then as its VP of finance.

T-Mobile seems to be offering a new deal, running a new promotion or otherwise, drawing attention to themselves in a new way every week. Mostly consisting of ideas from CEO John Legere, this tactic has worked pretty well for the past few years in regards to obtaining new customers and, in some cases, helping to give current customers more value and thus more reason to stick around. On February 16, the in-your-face carrier announced a new promotion aimed at those involved with the school system. Specifically, K-12 faculty, college faculty and college students can get $48 off most devices in T-Mobile’s stable with a new service on the device and with only a few caveats. The deal is online only, so you’ll have to wait for your phone to ship. Additionally, K-12 students are seemingly left out in the cold, but if you happen to be a high school student over 18 and living on your own, it may be worth giving your local T-Mobile store a call.

Molly McLeod, marketing project manager at graphic wall decal marketer Fathead, shares how her brand created a successful targeted discount campaign to the military community that increased engagement with this segment by 700%.

One of the things I love about entrepreneurs is that we have all learned some important lessons in business from doing it the hard way. Failing cheaply and quickly is how we stay in business. So when you come across some sage advice from someone who's struggled and prevailed, it's really great to share their insights so that our fellow entrepreneurs reading these insights will avoid these same mistakes.

While many question whether or not technology is having a positive effect on education, Jeremy Johnson provides four ways in which technology makes education more affordable and accessible to more people.

As companies and brands, we are all in the business of attracting new buyers, in hopes of turning them into loyal customers and ultimately reaping the benefits of customer lifetime value. While marketers are putting time, money and effort into these campaigns, a recent Accenture survey on customer loyalty found some disappointing stats. They determined that only 28% of consumers are loyal to their brands, and 31% are willing to recommend a brand to others. These numbers are much lower than many companies want to see

ABBYY North America went through a signi cant business transformation in terms of our go-to-market strategy, with a huge emphasis towards the online channel and electronic software distribution. Avangate has been instrumental in helping us build our online business, enabling us to take some major leaps forward regarding business optimization, integration with 3rd party applications, new online sales channels and improving commerce KPIs to support our growth and essentially improve customer experience through frictionless selling

Promotional ticket giveaways are often the classic sticky wicket. If you do it right, you will fill seats while building your brand in the minds of your fans or attendees. If not, it can leave many seats unscanned or unused, or worse yet, used by unintended recipients.

Scott Hollingsworth has been hired as the Vice President of Finance at SheerID. He is a results driven finance and accounting professional who brings experience in full cycle accounting, systems, and operational and financial analysis. He will be based in the Portland office.

Jane Yates has been hired as the Head of Corporate Legal at SheerID. She brings over 15 years of experience working in the Eugene area in business law, real estate law, intellectual property law, and trademark law. She will be based in the Eugene office.

Portland and Oregon technology companies are riding a wave of popularity and cool that attracts workers, and companies, from higher-priced and more stressful locations such as Seattle and San Francisco.

Education: Bachelor of arts, religious studies, bachelor of science, geography, University of Oregon. Professional accomplishments: Founded SheerID with two partners in 2011. The company has grown to a 31-employee leader in the verification technology industry. SheerID’s technology enables clients, such as Amazon, Microsoft and Spotify, to verify customers’ eligibility for special promotions for groups, such as college students or military members. SheerID recently received a $5.3 million venture capital investment led by Voyager Capital.

Since the 20 under 40 awards began in 2008, 160 rising stars in the local business community have been honored. They have come from all walks of life, working in a variety of demanding jobs from health care to medicine, technology to the arts. Despite their differences, they share some common ground.

Many businesses so graciously offered free meals and deeply discounted deals to military personnel on Veterans Day this past Wednesday. However, there are many retailers who launched military discounts recently and are offering them throughout the month of November and beyond.

Marketing automation is the name of the game in today’s complex, ever-expanding marketing and sales landscape. The marketing automation trend spans businesses of all sizes, from SMBs to the world’s major corporations. What business doesn’t want to reach tons more prospects with minimal effort and automate the lead nurturing process as much as possible?

At times covering tech can feel like waking up in Wonderland, with headlines about very nascent ideas getting millions of dollars in venture capital. As that becomes the typical story out of Silicon Valley and San Francisco, stories like that of Eugene startup SheerID’s sound downright strange.

It's no secret that teachers spend money out of their own pockets for their students' school supplies, classroom decorations, or extra activities. But do art teachers spend more than other teachers on such expenses?

It’s been six months since the Technology Association of Oregon expanded its presence in the Southern Willamette Valley with the addition of Matt Sayre as TAO’s new Director in Eugene.

From science and math to art and music, teachers impact the lives of our young society each and every day. In many ways, teachers provide the building blocks to a successful future for our children and provide a sound foundation of both academics and creativity.

At times covering tech can feel like waking up in Wonderland, with headlines about very nascent ideas getting millions of dollars in venture capital. As that becomes the typical story out of Silicon Valley and San Francisco, stories like that of Eugene startup SheerID’s sound downright strange.

SheerID, the leading customer verification solution, announced today the close of a $5.3M investment round led by Voyager Capital. SheerID provides enterprises the trusted eligibility verification needed to aggressively compete for new revenue streams by attracting unique user segments.

A Seattle venture capital firm has made a big investment in a small Eugene startup — the fast-growing tech firm SheerID. SheerID announced Tuesday that Voyager recently led the Series A financing round that raised $5.3 million for SheerID. Arnold Venture Group, another Seattle venture capital firm, also invested.

Identity management software maker SheerID is adding its first institutional investors to its investor pool as part of its $5.3 million Series A round.

Eugene startup SheerID said Tuesday it has raised $5.3 million, backed by Seattle venture firm Voyager Capital.

Eugene, Oregon-based SheerID, a startup developing technology to help companies verify eligibility of customers for certain discounts and programs, said today that it has raised $5.3M in a funding round.

This summer we, at SheerID, surveyed 737 active servicemembers, veterans, retirees, and military family members on their online shopping behaviors, with the help of our friends at Military Discounts Central and Army Wives 101.

Identity management software maker SheerID is continuing the fundraising storyline from August with what looks like a $5.3 million funding round.

In August, the App Association hosted a Developer Education Series event with Silicon Shire in Eugene, Oregon. A number of our members hail from this region and have launched companies thriving in the mobile economy.

The start of the school year rapidly approaching- if it hasn’t already started- leaving many teachers, parents and students with anxiety over the start of the school year. How will this school year go? Will I make any new friends this year? How can I get my teachers to like me? And the dreaded… How much are these back to school supplies going to cost me? As a teacher, you want your students to have all the supplies necessary to have a productive and successful school year, and with dwindling school budgets for supplies, that often leaves the teacher holding the bag when it comes to paying for supplies for their own classrooms.

It's back to school time and Bunion Bootie is proud to announce its Teacher & Staff Discount Program. Now, qualifying private and public K-12 teachers and staff can save an additional 10% on every order placed at BunionBootie.com. After completing a quick verification process on the Bunion Bootie website by providing their name, school name, and school zip code, verified teachers, administrators and faculty will instantly receive a promotional code. Home school teachers may also be verified through a secondary electronic verification process that may take up to 20 minutes once submitting their qualifications. Bunion Bootie welcomes any staff or educator to visit the Bunion Bootie website to begin the quick online verification process.

Back to school means it's time to shop for new school supplies. Many schools want students to bring more to the classroom than just a backpack and notebooks. Copier paper and cleaning supplies also make the list. Jericka Duncan reports on why parents have to help front the costs.

School is back in session after a long summer break. We hope to help students come back fully prepared, so read below for tips and advice from educators, professionals, and alumni, as well as items students should consider for their College years.

College students and those registered for next year can get Best Buy student discounts as part of the College Student Deals that allows users to stack coupons on top Best Buy sales to score huge deals on new notebooks and other items like Beats headphones.

Back to school is big business… but you already know that. What you may not know, however, is just how much families and teachers alike are spending as the start of the new school year takes place.

Despite the 2015 Minnesota Legislature increasing K-12 education spending by $525 million, each year teachers pay hundreds of dollars out-of-pocket and parents see long back-to-school lists each summer.

Kent State University will show its appreciation to military members and their families by hosting a military-exclusive hospitality chalet during the World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational at the historic Firestone Country Club on Aug. 5-9.

Although we are in the dog days of summer, Toby Prince, owner of All About Education, is already thinking about the beginning of school. The store owners hosted the seventh annual "Back to School Luau" Wednesday that offers discounts and giveaways of educational supplies for educators.

An annual study that asked K-12 teachers about their spending habits revealed that the average amount teachers spend on supplies (using their own money) is $500.

Teacher verification provider SheerID and Agile Education Marketing today released the results of an annual survey in which they ask K-12 teachers about their spending habits. For the second year in a row, the average amount of their own money that teachers reported on their classrooms was about $500.

Darlington Raceway, the Veterans of Foreign Wars Foundation and Sport Clips Haircuts are partnering to raise funds for the VFW’s Help A Hero Scholarship Program.

It hasn’t always been the case that sales teams and marketing departments have been closely aligned. In fact sales and marketing alignment has been a hotly debated topic.

Right now the clock is ticking. Back-to-school time is right around the corner. Parents are not the only ones opening their wallets for money for the children. Teachers these days are spending more and more of their own money to pay for school supplies.

Shopping for all the things you need to get back to school—books, supplies, clothes and more—can put a serious dent in your budget. For the 2013-2014 school year, educators spent an average of $513 out-of-pocket on classroom supplies, instructional materials and other work-related purchases, says Marci Hansen, CMO for SheerID, a company that verifies teacher and faculty credentials. The finding came from last year’s survey of teachers, in partnership with Agile Education Marketing.

The National Retail Federation today announced the recipients of its annual loss prevention awards: Ring of Excellence, Law Enforcement Retail Partnership and Retail Case of the Year. Recipients will be honored during an awards ceremony at NRF PROTECT, the retail industry’s largest event for retail loss prevention executives in North America. NRF PROTECT will take place June 23 – 25 at the Long Beach Convention and Entertainment Center in California.

Send an email. Build a landing page. Make a phone call. Rinse and repeat. Do your lead generation tactics need a boost? Are your prospects bored by your sales advances, leaving you with fewer new leads month after month?

The Portland-based Technology Association of Oregon, which advocates for the state’s tech industry, recently opened in Eugene its first — and so far, only — satellite office. In early March, Matt Sayre was chosen to lead the local office.

SheerID provides eligibility verification solutions that make it possible for retailers to instantly verify customers qualify for special offers. “For example, Foot Locker uses our platform in their stores to verify that customers who want to use the military discount are affiliated with the United States Armed Forces, and Spotify uses our online solution to ensure that only currently enrolled college students can get their student pricing,” explains Marci Hansen, a co-founder and CMO at SheerID.

The teaching profession is one that demands dedication, commitment, and sacrifice. Indeed, most teachers, whether in a public or private school setting, often go beyond the “call of duty”, motivated by their desire to create a stimulating learning environment and to ensure their students’ success.

I find habits really interesting. One of my favorite recent reads was Charles Duhigg’s excellent book on the subject. I love Nir Eyal’s blog on behavior engineering. One of my favorite interview series is Copyblogger’s look at how smart people write.

Cale Bruckner of Concentric Sky and Jake Weatherly of SheerID visited Washington, D.C., last week to join software and app companies from across the country for the ACT | App Association 2015 Fly-In conference.

Fifteen years in the home-improvement business taught Matt Fineberg that no one pulls the trigger on a big-ticket project—such as a new roof or windows—without first getting a handful of estimates.

The House Intelligence Committee will introduce its information sharing bill today, downtown sources confirm to MC. The language still hasn’t circulated, but insiders expect it to resemble the Senate Intelligence Committee’s CISA bill with liability language drafted by the House Judiciary Committee, which was already included in the House Homeland Security Committee’s draft bill. The markup could come later this week, a more accelerated timeline than the Homeland Security Committee, which has only circulated its draft language with the intent to introduce in April. We anticipate having lots more for you later today.

Net neutrality talks continue, but Dems aren’t thrilled -- The top telecom Republicans in Congress are continuing to work on their net neutrality bill, hosting meetings with tech companies, public interest groups and ISPs to discuss the draft bill from Senate Commerce Chairman John Thune and his House counterparts Reps. Greg Walden and Fred Upton. But some Democrats say they’re cooling to bipartisan cooperation after being given less than two days to digest a new FCC reauthorization bill that would cap the agency’s funding and a limited role at the recent net neutrality meetings — where staffers of the top committee Democrats are invited to observe, sources tell MT.

Sports are a huge part of today’s culture. There are millions of fans around the United States who dedicate time every week to watch, or even attend sporting events. During the 2014-2015 season, the combination of the Super Bowl, NCAA Football National Championship, and the FIFA World Cup Championship brought in:

Each business has a story. No matter if the business is a Goliath like Wal-Mart, or a local business owned by a couple or family, the business has roots in an idea. For each business owner, the story of their journey can range from monetary needs or the passion for a unique project. Each story is different though the reasons may remain the same. No matter the tale, the background behind each and every business is what fuels each entrepreneur and brand.

When Sal Khan agreed to help tutor his niece in middle school math, he had no idea he was embarking on a journey that would lead to the creation of Khan Academy, a nonprofit that offers “a free, world-class education for anyone, anywhere.”

Active, reserve, veteran and retired service members and their families are eligible for free or discounted tickets at some of the nation's top golf tournaments this year, including this weekend's AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am in Monterey, California, and The Players Championship in Florida in May.

The local tech community is upbeat about 2015. Many said they are expecting their businesses to grow as the economy picks up, so they’re making plans to hire and, in a number of cases, line up more office space.

Over the last decade, holiday shopping has slowly evolved, and numbers are now showing that physically going to a store or the mall to shop is becoming a thing of the past. According to the National Retail Federation, 44% of holiday shopping will be done online in 2014. With so many people transitioning to online shopping, the customer’s online experience is becoming as important as customers’ in-store experience. Retail giants as well as small businesses are restructuring their marketing plans to ensure that they can give consumers a consistent omni-channel experience.

Over the last 10 years, customer acquisition costs have skyrocketed. Building customer loyalty dramatically impacts your bottom line because the biggest costs come from acquiring a customer. Profits come when you get that same customer to repeatedly purchase from your business.

Washington would be a less exciting place without its out-of-town visitors. And “fly-ins”—when interest groups bring their members to town to lobby legislators and agency officials—do more than just keep the hotels full and the Metro lines long.

Eugene startup SheerID is only three years old. But it recently raised $2 million from angel investors, has a client list that includes Fortune 500 companies, is gearing up for significant growth next year and may be poised to become the The Next Big Thing to come out of Eugene’s tech community, according to people in that community.

Eugene-based SheerID, which makes identity verification software, has secured $2 million in funding from its existing group of angel investors. According to documents filed Thursday with the Securities and Exchange Commission, there were 23 investors involved in this latest round.

Jay Roberts has been appointed VP of Research and Development at SheerID. Working out of Eugene, Oregon, Roberts brings domain expertise to the company and added depth and sophistication in the areas of platform scalability, reliability, and data security.

Fashion Week may be over for New York and Milan trendsetters, but college marketing firm and media company Her Campus Media is bringing collegiates to the catwalk with its College Fashion Week tour this October. And the brand is giving its millennial audience the front-row treatment.

Summer may not officially end until Sept. 23, but for techies around the country, it's officially fall - time to put all that summer funding to good use, those new hires to work and those platform upgrades and acquisitions to the test.

On today’s episode of The Boomer Business Owner, Charlie interviews honorary Baby Boomer and the CEO of SheerID, Jake Weatherly. SheerID is the pioneer of instant customer eligibility identity verification services for retailers.

It’s SXSW Interactive PanelPicker time, or the time of year when various members of the technology community (and, increasingly, the marketing community) make the call for votes on topics to be covered at next year’s global tech bonanza in Austin, Texas. Voting is open through Sept. 5.

In the United States, over four million hard-working K-12 teachers bear the responsibility for educating our children, but too often they’re not given the tools they need to do their jobs. In many school districts, the budget barely covers the basics, so when back-to-school season hits, many teachers find themselves pulling out their own wallets to buy supplies for their classrooms.

With school right around the corner parents are rushing to retail stores to get the best prices on back-to-school gear. While most retailers target sales to parents on clothing, school supplies, and gadgets, teachers are also spending their own cash to fully equip their classroom.

Retailers’ investments in mobile show no signs of slowing down as these marketers continue to explore how to stay top-of-mind in light of how the path to purchase is evolving, according to exhibitors at eTail East 2014.

Special offers are common place in today’s market - especially for niche groups like military, teachers, senior citizens, students, etc. In order for companies to make sure that individuals qualify for certain offers, however, companies need to have some way to verify a consumer belongs to that group or demographic.

I haven’t been to a Six Flags since I was 17 and would love to go back. Unfortunately I don’t live near California or else I would take part in this amazing military promotion on July 12th at Six Flags Magic Mountain.

In the wake of data breaches at Target, Sony, Neiman Marcus, and eBay, consumers are becoming more wary of how their personally identifiable information is being collected and used. Post-Heartbleed, data security has entered the popular lexicon, and it is a growing concern for everyone from CTO’s at large companies that are vulnerable to cyber-attacks to shoppers who feel like they’re taking a risk every time they use their credit cards or log into an online account.

Retailers must be sensitive to customer concerns about security, particularly around their personally identifiable information and financial data. As we discussed on Friday in my post, Ramping Up Your Omnichannel Experience to Maximize ROI, as retailers expand into e-commerce and mobile transactions by forging new partnerships with third-party service providers, precautions must be taken to protect customers’ data.

Retailers need to make smart choices when selecting third-party vendors. While differentiators like price, customer service, reporting, and extra functionality often play into the decision making process, many retailers do not think about the impact their contracts with third-parties may have on their customers. Meeting customer expectations is the key to maximizing ROI and maintaining a loyal base, and third-party solution providers can either help retailers exceed those expectations or undermine their efforts.

Eugene-based SheerID is continuing to grow, partnering with for-profit and nonprofit enterprises to validate legitimate discounts. Just in time for Memorial Day, SheerID is now serving Winter Park Resort, American Century Championship, Good Home Co. and several others offering discounts for active duty military, reserves and veterans.

e retail landscape has shifted rapidly in recent history, as consumers have embraced new technology. With the rising popularity of laptops, iPhones and tablets, retailers have wit- nessed a sharp increase in online sales and mobile transactions. Branding Brand recently released an index that demonstrates that mobile orders have increased 130% and revenue from mo- bile transactions has risen 168% in the last year.

Inspiration and drive can come from the unlikeliest of places. Where does success in business come from? It could be the logical outcome of a good education and favorable circumstance. Success might be born from tenacity, drive or passion--or all three.

Spotify is making a land grab. In a space that continues to fill up with competition from small startups and incumbents alike, Spotify is trying to acquire as many new users as possible with the launch of a 50 percent discount for college students.

College kids today have it easy. Back in my day, we had to illegally download our music from Napster, and occasionally buy shiny discs called “CDs” from disgruntled music majors at “record stores.”

Streaming music services are getting more popular. How much more popular would they be if they were cheaper? Spotify will start finding out today. The subscription music company is cutting the price of its premium service in half, from $10 to $5 a month, for college students in the U.S.

Offering special promotions, experiences, and discounts to targeted groups of customers is a proven strategy for reaching new customers, increasing incremental revenue, and strengthening brand loyalty.

When it came to offering military discounts online, apparel retailer Buckle took a simple route: It only offered the discounts on orders shipped directly to APO/FPO addresses. “We were operating using limited information,” says Cassie McDonald, project manager for Buckle. “Our concern was that we weren’t properly serving our military guests and their immediate family.”

As you expand and aim to maximize your market share in 2014, promoting your exclusive offers, in-store via mobile, and online, should be a high priority. According to PriceGrabber.com, 66 percent of consumers expect retailers to offer better prices and discounts this year because of the economy, meaning your marketing campaign should include a variety of deals and discounts to entice buyers to connect with your brand on a personal level and spend more with you instead of your competitor.

Jake is the CEO and Co-founder of SheerID, the pioneer of instant customer eligibility verification services for retailers. A fearless backcountry skier, bat-out-of-hell mountain biker, global trekker, and rare car collector, Jake doesnt do anything part way; he is one of those people who seems to have 28-hour days and 8-day weeks.

SheerID has grown to 21 employees and has moved from 1175 Charnelton to a larger building at 2451 Willamette St. The now vacant Charnelton building was previously occupied by the nonprofit Forest Service Employees for Environmental Ethics. SheerID specializes in verifying valid customers for businesses, nonprofits and other organizations that do targeted marketing.

Attractions like LEGOLAND California and the PGA Tour and e-commerce brands like Fathead and ProFlowers, offer discount prices for veterans, active duty military and their families.

Local tech firms are on a hiring binge. At least 50 companies belonging to the Silicon Shire — a local tech networking group — are hiring, according to its website. They range from Symantec’s 1,400-employee center in Springfield, which has 90 openings, to the eight-employee Eugene office of a Florida-based software developer, 3Cinteractive, which is “always looking to add any time we can find highly qualified people,” Chief Operating Officer Mark Smith said.

Omni channel, multi-channel, webrooming, showrooming—the abundance of buzzwords that are used to describe the changing state of retail (and that spellcheck can’t even recognize) indicate that we are in a period of transition and innovation.

11 entrepreneurs shared with me over 20 plus ways how to increase sales for small business owners in this multi-series post. Often I write about marketing strategies you can use to grow your business and I love asking other entrepreneurs who’ve succeeded to share their winning strategies. I’ve grown 2 separate million dollar plus businesses using completely different marketing strategies in each.

This past July Boca Raton, Florida-based office and school supplies retailer Office Depot announced that it had deployed handheld devices to its more than 1,000 locations. The devices enable employees to provide customers with instant access to extended product information, availability, reviews, and the option to pay for their purchases anywhere in the store.

While leveraging big data by using software, apps and point-of-sale (POS) technology can help retailers handle everything from holiday hiring to inventory management in the days leading up to and following Black Friday and Cyber Monday, one of the most useful applications for big data technology this holiday season is in countering showrooming, a phenomenon that’s been on every brick-and-mortar retailer’s mind as they make preparations for their busiest season of the year.

With the holidays right around the corner, it's a good time to take a look back at the impact technology has had on consumer spending and shopping habits, especially on Black Friday and Cyber Monday. Here's a review of the top technology influences on e-commerce over the past decade, as identified by SheerID, a retail technology provider.

SheerID, a point-of-sale eligibility verification provider enabling merchants to provide exclusive offers to special interest groups, launched its verification technology for professors today. Aimed to help retailers and organizations provide special offers to nearly two million higher education faculty and administrators across the country, the fraud-proof platform verifies shoppers by just a name, email address and institution. Unlike other verification technology providers, SheerID does not require consumers to hand over sensitive personal information.

Retailers who advertise discounts to specialty groups, such as military, students and first responders, can create goodwill, brand loyalty and positive word-of-mouth. This is the idea behind SheerID, which helps merchants eliminate fraud when providing discounts for these types of audiences.

E-commerce now dominates the retail discussion but many merchants are struggling. Struggling to keep their existing customer base, struggling to keep those customers loyal, and struggling to understand, find and implement methods to accept payments for a more commerce-savvy user.

Although there were a few memorable highlights in the busiest shopping period of 2012, last year's holiday season will not go down in the history books as one of the most successful for retailers. What can retailers expect this year, and how can they prepare now?

For the PGA Tour, showing large audiences of spectators is a crucial part of managing its televised events, the Professional Golfers Association says. One way it manages crowd levels is to provide vouchers for thousands of free tickets to members of the United States military and their family members.

SheerID, founded in Eugene earlier this year, has this week added the UO Duck Store to its client base. SheerID will help the store confirm alumni status for discount offers. The store had a problem last year when a coupon code went viral and nonmembers redeemed discounts. SheerID also confirms military status and other targeted groups, according to CEO Jake Weatherly.

The loyalty and reward solution, once considered a valued-added service included in the overall service package, is becoming central to the paradigm shift occurring in merchant sales. The rise in the importance of loyalty thus represents a potentially more profitable way to sell merchant services.

While the Marketplace Fairness Act sits on Capitol Hill, retailers and consumers across the nation are already speculating and planning for what will happen if the bill passes into law, a move that will inevitably shift the landscape of the retail community and respective customer retention.

Instead of simply waiting with baited breath to see whether or not the Marketplace Fairness Act passes the House, many online retailers are taking a proactive approach by putting programs in place now to ensure that if and when a new online sales tax requirement goes into effect, they’ll be ready.

A retired Army lieutenant colonel recently wrote in to say he has “significant security concerns” about two programs that have been developed to give companies ways to verify that people are veterans before giving them special deals and discounts.

SheerID, point-of-sale eligibility verification provider enabling merchants to provide exclusive offers to special interest consumer groups, closed H1, 2013 by celebrating the most successful six months in the company’s history. As of Q2, 2013, SheerID processed over seven times more verifications than the same time in 2012, encompassing military, student, teacher, nonprofit and now first responder identifications.

Today SheerID, the leading provider of online verification technology, announced the launch of its first responder verification platform. In addition to verifying military, college students, teachers, and associations online, via mobile, or at POS, SheerID can now verify emergency medical technicians, paramedics, firefighters, and federal or local police officers. SheerID’s technology allows retailers to offer exclusive discounts, special offers, or memberships to a targeted segment of consumers.

For years, the PGA Tour has offered members of the military and veterans free of deeply discounted tickets to its gold tournaments and special events. But it hasn’t been easy. People had to show proof of their service to the volunteers working at the gate, who weren’t always familiar with various military ID cards and paperwork.

For years, the PGA Tour has offered members of the military and veterans free of deeply discounted tickets to its gold tournaments and special events. But it hasn’t been easy. People had to show proof of their service to the volunteers working at the gate, who weren’t always familiar with various military ID cards and paperwork.

The proposed Marketplace Fairness Act is not a new tax. But it will certainly feel new to Internet and catalog shoppers. And, if they're looking for someone to blame for the increased costs of buying goods and services online, the companies they do business with make the most likely target.

Rockin' Green Eco Friendly Cleaning Products (http://RockinGreenSoap.com), an up and coming leader in the green cleaning movement, gets a new website to match their personality and improve customer interaction.

In today’s economically challenged environment, businesses are getting more and more creative in what they offer in the way of discounts to targeted groups such as the military or college students. Unfortunately, these types of special offerings open the doors for some people fraudulently claiming to be a member of the discounted group.

Using SheerID's online military verification services, five companies are launching military discounts to celebrate Memorial Day 2013 and bring the focus back to those who have served in the United States Armed Forces.

New technology is helping active-duty troops, family members and veterans take advantage of more discounts. The idea is to verify that customers are actually who they say they are so companies have some assurance that discounts aren’t going to fraudsters posing as members of the military community.

I was [at WebEx] from 2005 to 2006. I was there when the company was preparing for an acquisition. It was a fantastic experience and I was fortunate enough to be there during the acquisition. I stayed there for a quarter after the acquisition before I was wooed back to Palo Alto Software.

Jake is the co-founder and CEO of SheerID, an online shopping cart platform which provides instant, seamless group verification. For more than 15 years, Jake has focused his career on entrepreneurship and small business growth. He has traveled the world to teach business and marketing planning to small businesses, consultants, large enterprises, universities, and government organizations.