SMITH BRAIN TRUST — Remember the Avon Lady? Back when neighbors still talked to each other face to face, she waited until the men went to work and then came calling with cosmetics and perfumes.

SMITH BRAIN TRUST -- It might not be the sexiest industry in the world, but investors foresee strong growth in the mattress industry, which generates some $14 billion in sales annually in the United States. There's intense activity both in the traditional part of the industry, dominated by a few large manufacturers and retailers, as well as in a plucky start-up sector that uses an online-sales model.

Here's good news if you're looking for discounts, bad news if you're in the retail industry: Third quarter 2015 was brutal for much of the retail sector. After Macy's reported that same-store sales were down 3.6 percent, its stock had its worst day in six years.

SMITH BRAIN TRUST -- The #RadioShackisBack campaign starring the likes of Orlando Jones and Carlos Mencia reminds consumers that the company remains alive after a Chapter 11 bankruptcy in February 2015 and the closure of more than half of its 4,000 stores. Nonetheless, a

By P.K. Kannan

SMITH BRAIN TRUST -- Apple is foregoing its customary blockbuster, in-store release of a new device with its Apple Watch.

SMITH BRAIN TRUST -- Drone industry experts say that while new federal regulations would limit many commercial applications for now, uses such as Amazon's planned package delivery and even pizza drop-offs will come eventually. The proposed rules are “a stepping stone for coming up with policies for how delivery drones are going to operate,” said Smith professor P.K. Kannan, who is researching how retail businesses can use drones. “I don't think the U.S.

Thursday, October 16, 2014, 7:30 p.m.; Sunday, October 19, 2014, 7:30 a.m. Digital technology is changing everything these days, including the face of marketing and retailing. How is this impacting consumer behavior and what’s up next? 

UMD-Smith Marketing Experts Comment on Holiday Retail Trends, Tactics  COLLEGE PARK, Md. – Nov. 20, 2014 – Post-recession shoppers, some cautious, others shortcutting to bargains, are increasingly “webrooming.” The tactic involves studying prices and products online, then purchasing from brick and mortar stores. 

Media Advisory COLLEGE, PARK, Md. -- Though Google and Amazon, among others, have begun testing delivery drones, they are at least five years from launching.  Business and engineering experts (below) at the University of Maryland are available to expand on their following comments. They say: