Why Join ACRA
To encourage the exchange of information and the development of professional activities among members, ACRA holds annual meetings, publishes a newsletter, holds workshops, and serves as a clearing house of resources for the teaching and research of the retailing industry. The activities undertaken by the membership of the Association are intended to accomplish the following:
- Enhance the professional development of the membership;
- Promote retailing as a profession;
- Elevate the standard of education in retailing by strengthening the curriculum of college and university programs;
- Provide a clearinghouse for information on advances in retail teaching methods and retail research;
- Stimulate the exchange of ideas and retail research among the membership;
- Form strategic alliances with other related professional, business, and industry organizations.
- Encourage, support and disseminate retail research among academicians, practitioners, and students.
- Bridge international academic and retail boundaries
To help achieve these goals, ACRA holds two annual conferences:
- ACRA/NRF Conference: ACRA members meet in conjunction with NRF Convention to enhance professional development of members.
- ACRA Spring Conference is held to share research, teaching methods, and update retail competence of members
Other conferences and/or workshops are also held. For instance, ACRA co-sponsors a tri-annual conference with the Academy of Marketing Science.