Cold Feet Lead to Cold Sales

An item appeared in the Monday edition of NARMS Newsfeed that caught my attention. In the linked article, AP Retail writer Anne D’Innocenzio introduced us to a disturbing trend among shoppers. More and more shoppers are picking up items on shopping trips, only to leave them out once they reach the check-out line. It’s another dynamic that illustrates the change in shopping behavior.

One retail consultant estimates that at least 25% of shoppers’ trips to a store result in an abandoned or, “orphaned” item. This compares to the recession in the early 1990’s when the figure was 15-20%. The norm for orphaned items is around 10% during good economic times. Of course, this behavior results in lost sales, but it also creates a labor dilemma for stores and store personnel because somebody has to return abandoned product to the shelves.

There are several reasons for the upswing in this behavior and most of them have to do with consumers watching every penny. There are a couple of observations that one could make.

The first is that the behavior outlines the importance of being on the shelf in the first place. If the consumer is willing to ditch a product at checkout, they’re in a cost cutting mode. You don’t want to give them a reason, like being out-of-stock or hard to find, to not put your product in the cart in the first place.

The second observation revolves around getting the product back to the shelf. The opportunity is hard to quantify, but is there a service to be explored that helps retailers get orphaned product back to its home? Or is this a matter of service reps being instructed to check at the checkout for product when checking voids and out-of-stocks?

The third is the impact that the increased behavior is having on out-of-stock levels and planogram maintenance. The time it takes for a product to make it back to the shelf after being abandoned could easily cost sales.

Lost opportunities are not something that vendors and retailers can afford right now. The extent that we are educated to marketplace dynamics and consumer behaviors makes us all more valuable members of the go-to-market system.

Aug 21, 2009 IRI / Morning NewsBeat

Below is the list of articles you will find for the week ending 8/21/09 edition of Retail Industry News.

- Walmart Expands Rx Delivery Program
- Sansolo Speaks: Food, Glorious Food
- MNB’s Tales Of Tesco
- Battle Between Walmart & Target To Evolve As Economy Recovers
- Drawing The Line On The Supermarket Checkout Experience
- FastNewsBeat
- The MNB Wal-Mart Watch
- The Balance Sheet
- Executive Suite

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Upcoming Webinar: The Art of Selling to Your Retail Services Client

At times we all need a jolt of inspiration and a dose of courage. If you or your staff are feeling stuck and need some new inspiration or reaffirmation of something that was always there, we have just the fix for you. Join Christine Clifford Beckwith, CSP, as she guides us though – The Art of Selling Your Retail Service Client – in the next installment of the NARMS Webinar Series. The event will take place on Tuesday, August 25 at 1:00 PM CDT. The NARMS Webinar series is sponsored by Natural Insight and brought to you through the technology of Associate Member ReadyTalk.

Working from the premise that you are not just selling at-retail merchandising and marketing services – you are really selling yourself, Beckwith will spend an hour with our members to provide a treasure of selling and marketing insights that even the most veteran sales rep will benefit from. In an age where everything in business moves at the speed of light, Beckwith offers powerful and remarkable tips that will distinguish you from all of your competitors.

NARMS first heard Beckwith’s inspirational words at the 2009 Spring Conference in Colorado Springs . A top sales producer, best selling author and award-winning speaker, Beckwith will again call on her varied life experiences to relate her message. Diagnosed with cancer in 1994, Beckwith’s life was turned upside down. Using her combined wisdom, humor, insight and lifetime of experiences, she has weathered life’s challenges to author several books, including a motivational portrayal of her own story. She also has founded The Cancer Club, the world’s largest producer of humorous and helpful products for people with cancer.

The session is complimentary to NARMS members as a membership service but is also made available to other interested persons at a non-member rate of $99.95. We encourage you to share this invitation with other co-workers and anyone else who might gain value from this information-sharing opportunity.

What is to be gained by participating? Start with a deepened understanding of the surprising and often counter-intuitive effect of the four keys of marketing: your price, brand, packaging and relationships. Add a conviction that you can and should review your prices or fees. Obtain a clear understanding of several concrete steps that will improve your relationships and appeal to prospects, clients and everyone else for that matter. And finally, gain a sense of pleasure from being informed, helped, entertained, amused, inspired, and moved. Click on this link to register now. NARMS 8/21/09

ISI Network LinkedIn Group Tops 500 Members

ISI Network has reached another milestone with our LinkedIn group — 500+ members from 20 countries and still growing every week.

Our opt in email registrations (the e-Letter list) are just shy of 1,000 and we hear the volume of the In-Store Implementation discussion increasing across the industry. The news stories and discussions found on our group page are an excellent barometer of this.

I encourage you to stay interested; stay engaged; and encourage your colleagues to participate: http://instoreimplementation.com .

Best regards,
Jamie Tenser, Director

Aug 14, 2009 IRI / Morning NewsBeat

Below is the list of articles you will find for the week ending 8/14/09 edition of Retail Industry News.

- Morning In E-America
- Whole Foods CEO Weighs In On Health Care Debate
- Take Out Business Expands For Restaurants In Recessionary Climate
- Walmart Looks To Turn NYC Into A Wondrous Toy, An Aisle Of Joy
- Safeway Announces Price Cuts In DC Market
- Sansolo Speaks: The Moment is Now
- Walgreen Looks To Mickey D’s For Growth Strategy Inspiration
- FastNewsBeat
- The MNB Wal-Mart Watch
- The Balance Sheet
- Executive Suit

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Report Looks at Ever Changing Consumer

One of the pleasures of a weekly column is the opportunity to call new research and thought leadership sources to your attention. We are indeed lucky to have forged great relationships with leading providers of such information. In the August issue of its Times and Trends newsletter, “Channel Migration: The Blurring of Shopper Loyalty,” IRI provides another such viewpoint.

According to IRI, the economic recovery is causing consumer behavior to adjust yet again. About the only good thing to be said about the recession was that consumer behavior became easier to understand, price was the most important aspect of buying decisions and channels and categories that featured low price emerged the winner. But just as fast as that happened, it has changed again. On the way to recovery, energy and food prices have declined and the economy has begun to snap back. Feeling the effects of these dynamic shifts, shoppers have responded well to adjustments made by grocery, drug, and dollar channels. This report suggests that because of these adjustments, three fourths of consumers now shop at five or more channels.

Due to these observations, IRI prescribes these actions for CPG manufacturers: “Identify new growth opportunities and risks through ongoing category and brand channel migration analysis, align distribution, marketing and merchandising strategies with channel migration patterns,” and finally, “Protect and grow share among top shoppers.”

The challenge to CPG manufacturers is how to accomplish these action items. The challenge to the members of NARMS is how to supply at-retail merchandising and marketing support to align with trading partner objectives.

Identifying shelf level information, flawlessly executing merchandising strategies, and maintaining superior shopping conditions are at the heart of what NARMS members do everyday. It is important for all of us to keep our fingers on the pulse of what the leading thinkers are doing and saying so we can tailor our messages and offerings. Reading IRI’s monthly Times and Trends and other such sources is a good way to stay in that loop. Click here to download the report.

Unilever, Kroger Step Up E-Coupon Efforts

Add Unilever and Kroger to the growing ranks of digital coupon partnerships, as consumers become more and more willing to seek out high-tech sources for old-fashioned deals.

“We are working with a number of our customer partners to deliver digital coupons, to ensure that Unilever delivers coupons where consumers are looking for them — via print or online,” says a Unilever spokesperson. “We are currently partnering with Kroger on a digital coupon program in which consumers can go online, register their Kroger loyalty cards and add Unilever coupons to them.”

Read the entire article…

Summer Issue of NARMS Today in Email Boxes Now!

Not too long ago we told you about how NARMS Today was going digital. The proof arrived in email boxes shortly thereafter. The issue focuses on the question: where will NARMS new members come from? The answer is you. As usual this edition is jam packed with feature articles and columns from NARMS leadership, division leaders and topical experts. Today, we will focus on the content.

When you click on the link to view NARMS Today, you will be struck by the powerful functionality of the digital features. However, don’t let this distract you from the value packed content that make up its pages. NARMS Chair Don Kollar leads it off with, “Membership has its Privileges and Responsibilities.” NARMS President and CEO Dan Borschke then gives us a state of the association update in, “Sustainability is More Than a Green Condition.”

Event Marketing Division Chair Julie Nichols shares, “Important Lessons,” in the first of the divisional update columns. NARMS Vice President Ken McKenzie then encourages us in his Ken’s Keystrokes Column with, “Pursuing Your Field o Dreams.” Kelly Baker, Manufacturer’s Division Chair, strikes a musical cord with, “Do What You Do Well”. IFBA Division Chair Jim Hall then explains why, “Going Top to Top Gets Better and Better.”

Continuing the Divisional Chair columns, MSO leaders Steve Workman and Carlos Roca ask the question: “Why is Our Annual Spring Conference So Important?” PIC Division Chair Chuck Belding then encourages all of us to be flexible in, “Business as Usual…Not!” Associate Member Division Chair Charlie Fanning talks about his relatively new division in, “Get to Know Your Associates!”

And what NARMS today would be complete without some practical advice from the experts? William F. Kendy talks about, “The Importance of Building Rapport”, Jim Pancero continues his, “You Can Always Sell More” series, and Dave and Laura Butler offer, “The Mojo Chronicles, How to Stay Up in Down Times.”

Add the regular news, features and great photography and you get an issue that lives up to the high standards of the publication. Click here for your copy.

Spring Conference Agenda Coming Together

Last week, we spent some time in this space discussing all of the great sponsorship opportunities available for the 2010 NARMS Spring Conference, scheduled for April 17 – 20 at the spectacular Saddlebrook Resort in Wesley Chapel, Florida near Tampa . You will be happy to know that the agenda for the four day event is coming together nicely. Today, we’ll spend some time bringing you up to speed on some of the things we are working on.

The goal of 2010 program is to attract additional manufacturers, retailers and service companies to the event. On Monday morning, we have scheduled a Manufacturer Connection Session. In this format, six manufacturers will each be assigned a 30 minute segment in which they will make a 10 minute presentation on their unique needs and requirements from their at-retail merchandising and marketing partners. The balance of the half-hour will be used to field questions from you, the audience. This will take place from the General Session Stage and will include a facilitator so that we can move efficiently through the morning.

On Monday afternoon, we will duplicate the format with a Retailer Connection Session. The hope is to feature at least three retailers and possible more if it can be arranged. Contact us here at NARMS HQ if you have any contacts who might be interested in participating in this first of its kind event.

Other plans include the Opening General Session which will focus and highlight on the initial results of our on-going RORI research. Bart Flaherty of GroupM and Phil Lauria of Pelco Advisors will facilitate.

The Trade Show will feature more effective exhibit hours in 2010 with Sunday show hours from 1:00 to 6:30; Monday from 12:00 to 6:30; and Tuesday from 7:30 to 12:30. Lunch will be available on the trade show floor on Monday with certain exhibitors featuring food items directly at their booths. The Sunday night and Monday night receptions will also take place in close proximity to the Trade Show for added exhibitor exposure.

We are also looking at enhancing the networking time that we have together. The Golf outing will return to the Sunday Morning time slot where it will not interfere with any of the programming schedule. The Association will also be hosting a Pool Party Networking Event on Tuesday afternoon from 3:30 to 5:30 PM. As is tradition, we will end the conference with a Closing Night Reception and Dinner with Southern Comfort flair.

As you can see, the 2010 Spring Conference is shaping up nicely. We hope you will mark the dates in your planners and start making arrangements to attend. It just wouldn’t be a great conference without you.

Natural Insight Expands Management Team with SaaS Veteran Steve Brown

Sterling, VA, August 11, 2009 — Natural Insight, developer of a fast and flexible solution for managing distributed workforces, today announced the appointment of Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) veteran Steve Brown as the company’s new vice president of sales and business development. The move comes as the company is rapidly expanding its marketing and sales efforts, thanks in part to an infusion of investor funds and continued strong demand for innovative workforce solutions.
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