Merchandising as the Value Platform

In a week that saw Wal-Mart move the U.S. marketing team under the direction of their chief merchandising officer, SymphonyIRI Group released the latest edition of Times & Trends which calls merchandising the platform to communicate value to the consumer. For members of the at-retail merchandising and marketing services industry, this is more evidence that the importance of in-store is ever increasing in the minds of brand marketers and retailers.

Wal-Mart says that their move is designed to better coordinate communication between the merchandising and marketing groups. They see the two previously separate functions as transforming due to the Internet, social media and mobile technology. SymphonyIRI defines merchandising as displays, feature ads, feature and display combined and price promotion. Their findings may have something to do with the Wal-Mart move. Here are a few of the positive trends:

-Merchandising support is increasing in 47% of categories across CPG channels. Drug channel merchandising activity is outpacing the grocery channel and the industry.

-CPG marketers are focusing their support toward home-based food rituals.

-Merchandising support of private label remains below that of national brands, but the gap is closing.

- Categories seeing the highest lift across merchandising tactics are well-represented by those that cater to recession-driven behaviors.

Times and Trends goes on to reinforce that shopper marketing, an individual level 360 degree view of the consumer, is the most effective current marketing program. Merchandising tactics that have been around for a long time have found new life as a way to support the shopper marketing approach.

The members of NARMS are well positioned to help retailers and manufacturers fully usher in this new age. Price promotions do not work if consumers do not find the products on-shelf. Displays are not effective in the back room. Feature ads need to be met in the store with an equally well executed and consistent message. Great plans can fall apart in the last three feet. You can download the latest Times & Trends report by SymphonyIRI by clicking here.

Jan 27, 2012 IRI/Morning NewsBeat

Below is the list of articles you will find for the week ending 1/27/12 edition of Retail Industry News.

- Dollar Stores Keep Growing, But Prices May Not Be Main Driver
- Wegmans, Whole Foods, Publix Make Annual List Of Best Workplaces
- Walmart Makes Major Executive Changes, Names 1st Woman To Run Sam’s
- Trader Joe’s Looks To Mile-High State
- Bottom Dollar Schedules 14 Pittsburgh Openings
- Office Depot To Test PayPal’s New In-Store System
- Sansolo Speaks: Life’s a Niche
- Hy-Vee Launches New Smartphone App
- Kroger Expands Pet Prescription Business
- Supervalu Gets New Chief Marketing Officer
- FastNewsBeat
- The MNB Wal-Mart Watch
- Executive Suite

Click here to read Retail Industry News

The Evolving Store

Today we turn our focus to new survey from Deloitte as reported on by DSN Retailing Today. The survey and the subsequent report listens to what retail executives expect to happen in the next five years both in their physical stores and on-line. As members of the at-retail merchandising and marketing industry, it is imperative that we are in-touch with these views because they represent huge opportunities to be of service to our manufacturer and retailer customers.

These executives say that e-commerce will increase three-fold over the next few years, but most still believe the store will remain the primary point-of-purchase. The increase in on-line sales will change the way retailers use their talent, physical space and store operations to keep pace with increasingly personal customer demands. The study surveyed 39 retail executives in September 2011.

As a result of the study findings, Deloitte offers four recommendations to retailers. The first is to refresh strategy to enable operating models to respond quickly to marketplace changes. The next is to realize that there in nothing more important than the in-store experience. The third is to revisit talent management to allow store associates to deliver the more tailored experience. The fourth is to connect and integrate customers from the store to a multi-channel experience.

All four of these recommendations advocate loudly for the use of the at-retail merchandising and marketing service companies of NARMS. These merchandisers, professional installers, event marketers, national and independent brokers are all about mobilizing quickly and tailoring the customer experience to changes in the marketplace and resulting strategic shifts. Outsourcing key shelf level initiatives can maximize store assets and allow sales associates to focus on their core competency, taking care of the customer.

As the report suggests, the physical store will still be at the epicenter of this multi-channel world. You can download your copy of the Deloitte report by clicking here.

Jan 20, 2012 IRI/Morning NewsBeat

Below is the list of articles you will find for the week ending 1/20/12 edition of Retail Industry News.

- NRF Forecasts Retail Industry Sales Growth of 3.4 Percent in 2012
- Lynch Stepping Down As Winn-Dixie CEO
- Target To Focus On Competing With Online Retailers In 2012
- Marketing To A Food Stamp Environment
- Sansolo Speaks: Who You Calling Old?
- Starbucks Pre-Paid Card Generating More Than A Quarter Of Its U.S. Revenue
- Walgreen’s In-Store Health Clinics To Allow People To Make Appointments
- Dollar Stores Keep Growing, But Prices May Not Be Main Driver
- Wegmans, Whole Foods, Publix Make Annual List Of Best Workplaces
- FastNewsBeat
- The MNB Wal-Mart Watch
- Executive Suite

Click here to read Retail Industry News

Survey Seeks to Sharpen Services

One of the big takeaways from the 2011 NARMS Spring Conference was how much our manufacturer and retail customers value field representative background screening and certification. They want to know that the people who are going into the store environment to provide at-retail merchandising and marketing services are good ambassadors of their brands. The leadership at NARMS is looking for your participation in a very brief on-line survey designed to help us get a clear picture of member needs in our Background Check and NARMScertifyU program. Click on the link here to participate in the survey. Only one person per company is asked to reply.

In 2005, NARMS teamed with USIS to provide affordable pre-employment screening services. For $8.00 per screening, the USIS/NARMS package included: A criminal records search via the USIS Widescreen National Criminal records database including sex offender data as provided by the various state sex offender files, social security number verification, search of the USMA National Retail Theft Database, wanted persons security screen and a terrorist watch list. USIS is now part of HireRight. USIS will conduct background screening for government accounts and HireRight for commercial accounts including NARMS.

NARMScertifyU is an online learning center offering career-building courses. Developed by industry experts for marketing service representatives, NARMScertifyU provides a valuable learning experience. Online courses can be accessed anywhere and anytime, so the reps can learn at their own pace. It is an opportunity to become an industry expert by earning course certificates. Each certificate earned leads to more exposure and credibility. The increased retail knowledge improves job satisfaction and overall success for all stakeholders.

It is only through your continued involvement as members that we can continuously improve our services, and together, raise the profile and professionalism of what it means to be a member of NARMS. Please take a few minutes of your busy day to take the survey. The data will be used to evaluate and evolve these tools.

Jan 13, 2012 IRI/Morning NewsBeat

Below is the list of articles you will find for the week ending 1/13/12 edition of Retail Industry News.

- Wegmans Extends Winter Price Freeze
- Sansolo Speaks: When the World is Watching
- Instore Health Clinics Grew In Number During 2011
- Publix To Open Two Stores In Charlotte, NC Market
- Garden State Tries To Pry FreshDirect Out Of New York
- Kroger Goes Back To School With Robotic Vending Machine
- FastNewsBeat
- The MNB Wal-Mart Watch
- Executive Suite

Click here to read Retail Industry News

New Products Cater to Smart

Bruce Horovitz of USA TODAY writes that consumers want to feel smart, and that leading CPG manufacturers are picking up that trend for their 2012 new product launches. He points out that new products are the life blood of brands, bringing innovation and refreshing image. Getting those new products cut-in on retail shelves is one of the many valuable services provided by the members of the at-retail merchandising and marketing community.

Getting new products to the shelf more quickly brings the sales lift sooner and begins to justify product development costs. That is the cold, hard financial truth but there are other benefits to the product being on-shelf and in-stock. The influence of social media on new product introductions is hard to ignore. Horovitz cites one study that says the number of people who turned to Facebook, Twitter or YouTube went from 24% in 2010 to 49% in 2011.

The social media factor seems to be driving quality over quantity. Mintel predicts that U.S. product introductions will shrink in 2012. That continues a trend. The firm estimates there were about 37,600 new product launches in 2011 and 41,000 in 2010. With less new products, more is riding on their success.

People who feel smart tell their friends. Those friends go to the store looking for the product and expect to find it. The means to get the message out is simple and less costly, but the margin for error gets thinner. A product that does not work or one that is not on the shelf will drive the brand message quickly the other way. The sword cuts both ways.

This is where we come in. NARMS members can help keep the manufacturers promise of innovation by making sure a new product makes it the last few feet of the journey, to the shelf. Just as the margin for error is thinner for brand marketers, it is no longer good enough to just have people in the stores. These companies will be looking for in-store service that makes them look smart, the same motivation as the consumer. It is only through industry best practices, training, integrity of field force and innovation that we can take our place in this evolving go-to-market system.

Jan 6, 2012 IRI/Morning NewsBeat

Below is the list of articles you will find for the week ending 12/30/11 edition of Retail Industry News.

- Numbers Add Up To More Men Doing Supermarket Shopping
- Bashas Announces Refinancing, Giving It Stability, Security
- Sansolo Speaks: Snapshot Of The Future
- Walmart Acquires Mobile App Development Agency
- Dollar General To Open 625 Stores In 2012
- For Second Time, Publix Gets Out Of Online Shopping Business
- Safeway Sells 16 Genuardi’s Stores To Ahold-Owned Giant
- FastNewsBeat
- Executive Suite

Click here to read Retail Industry News

People Make the Difference

A few days ago, Supermarket News Editor-in-Chief David Orgel wrote about what he believes is still the most crucial factor in the success of retail outlets. In-store interactions between customers and associates, he says, is a fundamental that is often overlooked as we seek to improve the customer experience.

Orgel cites an article in the Harvard Business Review that states customer-associate interactions will become even more important for a couple of reasons. With all of the technology and social networking that we now experience in our day to day lives, a trip to the market could be just what that doctor ordered to help fulfill our fundamental need for human interaction. In a sense, everything old is new again with attention to personal service potentially becoming a key driver in retail success.

The key will be to maintain both a high degree of direct customer interaction with the speed, efficiency and convenience brought by in-home shopping. In effect, the need to execute efficiently at-retail becomes even more important. For a case in point, look at how a professionally staffed and run product sample or demo can greatly enhance both the customer experience and the bottom line.

This argument can be taken to another level. The members of NARMS, at-retail merchandising and marketing service specialists, are in the people business. No amount of shopper data can have the desired effect on retail without the human element of getting boots on the ground to implement the resulting in-store initiatives. Most of this work is done during business hours meaning NARMS member associates are trained to interact with customers because they are often identified as store staff.

The bottom line is that it is harder than ever to get customers in the store, so it is more important than ever to make sure their experience makes them want to buy from you and return often. Great looking stores with well-stocked shelves, convenient adjacencies, strategic displays and well run samples are a means to this end. We all need the human touch.

Dec 30, 2011 IRI/Morning NewsBeat

Below is the list of articles you will find for the week ending 12/30/11 edition of Retail Industry News.

- Whole Foods’ Mackey: On Surviving The Recession And Income Inequality
- Costco’s Old And New CEO On The Present And The Future
- Bi-Lo To Acquire Winn-Dixie And Take It Private For $560 Million
- Sansolo Speaks: Back to Basics
- Dollar Stores Said To Be Having A Green Christmas
- FastNewsBeat
- Executive Suite

Click here to read Retail Industry News