Dec 16, 2011 IRI/Morning NewsBeat

Below is the list of articles you will find for the week ending 12/16/11 edition of Retail Industry News.

- CVS Goes The Self-Checkout Route
- Sansolo Speaks: Mislabeled, Misunderstood and Mismanaged
- Supermarkets Go All-Out For Dining In
- Price Chopper Makes Changes At The Top
- Ric Jurgens To Retire As Hy-Vee CEO
- NRF Forecasts 3.8 Percent Increase In Holiday Sales
- The Humanity Of Great Retail
- Making The Healthy Choice The Easy - And Profitable - Choice
- McDonald’s To Highlight Suppliers In New Ads
- FastNewsBeat
- The MNB Wal-Mart Watch
- Executive Suite

Click here to read Retail Industry News

Shoppers Have Many Faces

We have all read endless stories about the changing face of the American shopper. We know that consumers are being conservative in their buying choices and that impulse purchases are down as shoppers stick to the shopping list and hunt for deals. The most recent Times & Trends from SymphonyIRI does a great job of digging beneath the surface of these general trends, helping us to truly understand motivations. They also give retailers and manufacturers some practical tips that we, as at-retail merchandising and marketing service professionals, can look forward to executing in-store.

Despite the relatively negative headlines in the trade press, there are some brand marketers succeeding at retail. We are also coming off one of the most robust Thanksgiving weekends in history with Americans spending $7.4 billion more than last year, according to the National Retail Federation. We can no longer say that the American shopper only has one face. Successful CPG companies have come to realize that there are many. And they are figuring out ways to reach them.

Here are some steps to success for CPG companies according to SymphonyIRI: Trip Management helps to segment consumers using analytical tools to recognize opportunities in the store. Store Level Opportunity Analysis can identify missed opportunities using POS data. Maximize Packaging by focusing on channel and trip type. Understand Channels and focus on growth channels like Dollar and Drug stores. Look at Assortment to determine optimal use of shelf space. Always keep an eye on Pricing in regards to channel, competition, private label and promotion.

The paragraph above only scratches the surface of the Times & Trends report and you should definitely download and take the time to read and digest it. All the suggested approaches for manufacturers and retailers ultimately run up against the same challenge of at-retail execution. As providers of those services, the members of NARMS should stay tuned and be ready with offerings that understand and meet the needs of trading partners.

Getting Off the Elevator

Successful salespeople are constantly learning from other salespeople. The art of listening to and learning new techniques and behaviors is important because it mirrors the necessity of listening to and learning from the customer. In a recent guest column in Progressive Grocer, sales consultant and author John Graham challenges the use of the age-old elevator speech and calls it a barrier to true and effective communication. The column is valuable advice for members of the at-retail merchandising and marketing service industry as they seek to help retailers and manufacturers solve problems at the store and shelf level.

It is important to be able to quickly verbalize who you are, what you do and why that is important to a potential customer. According to Graham, that is exactly why so many sales managers insist that their salespeople develop a good canned speech. But in the same breath, sales managers will tell you that salespeople talk too much. The balance, he says, is being able to draw a potential customer into a conversation where there is two-way communication happening.

That is good advice, but how exactly do you do that and still articulate your goods and services? Graham offers several real world examples that you can start using today. It starts with having an intriguing statement when someone asked you what you do. The statement draws people in and compels them to ask for more information. The information in the elevator speech is still important to the conversation, but the need to blurt it out all at once is not.

Even if it is not your job to directly sell, we are all salespeople for our organizations, departments and even our ideas. Great communication at all levels of business involves selling to some degree. Take a few minutes to click on the link and read the story, and then forward it on to a fellow salesperson or colleague. We all learn best when we learn from each other.

Dec 2, 2011 IRI/Morning NewsBeat

Below is the list of articles you will find for the week ending 12/2/11 edition of Retail Industry News.

- Thanksgiving Weekend Shopping Shows Promise For Holiday Season
- Private Brand Growth Continues As Retailers Are Emboldened
- Sansolo Speaks: Black Birds and Fridays
- Retail Giants Push For Frustration-Free Packaging
- Consumer Confidence Rises. Really.
- Save-A-Lot Opens New N.C. Warehouse To Support Area Growth
- Surge In Credit Card Usage Could Presage Broader Trend
- Walmart Unveils Shopycat, New Social Media Application
- Walgreens Offers 300,000 Free Flu Shots
- Loblaws Takes To The Ice With New Toronto Store
- Bottom Dollar Good For Delhaize Bottom Line
- Mobile Commerce Gaining Momentum
- Supervalu Joins Better Buildings Challenge
- FastNewsBeat
- The MNB Wal-Mart Watch

Click here to read Retail Industry News

Consumer Confidence and At-Retail Activity on Rise

A couple of recent developments have raised the hopes of retailers, CPG manufacturers and the U.S. economy as we enter the New Year. A huge Black Friday brought the start of what is expected to be record holiday sales and served as a gauge into the collective intentions of American consumers. That sentiment was confirmed this week with the release of The Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index for the month of November.

Any analysis of the economy has to be taken with a grain of salt. The roller coaster ride of predicted recoveries and subsequent dips have proven to be undependable at best. However, the Index improved greatly in November after six months of steady decline. The Index now stands at 56.0, up from 40.9 in October. This index was set at 100 in 1985. The Present Situation Index increased to 38.3 from 27.1. The Expectations Index rose to 67.8 from 50.0.

Consumers that say business conditions are good increased to 13.3 percent from 11.2 percent. Those claiming jobs are plentiful increased to 5.8 percent from 3.6 percent. Consumers who anticipate business conditions to improve over the next six months increased to 13.6 percent from 10.2 percent. Consumers expecting more jobs in the months ahead rose to 12.9 percent from 10.8 percent. Those who anticipate an increase in their incomes rose to 14.9 percent from 11.1 percent.

For members of the at-retail merchandising and marketing industry, another important indicator is the level of in-store activity being sought by retailers and manufacturers. Judging by the level of activity on NARMS JobBank and NARMS Recruiter database, business is healthy as NARMS members are seeking more merchandisers to help them fulfill their mission at stores around the country. If your company is staffing up for the surge, consider taking out an expanded listing on www.narms.com and availing your company to the original, best and most cost effective recruiting tool in the business. If you already use the Recruiter, pushing your jobs to the forefront by advertising on NARMS JobBank can help you secure the best and brightest.

Nov 25, 2011 IRI/Morning NewsBeat

Below is the list of articles you will find for the week ending 11/25/11 edition of Retail Industry News.

- Sansolo Speaks: Boldly Go…Everywhere
- Seattle Considering Ban On Plastic Bags, Fee For Paper Bags
- Texas Supermarket Chain Partners In Cancer Treatment, Prevention Effort
- Survey: Retailers With Best Customer Service
- FastNewsBeat
- The MNB Wal-Mart Watch
- Executive Suite

Click here to read Retail Industry News

Nov 18, 2011 IRI/Morning NewsBeat

Below is the list of articles you will find for the week ending 11/18/11 edition of Retail Industry News.

- The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year? Really?
- First Global Food Safety Fund Is Created
- Sansolo Speaks: Management On The Fly
- Family Dollar Expanding In California As Part Of Broader Genre Push
- Black Friday? Gray Friday? Will It All Add Up To A Green Christmas?
- San Francisco Considers Shopping Bag Fee
- FastNewsBeat
- The MNB Wal-Mart Watch
- Executive Suite

Click here to read Retail Industry News

A Message from Tom Caddell

Esteemed NARMS members,

I am happy and excited to again be part of the NARMS family. The staff and I look forward to providing a new and strategic direction to build and brand the association name of NARMS in new and ever exciting ways.

With a long and heartfelt history with this association, and being extremely humbled with the opportunity, I remember the early days with fondness how the early visionaries (Gary Ebben and founding members) of NARMS built a place where all in-store services could educate, network, and gain cutting edge intelligence in providing our customers and clients professional and ethical measurable value.

Going forth, NARMS will uncover new and exciting means to “Brand” the NARMS name and what we offer, expand our “Band Width” within the retailer channels, provide cutting edge technology, present value in trade event exposure all while growing our brand recognition in the best interests of all membership current and future. By providing a strategic plan we can bring new and exciting opportunities to every member by working together as our visionaries hoped.

Networking provides a different meaning in today’s B2B conversations than it did 16 years ago. “Networking” was the way to find compatible sister firms to execute our project deliverables to our clients/customers outside our boundaries of expertise or capacity. Today we still “Network” but under a different meaning - in seeking out new business, clients, staff or new jobs…or as we all hope that hidden customer who just landed from Mars and NO one knows about them or the needs they have.

As a retail guy with a history of being around retail in general, I bring an experienced ear for your pain and “What keeps us all up at night”; a simple word SALES! Paulette said it best recently, “We’re all looking for the same thing as do our customers and clients; provide sales and continued growth.” Rest assured the NARMS staff, and our current/future board members and committee members are 100% committed to the task in right sizing all our efforts in providing a real measurable value for all members now and in the future.

We must ALL work together to provide ideas and cutting edge value, continued support of the industry standards and practices, and a valued ongoing partnership in helping us all retain SALES. We are the life blood of the retail industry, and with our support and services we can provide a small piece in helping rebuild our US economy.

As our valued friends north say, when the US sneezes the rest of the world gets a cold!

Let’s limit our exposure and be proactive.

Thank you all for your kind words recently and I am really excited to be a part of NARMS in a leadership role again.

Kind regards,

Tom

Tom Caddell
Executive Director

Nov 11, 2011 IRI/Morning NewsBeat

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

- Walmart Pops Up In Two Locations With New Concept
- Burkle’s Yucaipa Hopes to Have Its Own Tea Party
- Meijer Gets Aggressive In Diabetes Battle
- Sansolo Speaks: No Joking Matter
- Walmart Looks To Beef Up Its Meat Departments
- Sears And Kmart Go To The (Virtual) Wall
- Walmart Health Care Plans Feel Some Arrhythmia
- Where’s The Beef? In A Vending Machine.
- Ahold Brings The Latest In Mobile Self-Checkout To New England
- Starbucks Buys Juice Maker, Plans To Launch New Retail Chain
- Shoppers Pushing Back Against Thanksgiving Openings
- FastNewsBeat
- The MNB Wal-Mart Watch
- Executive Suite

Click here to read the Industry News

Times & Trends - Shopper is King

The shopper is king and everybody involved in retail serves at the pleasure of the king. That is the key message delivered in the latest issue of Times & Trends by SymphonyIRI. Unemployment and inflation have created an extreme barrier to achieving the stability necessary to smooth out troubled economic waters. But nobody is in the exact same boat. As Times & Trends reports, the needs of individual shoppers vary as greatly as day-to-day economic circumstances. Not surprisingly, there is a strong at-retail tie-in to be employed by successful brand marketers.

Here are some of the observations recorded by SymphonyIRI: Almost half of all shoppers surveyed feel that they have experienced a financial setback last year and do not expect that situation to change in the near future. Consumers have made adjustments to their shopping patterns and habits to account for the economy with about 25 percent saying they have trouble affording weekly grocery needs. Simplification and conservation are now driving shoppers as they learn to cope with the conditions. A self-service attitude has emerged particularly in health and beauty care. List-making has made a comeback with shoppers putting items on their list based on cost savings and promotions. Many of these cost saving opportunities are being derived from the Internet. The issue of cost and the ever-changing cash flow position of consumers are causing trial of new brands and products that they would not have considered before.

Times & Trends offers some remedies for manufacturers and retails. Some of those suggestions are of particular interest to members of the at-retail merchandising and marketing services industry. In-store efforts should follow closely with externally-targeted promotional campaigns to ensure that pre-planned purchase decisions can be carried out in the store. Trading partners should work together to develop in-store programs, such as displays and demos, that show the consumer how to save and get maximum value. These efforts should be constantly measured to allow for mid-stream corrections and adjustments.

The shopper is king and NARMS members are ready to provide in-store support services to supplement programs designed by trading partners that speak directly to their needs. Download and digest this issue of Times & Trends to help better understand those needs.