Retailers Have a lot to be thankful for this holiday season
This post in retailwire highlights that retailers have a lot to be thankful for this holiday season. Economist feared a total economic collapse, and so far we have not yet seen that. They have been though entering this year's holiday season with a little more caution than they have in the previous years. What are some positives coming into the retail industry this year?
British Retailer, Marks & Spencer Hold Live Web Chat with Customers
Last Friday, British retailer, Marks & Spencer held a live web chat with their customers. According to Marketing, a number of people have complained the Advertising Standards Authority claiming that M&S' star-studded TV campaign is sexist, because of ‘Life on Mars' actor Philip Glenister's comment about model Noemie Lenoir "prancing about in her underwear."
This is the second live web-chat M&S has hosted on Facebook. In June customers put questions to M&S' head of sustainable business, Mike Barry, about the retailer's Plan A - M&S' 100-point eco-plan.
McIntosh said: ‘Facebook is a fantastic platform for communicating with our customers. It's direct, responsive and popular with almost 100,000 fans of the M&S facebook site.
‘We want to hear what customers think of our marketing; what we've done well, what we've done less well and what they want more of,' McIntosh said.
Marks & Spencer marketer to hold live web-chat with customers via Facebook
Reminder: CALL FOR PRESENTERS: Shopper Insights in Action 2010
Free Web Seminar – Do Consumers Prefer Private Label? A Look Into Consumer Attitudes About Private Label
Date/Time: Wed, Dec 9, 2009 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM EST
Do consumers know the difference between national brands and store brands? Do they care? How do they describe private label compared to national brands? Does this differ across categories? How about across markets?
Private label and store brands are having an impact on many consumer purchases today, both in the US and Europe. And within these markets the definition of private label compared to national brands varies according to category and retailer.
When is a brand important? What makes a national brand different? Do consumers feel the same way about brands today as they did a year ago? Why or why not?
Showcasing BuzzBack’s unique portfolio of award-winning online research techniques, this webinar will highlight new consumer research conducted in the US and UK about purchasing behavior and attitudes associated with private label versus national consumer brands. The study will present ways to identify consumer behavior and attitudes about shopping via an online survey.
As you listen in, you will learn:
• What drives consumer purchases of private label brands and why
• Consumer perceptions and attitudes about private label compared to national brands
• Types of people who purchase private label compared to national brands
Featured Speaker
Brendan Light, SVP, Research and Development, BuzzBack Market Research
Register: https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/781266785
Mention priority code MWS0020BLOG
7-Eleven Adds Wine to its Private Label Offerings
Convenience store powerhouse, 7-Eleven has now introduced its own wine to stores in the US and Japan. At just under $4, the wines will be sold under the Yosemite Road label and will be available in the U.S. and Japan. The wines are being made by The Wine Group in California, which is the world's third-largest wine producer. The Huffingtom Post says the wines are, "zesty with notes of apricot, peach and honey, and the cab as full-bodied with juicy plum overtones." To hear more about 7-Eleven's entrance into private label wines, check out NPR's coverage.
Costco No Longer Does Business with Coca-Cola
According to this article in retailwire, the largest warehouse club store in the US, Costco, has decided to stop doing business altogether with Coca-Cola. Costco has mentioned that Coca-Cola has not given the warehouse competitive pricing and so Costco is not able to pass along the discounts over to their members.
Brands associated with Coca-Cola like Coke Classic, Cherry Coke, Black Cherry Vanilla Coke, Diet Coke, Coke Zero, Sprite and Squirt, Dasani Water and Vitamin Water along with several energy drinks will also cease to be sold at Costco warehouses.
Shoppers changed this holiday season
Marketing Week recently looked at how shoppers behaviors have changed from holiday shopping seasons past, as shoppers are now more conscious by making lists and sticking to them when they make their trips to the mall or grocery store. According to a recent survey, 68% of shoppers have increased their budget settings, 57% have increased the number of price comparisons they do across multiple stores, and 61% are using more coupons. Marketing Week credits shoppers with looking to the simple, and encourages stores to navigate that way. They use Apple and IKEA stores as great examples of keeping things simple while still meeting the customers needs. Read the full article here.
What are you doing in-store to cater to your customers who are now more budget conscious?
Shoppers look at more than just price in recession
Daniel Palmer of Australian Food News writes that shoppers are not simply looking at price tags when stretching their food dollars. Palmer writes that the initial findings of a shopper marketing study released by the Grocery Manufacturers Association (GMA), Booz & Company and SheSpeaks, titledShopper Marketing 3.0: Unleashing the Next Wave of Value, concludes that price is not the only focus of consumers and also looks into the effectiveness of in-store promotions.
“This research shows us that even in a recession, more often than not, shoppers are making purchase decisions based on factors other than price,” said Brian Lynch, director of sales and sales promotion for GMA. “This key finding reinforces the notion that there is significant opportunity to influence shopper behaviour by having the right messages in place along the entire path to purchase.”
For more information, please click on the link below.
New research shows grocery shoppers still looking beyond price
Shopper marketing can help the small businesses
In a recent article at the Epoch Times, they look at how small businesses can use shopper marketing to their advantage during these hard economic jobs. They begin the article by stating that shoppers are people who come into your store, and engage with you and they may become your customer. Your customer is someone who has made repeat purchases and comes back to shop with you.
With small businesses, they can focus on their shoppers on the store level and encourage them to come back. Ways to do this are:
• Shelf-talkers (signage that attaches to the shelf)
• Floor graphics (non-slip stickers on the floor)
• In-store broadcasting on TV, public announcement system,
• Displays/Kiosks
• Promotional: contesting, sampling,
• In-store interviews
My Private Brand: Private Brand is Front Page News at Duane Reade
New Yorkers will notice that there are a few changes to the Big Apple-centric drugstore, Duane Reade. The venerable retailer has unveiled its line of private label goods, "deLish." Here is Private Brand expert, Christoper Durham's take on the retailer:
PRIVATE BRAND IS FRONT PAGE NEWS AT DUANE READE
The ubiquitous New York drug retailer Duane Reade has been featured here on a number of occasions over the last few months and I admit to a certain fondness for this David fighting off the Goliaths of drug retail that are quickly invading New York. However it is more on principle than reality, I have visited many of their stores over the last few years and the redesigned stores are a great improvement from many of the classic shoebox city stores that they are known for. So I am excited to see the progress they have made with both their retail experience and their brand. They are uniquely New York and seem to have taken that to heart in their new branding efforts. This reinforces Duane Reade’s brand mantra of New York Living Made Easy.
Duane Reade has long been the place where New Yorkers could find everything from prescriptions to potato chips. So it’s only fitting that the city’s largest drugstore chain, now undergoing a substantial transformation, is introducing hundreds of new Private Brand products and featuring them in the new magalog, The Duane Reader. This is a tried and true Private Brand promotional tactic that retailers including Trader Joe’s and Loblaws have implemented with great success.
According to a Duane Reade press release: Joe Jackman, acting chief marketing officer, commented, “The Duane Reader represents our most recent effort to strengthen our brand image in order to match the positive changes that we are making to our customer experience. It’s our hope that busy New Yorkers will find it to be a relevant, useful, and entertaining companion for city-living during the holidays.”
the beautiful new beauty Private Brand Look NY, and the long-standing and recently relaunched Christmas In New York Private Brand.
Accompanying the perfect-for-holiday items is a pull-out Holiday Planner providing a New Yorker’s view of things to see and do this month and next, and other sections with fun tidbits such as which restaurants are serving Christmas dinner, and the hours of the Central Park Ice Rink.