Content about Retailing

WHAT IT MEANS AND WHY IT'S IMPORTANT — Do you doubt the importance of having a multichannel strategy to reach shoppers? If so, consider the fact that — for as little 2.5% off — nearly half of your customers will walk out of the store to make their purchase online. How about a 5% discount? Well, that number jumps to 60% of shoppers who will leave.

This year’s Olympics coverage on NBC stood in stark contrast to the television network's failed attempt to offer expanded audience choice through their pay-per-view “Triplecast” in 1992. Remember that 20 years ago, NBC aired the Olympics through three pay-per-view channels? Their total number of subscribers, either for a one-day pass or any of the “gold,” “silver” or “bronze” packages probably couldn’t equal even the smallest service area for a major cable company.

RICHMOND, Va. — Eight supermarkets in the Richmond, Va., area are using one of the most important parts of the store to promote healthy eating: the checkout lane.

Martin's Food Markets, part of the Ahold USA's Giant-Carlisle chain, announced it had partnered with the Richmond City Health District and Greater Richmond Fit4Kids in launching "Healthy Ideas" checkout lanes at the stores. Items will include fruit, nuts, snack packs from the store's Nature's Promise natural and organic section, nutrition bars and 100% fruit juice.

LOS ANGELES — Nearly half of consumers polled in the latest PriceGrabber survey said that retailers are serving up better back-to-school promotions this year, compared with 2011.

WASHINGTON — The National Retail Federation, in partnership with its member companies, has launched a new initiative to address the challenges and opportunities of mobile retailing.

CARLISLE, Pa. — An Ahold USA executive has received honors from a New England business publication.

Ahold USA announced Tuesday that EVP and CFO Paula Price was named 2012 CFO of the Year in the public company category by the Boston Business Journal and was honored at the newspaper's annual luncheon last Wednesday. Ahold USA, a subsidiary of Netherlands-based Royal Ahold, operates the Stop & Shop, Giant-Landover and Giant-Carlisle supermarket chains and the Peapod online grocery service.

Shoppers still are purchasing on impulse at the front end of the store. Data from SymphonyIRI Group indicated that more than half of consumers make unplanned purchases upon seeing products or deals in the store — a percentage that has remained unchanged during the past 18 months. In a recent survey of more than 1,500 consumers, 46% said they made an unplanned purchase during their most recent trip to the drug store. (For complete results, visit DrugStoreNews.com/c2b-mobile-insights)


“It’s actually an illusion that those boxers are separate entities. The separate entities are just the way we choose to perceive them. The boxers, you, me — we’re all part of the same quantum field. Think of the two boxers as ocean waves or currents of air — two tornadoes, say. They appear to be two separate things, but they’re not. Tornadoes are just wind. The wind stirred up in different directions. The fact is nothing is separate. Everything is connected.

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa — Lil' Drug Store Products on Wednesday announced that it has renewed its supply relationship with Circle K, which has more than 3,300 convenience store locations across 42 states.

“At a time when ongoing product shortages make it essential for retailing partners and their consumer customers to have immediate flexibility and responsiveness in product supply, Lil' Drug Store Products is the kind of reliable supplier we can depend on to serve our nationwide customer base," stated Jim King, Circle K's national director of procurement.

LOS ANGELES — Back-to-school shoppers plan on stretching their dollar and taking advantage of retailer incentives to save, PriceGrabber said.

PALO ALTO, Calif. — Aisle411, a mobile retail navigation service, on Tuesday announced that its virtual mapping and navigation smartphone application is available to use in all of Walgreens' 7,907 drug stores nationwide.

With Aisle411's in-store mapping platform, customers can use their smartphones to view maps of any Walgreens store, allowing shoppers to locate products down to a particular section of each aisle. Walgreens is the first national retailer with all of its stores mapped in a mobile application, Aisle411 stated.

Social media is an important component of ongoing brand marketing, as well as any advertising campaign for a drug store retailer or brand. Integrated communications have the most impact because earned, owned and paid media reinforce and amplify the message. All channels feed off each other; the more frequently a potential customer sees or hears about a brand or retailer, particularly in more than one context or venue, the more likely she is to remember and purchase.