Retail operations have been increasing competition with their online counterparts for the same customers. However, one demographic that's not dismissing brick-and-mortar retailers anytime soon is the grocery shopper.

According to new research from Point of Purchase Advertising International, an association for retail marketing, 76 percent of grocery shoppers are making decisions in-store.

Shoppers are reportedly using in-store marketing and branding cues to help them make decisions. The study reports that retailers that fail to implement marketing cues their consumer base will respond to risk pushing shoppers to other retailers and shops that can perform better.

The research identified four further key findings about today’s shoppers compared to those of the past. One of the most important things to do is for retailers and companies to put their brands "on display."

"If you're not utilizing in-store marketing to put your product on display you're likely losing out in the battle at the shelf to get your product into the shoppers basket," the study reports. "The study found that nearly 1 in 6 brand purchases are made when a display with that brand is present in store."

Additionally, retailers should investigate the array of options open to them to enhance their retail merchandising initiatives. The study suggested that retailers try placing product displays in secondary locations – 60 percent already do so – or working with marketers to create unique branding materials.

The creation of compelling content can do more than make the retailer stand out – it can transform floating shoppers into targeted buyers. Compelling and valuable displays can turn subconscious messages into active memories. In fact, 56 percent of shoppers said they recall creative in-store displays.

Finally, retailers should keep their point of sale software up-to-date, as the study reports that shoppers who use debit or credit cards are more susceptible to impulse purchases. On average, 57 percent of shoppers spend more than they plan to, while those who "overspend" when making an impulse purchase do so by 200 percent.

"The findings from POPAI's 2012 Shopper Engagement Study clearly tell us that as in-store and shopper marketing professionals we have some areas for opportunity and improvement," said Richard Winter, POPAI president. "[This] study underscores the importance of planning the in-store experience to win over shoppers where it matters most – the point of purchase."

However, retailers should not fail to pay attention to technological trends, as they can offer creative places for cross-promotions.

This entry was posted by Retail Pro on Tuesday, May 22nd, 2012 at 8:17 am .

Smartphones have opened up new channels for retail and consumer engagement. However, many stores have seen the devices as a complication to retail operations rather than as a benefit.

A recent survey from ABI Research debunks myths that smartphones are encroaching on brick-and-mortar stores by revealing that retailers that develop their own apps actually see greater customer engagement in-store.

According to the study, 45.8 percent of respondents said that retailer-branded apps spurred them to visit the store more, 40.4 percent noted that the app made them more likely to purchase products or services from the store or brand and 40.4 percent said they were more likely to tell a friend about their shopping experience at the company.

"These are overwhelmingly positive numbers," said senior analyst Mark Beccue. "They are so compelling that if retailers do not have a smartphone app strategy in place right now they are in danger of being left behind by their competitors."

However, these numbers reflected only users of retailers' mobile apps – a number which remains low at only 25 percent. Additionally, 37.9 percent who said they had downloaded a retailer's app explained that they had also downloaded other retailers' applications.

For retailers, this means that not only do they need to improve outreach and engagement among consumers to boost use of their app, but they will also need to make sure their apps are compelling, useful and able to compete with other retailers.

"Once a retailer can capture a consumer with one, there is a real opportunity to leverage smartphone apps to enhance customer service, deliver richer, more relevant product information in real time, shorten checkout lines, and more," added Beccue. "We are at the dawn of a very dynamic and creative time for retail."

Other studies are attesting to the primacy of tablet computers in retail operations, however. According to Bloomberg, Barclays Equity Research analyst Darrin Peller explained in a note that retailers are preparing to equip sales associates with the devices.

In fact, Peller predicts that by 2015, more than 2.7 million tablets will be shipped across North America to be used by the retail and hospitality sector. Additionally, in 2012, 65 percent of retailers plan to use the mobile devices in store – a 6 percent year-over-year increase, Bloomberg reports.

This entry was posted by Retail Pro on Tuesday, May 22nd, 2012 at 8:15 am .

French consumers are spending more money shopping online, driven primarily by the sheer number of retail merchants that finally took to the web this year.

Fevad and Mediametrie, two French audience monitoring companies, noted that more than 100,000 France-based retailers were now online. As a result, the number of ecommerce shoppers in the country hit 31 million, with sales hitting 11 billion euros (US $14.25 billion) during the first three months of 2012, up 24 percent from the same time frame last year.

"The frequency of online shopping continues to develop," says Bertrand Krug, director of Mediametrie NetRatings department of online efficiency measures, as quoted by Internet retailers. "Forty-seven percent of internet users have purchased online in the past month alone, compared to 43 percent a year ago."

Ecommerce continues to grow in the United States as well, with separate data from comScore noting a remarkable 17 percent year-over-year increase in online sales during the first quarter of 2012. If merchants aren't selling their products and services online, now is the time to consider integrating ecommerce into store operations.

This entry was posted by Retail Pro on Monday, May 21st, 2012 at 11:58 am .

Throughout the course of the economic recession, the video game sector was one of the few bright spots in retail. High-profile titles such as Call of Duty and Halo repeatedly smashed sales records year after year and many analysts deemed the category "recession-proof."

But according to new data from the NPD Group, video game sales are slowing down and merchants who have traditionally relied on this product type may want to rethink store operations. Video game hardware, software and accessory sales fell 42 percent year-over-year in April, one month after a 25 percent drop-off in March.

However, analysts are optimistic that once new high-profile games and next generation hardware, such as Nintendo's Wii U, hit the market, prospects will turn around.

"I think it's a simple as that, because when we see compelling content come into the market, the games are still selling as well as ever," Anita Frazier, an NPD analyst, explained. "We just saw a lot less of this in April as compared to last year."

With many retailers already beginning to plan their holiday offerings, they may want to consider the impact of the wavering video game sector as they make purchase decisions.

This entry was posted by Retail Pro on Monday, May 21st, 2012 at 11:56 am .

Digital technology can revolutionize retail merchandising. However, this time it's not smartphone or tablet computers that are the focus of attention – it's digital signs.

Digital signs are everywhere in retailing, yet some brick-and-mortar shops continue to see the benefit of the technology. Signs allow for businesses to provide in-store content, including tips and notices, as well as advertisements, Entrepreneur magazine reports.

However, businesses don't have to have a large marketing budget to make a difference. One well-placed sign can boost business and make companies better able to compete with large corporations. Kroma Makeup attests to how its signs came to pay for themselves.

"At the Plaza, our digital sign was placed at the foot of the escalator to drive traffic to our station and tell our brand story, while the multimillion-dollar companies we were competing against weren't using them," company founder Lee Tillette told the magazine. Since integrating the sign as part of its marketing strategy, the company saw its annual sales grow 7 to 8 percent.

Signs can also prove to be a more environmentally friendly marketing strategy, allowing companies to broadcast deals and promotions without printing paper flyers. 

This entry was posted by Retail Pro on Monday, May 21st, 2012 at 3:20 am .

Technology is creating new challenges for retail operations, including the need for new marketing, outreach and engagement strategies.

According to the recent Multichannel Shopping Survey, one trend spurred from technologies such as smartphones, apps and tablet computers is a desire on behalf of consumers for more integrated brick-and-mortar and online operations.

For example, 45 percent of respondents said they would like the option to pick up online purchases in-store, and 28 percent cited the ability to return online purchases in-store as their top desire. Offering these services can actually boost customer loyalty as well. Eighty-two percent of respondents said they would return to patronize a retailer who accepted online returns in-store.

"Consumers are shopping on a variety of channels and devices, often simultaneously, with new technology introduced virtually every day," said Steven Kramer, president of North America at hybris. "What we have found is that consumers have expectations that their favorite retailers will be accessible to them anytime and anywhere.

Retailers can also investigate how apps may spur in-store engagement and purchases.

This entry was posted by Retail Pro on Monday, May 21st, 2012 at 3:18 am .

Technology is invading the retail merchandising sector, with smartphones, mobile apps and tablet computers allowing consumers to conduct research and connect with other shops and customers while shopping in-store.

As a result, brick-and-mortar retailers are increasingly focused on creating an integrated retail experience that some experts claim to be more holistic than multichannel strategies, Forbes reports.

Sears is one retailer that has taken lessons from technology to heart. According to Forbes, the retailer has invested tens of millions of dollars into improving customer engagement, such as its "hyperlocal" mobile device application "SearsLocalAd.com."

The app allows users to receive local promotions, pricing changes and ads particular to local stores. "It extends the shopping experience beyond the print ad to include offers beyond the weekly circular," the newspaper explains. "The program lets shoppers build lists and send them to a mobile app, and have access to product reviews."

Other retailers have taken pains to revamp their store and customer engagement models as well. JCPenney recently hired a marketing guru from Apple to revamp its store layout and promotions.

This entry was posted by Retail Pro on Monday, May 21st, 2012 at 3:16 am .

Never underestimate the power of good customer service. According to a new report from American Express World Service, effective customer service practices used through social media can do more than improve brand relationships – it can actually lead to more sales.

The poll, which surveyed more than 1,000 American shoppers, found that nearly one in five consumers (17 percent) had used social media in the past year for customer service purposes. Those who encountered what they called "great customer service" through these social platforms increased spending by 21 percent with these brands. Shoppers that didn't make use of social customer service spent only 11 percent more with the given brand.

"Delivering outstanding service creates impassioned advocates and can serve as a powerful marketing weapon for companies," says Jim Bush, executive vice president of American Express World Service. "[Those consumers] tell three times as many people about positive service experiences compared to the general population. Ultimately, getting service right with these social media savvy consumers can help a business grow."

The opposite is also true – retail merchants providing poor customer service are likely to miss out on potential sales. Four in five respondents (80 percent) who tried to leverage social media for customer service
purposes but failed or received poor feedback from representatives opted not to make a purchase. Half of shoppers (55 percent) who encountered poor customer service – whether online or in-store – decided not to buy from that retailer.

Shoppers used social media for a variety of customer service-related purposes. Fifty percent contacted a company about an issue with services or purchases, 48 percent used the platform to praise a brand, 47 percent shared their shopping experiences with others, 46 percent vented about poor customer service and 43 percent asked other shoppers how to get a response from a brand.

Responding to customers

Retail merchants need to have some sort of presence on social media sites – there are more than 800 million Facebook members and 200 million Twitter users, which should make it obvious why it's important to be on these sites.

That said, a clearly defined social media strategy is also a necessity. Whoever runs a brand's social media accounts should have a course of action to follow when customers engage the brand through these sites, whether it's to complain, praise or simply ask a question.

This entry was posted by Retail Pro on Sunday, May 20th, 2012 at 9:36 am .

The number of consumers shopping online continues to grow, as does the amount of money they spend on purchases. But despite this, many are still concerned about the privacy and security of these transactions, according to a new report from Forrester Research.

Half of online shoppers said they were concerned with the privacy and safety of the activity, with a slim 16 percent having confidence in the trustworthiness of online-only web merchants. Even though many consumers have qualms with the security of online shopping, 71 percent of American adults said they actively shop online.

Merchants that collect information about consumers, whether it's demographic and behavioral or financial payment data, need to do a better job of being transparent about what they do with this intelligence to make consumers want to shop with them.

"Ease [consumers’] fears by providing easy access to what information you have about them, reducing both the fear of the ‘unknown’ and letting them feel a sense of control," Forrester says.

This entry was posted by Retail Pro on Friday, May 18th, 2012 at 9:39 am .

During the first quarter of 2012, retailers based out of New Zealand struggled to keep sales up. According to data from the National Business Review, core retail sales (which excludes auto sales and gasoline) declined 2.5 percent – the biggest quarterly drop in nearly two decades.

Prior to Q1, the retail sector had been thriving, with 2011 finishing on two quarters of strong growth. A decline was expected by many industry analysts, but not this severely. Overall, the total value of retail sales (including all retail categories) is up 4.4 percent to NZ$17.2 billion compared to the same time frame last.

"The decrease is not as bad for total retail sales, mainly because of a 6.4 percent ($130 million) rise in sale of motor vehicles and parts," the news source adds. "This was, though, the only category to show a significant increase."

Across the ocean, the Australia retail sector has also been noted for its recent struggles. Many consumers located in the country are able to get less expensive prices on goods by buying them online and then importing them, which costs local retailers precious sales.

This entry was posted by Retail Pro on Wednesday, May 16th, 2012 at 9:04 am .