PLBuyer: Creating an Oasis
More retailers are committing to add more stores in food deserts. Here's how private label fits into efforts to feed the underserved. …
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Turning a Profit
Turning a profit. As in any economy, your company's ability to pull a profit in 2012 will depend on the value you present and how efficiently you deliver it. …
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How Retailers Can Take Advantage of Big Data
If you're not familiar with the term "big data," or more importantly the concept behind it, it's not too late to get up to speed. Big data is here and its presence is expanding to fill every aspect of business today and into the foreseeable future. …
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What's Your Sign?
Signs that grab shopper attention and give them reasons to buy can be as effective in the refrigerated case as in other parts of the store but there are some critical rules to follow to make refrigerated signage work for you. …
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Superstores As Bellwether Indicators
Major retailers like Costco and Walmart often act as indicators of the overall economy, because they can reveal trends for what -- and if -- people are buying. …
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Vestcom Appoints Patty Packard as Director of Nutrition and Regulatory Affairs
the leading provider of customized shelf-edge communications and specialized marketing services for the retail industry, today announced Patty Packard has joined Vestcom as director of nutrition and regulatory affairs. Packard, a registered dietician with more than 15 years of experience in the food industry, will be an integral part of Vestcom's nutrition team and provide technical support and insight for Vestcom's health and wellness marketing program for retailersÑhealthyAisles¨, an in-store…
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George Wishart Joins Vestcom as Chief Commercial Officer
Vestcom, the leading provider of customized shelf-edge communications and specialized marketing services for the retail industry, today announced the appointment of George Wishart as the company's chief commercial officer. Wishart will lead Vestcom's sales, marketing and product management teams in driving the company's continued strategy to help retailers implement in-store communications that reduce costs, engage shoppers and drive sales at…
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ANA Magazine: Mobile & Meaningful Integration, October 2011
mobile marketing is hot, with U.S. businesses projected to spend in excess of $1 billion on the medium this year and $2.55 billion by 2014, according to eMarketer. A separate study by the Interactive Advertising Bureau found that nearly 75 percent of the top-level brand marketing executives polled said they plan to boost their mobile spend over the next two years, with 35 percent projecting increases of 50 percent or more. While thafs certainly great news, many brands continue to drag their heels when it comes to letting mobile play with the big boys in…
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Retail Customer Experience: In the Blink of an Eye
It's no secret that supermarkets spend literally hundreds of millions of dollars on advertising. They spend money on television, radio, print, email, online, mobile, and just about anything else you can think of to broadcast their message and create demand. Research tells us that word-of-mouth advertising is the most effective; this is messaging that can't be bought, except by providing…
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Grocery Headquarters: Elevating Private Label
Private label has clearly been on a roll. Its share of dollar sales advanced to a record 19.1% in supermarkets and unit market share was 23.5%, according to the Private Label Manufacturers Association's 2011 Private Label Yearbook, which tracks sales and market share trends based on Nielsen data. Much of this growth can be attributed to the sagging economy, which prompts shoppers to opt for typically lower-priced private label instead of…
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Retail Goes Mobile
If the term "mobile" isn't the most used of 2011, it's certainly in the top three. Nothing in recent memory has affected our daily lives - for better or worse - quite the way mobile has. Predictions abound: Smartphones will be the dominant device by the third quarter of this year; Web access will be primarily via mobile by 2013; and on and on.…
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Get the Attention of the Undecided Shopper
The "Great Recession" contributed strongly to consumers' acceptance of store brands. And nearly 45 percent of respondents to an April survey from global business advisory firm AlixPartners LLP said the still-rocky economy is motivating them to continue to consider and purchase more private label and other lower-priced food products.…
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Vestcom Named 'Must-See' Exhibitor at Shopper Marketing Expo for Second Consecutive Year
Vestcom, the leading provider of customized shelf-edge communications and specialized marketing services for the retail industry, has once again been selected as a "must-see" Featured Expo Exhibitor for the upcoming Shopper Marketing Expo, being held Oct. 18-20 at Navy Pier in Chicago.…
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Retail Customer Experience - Lies, damn lies and statistics
A recent article in CPG Matters relates new findings from Campbell Soup Company that 80 percent of buying decisions are made before a shopper ever gets to the store.…
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MMR - Making Mobile Part of a Complete Marketing Strategy
If the term "mobile" isn't the most used of 2011, it's certainly in the top three. Nothing in recent memory has affected our daily lives—for better or worse—quite the way mobile has.…
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Marketing Daily - The Moment Of Truth On The Path To Purchase
Type the term "moment of truth" into Google and you'll get a bazillion hits, most of them defining the term itself. One of the more visceral definitions comes from bullfighting, where the "moment of truth" refers to the matador's final thrust of the sword into the bull at the end of the fight.…
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Marketwatch - Jeff Blackwell Joins Vestcom as Senior Vice President of Operations
LITTLE ROCK, Ark., Sep 20, 2011 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Vestcom, the leader of integrated shopper marketing solutions and best-in-class provider of business process outsourcing solutions, today announced Jeff Blackwell has joined the company as senior vice president of operations.…
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Christian Scince Monitor - LivingSocial under fire: Can daily-deal sites keep offering huge discounts?
The hyper-discounts of online coupon dealers like LivingSocial have not created loyal customers. Some businesses are finding that smaller numbers of coupons – and smaller discounts – might be more sustainable in the long run.…
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Progressive Grocer Store Brands – Shout it out
Retailers might not have the deep pockets of a consumer-packaged-goods giant. But a little creative thinkings goes a long way. Consider the following tips - in no apparent order - when marketing your store brand products.…
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Chain Store Age - Multichannel Integrated Marketing Best Practices for Retailers
Say what you like about marketers, we never lack for new ways to describe and define what we do. There is shopper marketing, mobile marketing, online marketing, direct marketing, and now integrated marketing and multichannel marketing.…
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Retail Customer Experience - Opinion: The retail 'moment of truth' has run amok
Way back at the end of the last century, marketers were handed down from on high (specifically A.G. Lafley of P&G) the concepts of MOT, or moments of truth. The first MOT was the point of decision for the shopper, i.e. when she actually put a product in her cart. The second MOT was when she got the product home and tried it, and determined whether it was all she hoped it to be.…
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Shannon Palmer Joins Vestcom as Chief Financial Officer
Vestcom, the leader of integrated shopper marketing solutions and best-in-class provider of business process outsourcing solutions, today announced the appointment of Shannon Palmer as executive vice president and chief financial officer…
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Converting Triers into Buyers
Effective in-store marketing is a key component in moving your private label products off the shelves and into consumers' carts.…
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Sweat the Small Stuff
To customers, shopping in a grocery store is a bit like driving down a highway with the world's smallest billboards; everywhere they look, displays scream for attention.…
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Grocers, Big Box Retailers Battle to
Win Suburban Shoppers
A grocery war is brewing, and it isn’t about offering customers
the best price. It’s
about location and expansion. Well-established chains and newcomers are filling
the suburbs with more options
to buy food and general merchandise, despite the recession and its aftermath.…
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Engaging Tech Savvy Shoppers At Shelf Edge
Mobile phones have undergone many changes since the first one hit the
market a generation ago, and at the same time, they have changed the way we
live in a very literal sense.…
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Mobile Path to Purchase Enters Marketing Lexicon
Celebrated science fiction author Arthur C. Clarke once said, "Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic." As advanced as many of his ideas were, even he never imagined the full impact technology would have on our daily lives.…
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Making Products P-O-P
Point-Of-Purchase Fixtures, Displays and Shelving are Helping Retailers Call
Attention to New Items, Highlight Healthy Options and Stock Product Faster.…
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Selling Satiety
Experts Suggest 7 Satiating Food Choices for Weight-Conscious
Customers and Provide Tips for Marketing Satiety…
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B2C Marketing Insider
The world of retail has always had its own lexicon; the
In-Store Marketing Institute just published its most
recent glossary of terms to help those new to the
industry, or just overwhelmed with the terminology.…
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Store Brands "Pack Your Party"
What if you threw a party, but nobody came? You'd certainly be
greatly disappointed — and left wondering what to do with the
substantial investment you likely made in food, drink and
décor.…
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No Kidding Around
As children's infl uence on purchase decisions grows, more and more retailers are exploring the
possibility of dedicated private label programs for kids..…
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Vestcom Partners with USDA to Promote MyPyramid
Food Guidance System
Vestcom, the leader of integrated shopper marketing solutions and best-in-class
provider of business process outsourcing, as well as the leader in shelf-edge
health and wellness programs, today announced it
has entered a partnership with the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Partnering
with MyPyramid program to assist
consumers by promoting healthy food and lifestyle choices…
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Connecting NW Arkansas: Going Mobile
Walmart's lack of a smart phone app with
robust functionality is noteworthy on a number of
levels. For starters, mobile absolutely is the
hottest topic in the retail and marketing world
these days, with the exception of the outlook for
the holiday season. Ad agencies are clamoring for
the most effective way to target smart phone
users, and voluminous reports have been
produced by organizations seeking to position
themselves as thought leaders.…
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here to read more
Going Mobile: Shopper Marketing's New Frontier
Spend any time in Walmart stores, and a wide range of shopper segments
and interesting behaviors are visible. Once activity that isn't seen much,
if at all, is shoppers using application-laden smart phones to engage with
the store and various brands. Not that Walmart doesn't have an app – it does – it's
just not very good, only allowing customers the ability to locate stores and
view electronics inventory.…
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Connecting the Shelf to the Shopper Through QR Codes
It's finally beginning to feel like the worst is behind us, and
the economy is really improving. Most growth indicators are
positive, including retail spending in the first quarter of 2010.
With this long-awaited sense of optimism, retailers are coming
out of protection mode and starting to look ahead to the next
big idea that can fuel growth..…
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Next in Mobile Marketing: 2D Barcodes
Twenty years ago, when cellular phones were just
beginning to reach the point where the average person
could think about getting one, no one was thinking about
using them for anything other than talking to someone
else.…
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QR Codes Gain Ground
Already a consistent marketing tool overseas, the interactive bar codes could be common on packaging and signage by end of 2010.…
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New Strategy for Building Loyalty
Retailers looking to build a stronger store brand will find that a
well-executed health and wellness program is a great place to start.…
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Take Back Your Shelf
No longer content to sell their space to the highest bidder, stores are once again focusing
on the shopper’s needs. Neighborhood, local, and relevant are the new watchwords.…
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Merchandising Natural Products
in Today’s Economy
The declining economy brought with it a dismal outlook on the fate of the growing natural and organic food channel.…
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QR codes: Building a mobile
loyalty program beyond key tags
The Nielsen Company recently predicted that smart phones will overtake “feature phones” (those without a keyboard and internet access) by next year…
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QR Codes Beginning to Gain Acceptance in the U.S.
Extensively used and quite popular in Europe and Asia, Quick Response
codes are just beginning to gain wide acceptance here
in the U.S. So if you havenít heard of them yet, you will soon.…
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AWI Debuts 'Eat Right for Life' Nutrition Scoring System
In response to growing interest in health and wellness
among its independent grocer-members and their customers,
Associated Wholesalers, Inc. has developed the new
ìEat Right for Lifeî nutritional…
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How Smartphones, QR Codes
Revolutionize Mobile Strategy
Have you heard of QR codes? If not, you will; theyíre already being touted as the next big thing in marketing. Whether you buy into that or not, as a retailer you need to know…
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Merchandising Natural Foods
In Today’s Economy
The tanking economy brought with it many dire predictions
for the fate of the growing natural and organic food channel. Predictions that the growth of recent years would be lost—and that shoppers would focus only on lower prices—
turned out to be ill-founded.…
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Merchandising Organics
Three converging trends are altering the merchandising of organics.
The most significant is SKU rationalization. Whether nip and tuck or a chain-wide clean sweep, retailers are reducing
the number of items they stock between 10 and 30 percent
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