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Commentary and Discussion From the Retail Community
Grocery Shoppers Focus on Value, Convenience
Among eBrain research findings, buying groceries and preparing meals plays an important role in the majority of U.S. households. Also, most consumers go food shopping on a weekly basis and…
LandWare Releases Wine Enthusiast Guide for PDA
Mobile hardware and software maker LandWare released its Wine Enthusiast Guide last week in the form of a multimedia card that is readable in any expansion-supporting PDA. How can retailers…
Internet Pulls Mom from TV and Spending
Women with children are spending less time in front of the TV and more time on the Internet. What are the implications of the Jupiter Media Metrix survey results?
Half of U.S. Kids, Teens Need More Calcium
Of American children and teens, more than half has a diet lacking in calcium, say experts, putting them at risk for serious health problems. Will the fortified food trend continue…
Recruiting During the Downturn Raises New Challenges
Those who fail to take a long-term strategic approach to recruiting in today’s rapidly changing business world will face a perpetual staffing crisis, according to Bruce Tulgan founder of RainmakerThinking,…
Liquid Band-Aid Covers the Market
Johnson & Johnson began shipping a high-tech super glue called Band-Aid Liquid Bandage to retailers last month, and advertising it on national TV last week. Which trade channel has done…
Consumers Don’t Trust E-Commerce But Buy Anyway
Only 29 percent of users say they trust Web sites that sell products or services, however, more than half of the 123.4 million U.S. Internet users age 14 and older…
Nash Finch Performance Achieves Record Results
Nash Finch Company reports a 37 percent increase in comparable earnings of $5.9 million in the first-quarter ended March 23, compared to $4.3 million in the prior-year. What are the…
Ready-to-Drink Coffee Market Percolates
Despite an uneven track record, food and beverage companies are now rushing to appeal to the twenty-something coffee bar set with ready-to-drink, sweetened, iced cappuccino-like drinks. Should retailers follow the…
P&G’s New Shopping Site Enlists Research Subjects
Procter & Gamble Co. went online with shopping experiment earlier this year in a marketing research effort to help get its products to market faster and more efficiently. What are…
Penney Revamps Customer Check Out
J.C. Penney sets aside its goal of “one-on-one” customer service as it installs central checkout counters near entrances to help time-stressed customers navigate the store faster. Do central checkouts actually…
Office Worker Employed as Pop Tarts Pitchman
Kellogg is now unveiling a new ad featuring the office worker as a very different pitchman for its new Pop-Tarts Pastry Swirls. Are three square meals going the way of…
Self Checkout Relieves Pressure at the Front End
Thirty-five percent of shoppers say their supermarket did not have enough cashiers on duty when they shopped, reports a recent Harris Interactive survey. Do self-checkouts and other technologies deliver the…
Moistened Toilet Paper Wipes Out
Cottonelle Fresh Rollwipes sales are disappointingly confined to a regional market a year after its introduction, and are so small they aren’t financially material. Is there a national market for…
Convenience, Health, Innovation Grows Categories
According to ACNielsen, convenience, health and innovation drove the fastest-growing categories in 2001. What is the key to new product introductions? What should retailers do to register the full advantage…
Kmart Grants Officers Big Loans Before Bankruptcy
Kmart Corp. gave more than $30 million in retention and relocation loans to top executives before it filed for bankruptcy-law protection. Are forgivable loans, or personal loans of any kind,…
Boomers Aim to Stay Forever Young
A “heightened concern for personal well-being” will be a critical force affecting spending by consumers in the coming economy. Does category management as practiced at retail, give merchants the tools…
Do Unto Employees as You Would Have Done Unto Customers
A study released earlier this month calls America “the land of the rude” and suggests that we are simply meaner and more hostile to each other today than ever before…
Slotting Fees Still Needed to Fire-Up Salsa Sales
Stephen Bowling’s Valley of Mexico fire-roasted salsa has come a long way in seven years from its humble beginnings peddled from the back seat of his car, struggling against obstacles…
Royal Ahold-Big V Faces Antitrust Scrutiny
The joint bid by Royal Ahold NV and Pathmark Stores Inc. for bankrupt Big V Supermarkets Inc. is raising a novel antitrust issue that could make it tough for the…
Tasters Praise Panama Coffee as World Class
International connoisseurs say that Panama’s specialty coffee is some of the finest in the world. Can retailers increase sales from the shelf by promoting coffee grown in different regions from…
