Shopper Insights in Action 2010 Welcomes Joe Jackman, CMO, DUANE READE, a WALGREENS COMPANY

We're thrilled to announce that Joe Jackman, Chief Marketing Officer, DUANE READE, a WALGREENS COMPANY will be speaking at Shopper Insights in Action 2010.

Join Joe his keynote presentation, "Revitalizing Brands: The Power of Insights to Drive Retail Transformation," at the event this July in Chicago.

For more information about his presentation and our great line-up of speakers, be sure to download the updated brochure today!

Can I get an Order of Wi-Fi With those Fries?

Wi-Fi is increasingly becoming a popular commodity in which most consumers require in their shopping experience. Starbucks has always offered wi-fi to its customers, but according to this article in RetailWire more companies will start to offer the same service.

McDonald's rolled out it's Wi-Fi service to 11,000 of its 13,000 locations this January. Many food service companies are beginning to feel the heat as it looks like this trend is here to stay. Rutter's Farm Stores is another food location which has offered free wi-fi as well. And in response to this, the company has received many thank you letters from customers that have expressed gratitude for this offering.

I wonder if other fast food giants like Burger King or Wendy's will quickly follow suit...

Walmart Set to Cut Grocery Prices

Blogging Stocks reports that Walmart is ready to start slashing its grocery prices, putting more pressure on its competitors. The cuts will be across all of the retailer's grocery lines.

Over the next six weeks, the mega-retailer will cut food prices and start a new advertising campaign to promote the move. Grocery stocks, on the other hand, will be running for cover over the same period. This is, as expected, a move by Walmart to keep the customer foot traffic it recruited during the recession in 2009 who now may be returning to rival competitors for purchasing their wares.

What do you think about the move by Walmart? Will we see the competitors drop their prices; and how will this effect the US economy?

Learn more: Walmart Again Vows to Slash Grocery Prices Nationwide

OFFICIAL CALL FOR PRESENTERS: Category Leadership Conference

IIR Presents the 5th Annual

Category Leadership Conference

From category management to shopper engagement.

September 27-29, 2010 • Chicago, IL

OFFICIAL CALL FOR PRESENTERS
Submission Deadline: Wednesday, March 24, 2010
[Note: Papers are accepted on a rolling basis so early submissions are encouraged.]
From: Amanda Powers, Senior Conference Producer, IIR
Re: Category Leadership Conference 2010, Call for Presenters
Event Date & Location: September 27-29, 2010, Chicago, IL
Deadline: Wednesday, March 24, 2010
READ ON FOR SUBMISSION INSTRUCTIONS AND GUIDELINES.

Added Bonus: Each speaker will receive free admission to the conference (a $2000+ value) including admission to all conference sessions, networking events, lunches, exhibit hall, etc.

WHAT
The producers of the Shopper Insights in Action Conference present the Category Leadership Conference, an unbiased industry event that showcases next generation best practices for using data, insights and organizational prowess to optimize the shelves and improve total store sales.

Entering its fifth year, the event producers (IIR), are working vigilantly to once again raise the bar so that the content and experience are unparalleled.

The event will showcase the latest methods for reinventing category management and working with cross functional teams in sales, shopper insights and shopper marketing to drive growth and win at retail. Whether you are new to category management, a seasoned veteran, or a proactive strategist interested in being a better collaborator, this is THE event for you.

WHO
We are currently recruiting corporate retailers and manufacturers from a diverse range of industries to share new perspectives and case studies about the next generation of category management.

TOPIC AREAS
Content areas for 2010 include but are not limited to:
Navigating Brand Needs with Category Needs during Strained Times
The Role of Brands in Stores
Driving Retailer Growth & Profits by Understanding Customer Interactions with Categories
How Lifestyles and Lifestages Affect Buying Trends by Category
Using Shopper Information to Drive Better Decisions at Retail
Turning Plans into Success at the Store Level: Getting the Implementation Right
Building Category Plans Equipped to Evolve as Customers Needs & Preferences Change
Driving Incremental Volume in Categories to Improve Total Store Performance
Beyond the Numbers: Evolving Your Category Management Practices with Shopper Insights
Managing the Assortment Amidst the Private Brand Boom
Reinventing the Store Layout to Optimize Flow & Adjacency Opportunities
Redesigning the Aisles Around Shopper Occasions
Testing Category Changes Virtually
Aligning the Innovation Pipeline with the Value Proposition
Category Management Principles in Convenience Stores
Recalibrating the Assortment Mix Models to Align with Today's Consumers
ROI: Integrating Data to Ensure Optimal Return on Investment
Innovative Solutions Delivered on the Shelf
Identifying Your Competency Models to Ensure Effective & Efficient Category Management
Streamlining Category Management Analytics & Reporting
Next Generation Sales: Insights + Collaboration=Powerful Results
How a Grocery List Can Dictate Path to Purchase

We are also currently recruiting speakers for the Shopper Marketing Fusion Summit - The intersection of category management and in-store marketing
Reorganizing the Cross-Functional Teams for Transparency and Data Sharing
Creating a Process to Move from Insights to Deployment to Implementation
Building a Shopper-Centric Marketing Team
Integrating Social Media & Social Networking
Creating Cross-Channel Synergy for a Seamless End to End Shopping Experience

** Please feel free to submit additional topics of your choice. These are only a few themes and we are not limiting submissions to these topic themes alone.

Please see template below for standard abstract format:

Sample Session Summary

Maximizing the Balances Scorecard for Agents and Site Improvements
Tom Smith, VP, Customer Analytics, ABC Company
Tom offer a dramatically different approach to using balanced scorecards for enterprise-wide business improvements. He will show how he designed his agents scorecards, implemented them and how he communicated the findings to key stakeholders to create change. He will also share his ideas to “interactive” measures versus “linear” measures so that measurements align better with the user and customer experience.

KEY TAKEAWAYS
• A new balanced scorecards design system
• More effective measurement of an organization
• Transforming into business improvements

Brief Bio: Tom has spent more than 20 years within with various Fortune 100 companies focused on building the right metrics infrastructure. He has led the customer metrics group within ABC for the past 10 years where they have measured over 30 million in cost savings improvements. He is certified in XXXX.

Speaker contact details:
Tom Smith
VP, Customer Analytics
ABC Company
123 Main Street
Cleveland, OH 10111
P: 333.444.5566
Cell: 333.444.66.777

Please indicate which format you feel would be most appropriate for the proposed topic. Format options include:
Standard case study presentation (45 minutes long)
Panel (3-4 participants debate a selected topic for approximately 1 hour)
Lead an interactive audience discussion breaking the audience into teams (45 minutes long)
Experiential workshop (3.5 hours long)
Moderated discussion (45 minutes long - submissions should be prepared to service as moderator for a discussion group)

For Practitioners Only:
For consideration, please email apowers@iirusa.com with the following information by Wednesday, March 24, 2010:
Proposed speaker name(s), job title(s), and company name(s)
Contact information including address, telephone and email
Please indicate which of the topics you plan to address. If it is the latest tools and techniques, please indicate what is new about the. (Please indicate the topic area if it is an interactive session and the amount of time you will need).
Talk title
Summary of the presentation (3-5 sentences)
What the audience will gain from the presentation (please list 3 key takeaways)

What if I am not a corporate practitioner (from a client-side company) but still would like to participate?
80% of our content will be delivered by corporate practitioners. A limited number of sessions on the program are reserved for our event sponsors. If you are a consultant or solutions provider and wish to be a part of the program, please contact Jon Saxe at 646-895-7467 or via email at jsaxe@iirusa.com for information on how you can get involved.

Due to the high volume of response, we are unable to respond to each submission. All those selected to participate as speakers will be notified shortly after the deadline.

Thank you for your interest in The Category Leadership Conference. Check back for updates on the program at www.iirusa.com/category.

All the best,

Amanda Powers
Senior Conference Producer
Institute for International Research

The Private Brand Movement: OFFICIAL CALL FOR PRESENTERS

The Private Brand Movement 2010
Building Brands at Retail. Strategy. Design. Innovation.

We invite you to submit a speaking proposal directly to Amanda Powers, Senior Conference Producer, by Wednesday, March 24, 2010. Send to apowers@iirusa.com.

IIR's FUSE Conference presents The Private Brand Movement 2010, a unique event for those focused on building brands at retail in order to drive customer loyalty, differentiation and overall profitability. Priority will be given to retail practitioners who wish to present. We also encourage you to submit team presentations, where two members of cross-functional teams co-present.

This event will take place September 27-29, 2010 in Chicago, IL and will include three days of case studies, panel discussions and interactive sessions. We are currently recruiting corporate practitioners from the RETAIL and BRAND world who can share best practices in the form of real-world case studies, stories of what's worked and what hasn't.

Who will attend this premier cross-industry conference?
Attendees will be senior-level professionals including Presidents, Vice Presidents, Sr. Directors, Directors, Sr. Managers and Managers of Brand Development, Brand Strategy, Design, Category Management, Innovation, Market Research, Advertising, Shopper/Consumer Insights/Research, Merchandising and more.

Preliminary Topic Areas for 2010:
• From Merchandisers to Brand Managers: How Today's Retailers are Stepping Up
• Brand Architecture for Today's Consumers
• Brand Sensory Equity to Strike Emotional Connections
• Developing a Strategy to Lead the Process
• Stepping Out of Name Brand Shadows
• Brand, Price and Packaging Architecture: The Right Mix for Your Customer
• Principles in Designing Across Categories
• Brand Equity Survival: Developing Packaging that Can't Be Replicated
• Distinction through Green Packaging: Less is More
• Consumer-Centric SUQ Rationalization & Category Optimization
• Savvy Retailing Amidst Organizational Challenges
• Advancing Equity and Value by Strengthening Your Brand Loyalty
• A Line Extension is Not Innovation
• Changing the Conversation from Competitor to Ally: Leveraging National Brands to Create Unique Opportunities for Retailers
• Manu-Tailing: A New Approach to Manufacturer & Retail Partnerships
• Reinventing Innovation: The Strategy Conundrum
** Please feel free to submit additional topics of your choice.

Formats Include:
1. Standard case study presentation (45 minutes long)
2. Interactive ideation, networking and brainstorming sessions (20-60 minutes long)
3. If you'd like to be a speaker on a panel, submit your interest, along with a bio - no formal topic proposals needed.

We are also interested in proposals for half day workshops. These workshops should be focused on specific techniques and skill building topics.

For Practitioners Only:
For consideration, please email apowers@iirusa.com with the following information by Wednesday, March 24, 2010:
• Proposed speaker name(s), job title(s), and company name(s)
• Contact information including address, telephone and email

Please indicate which of the topics you plan to address. If it is the latest tools and techniques, please indicate what is new about the. (Please indicate the topic area if it is an interactive session and the amount of time you will need).
• Talk title
• Summary of the presentation (3-5 sentences)
• What the audience will gain from the presentation (please list 3 key takeaways)

Added Bonus: Each speaker will receive free admission to the conference (a $2000+ value) including admission to all conference sessions, networking breaks, lunches, exhibit halls, etc.

Attention to Vendors/Suppliers interested in participating in the event.
There is a wide variety of sponsorship and exhibiting opportunities for vendors and suppliers to have a presence at the event. To inquire about exhibiting and sponsorship opportunities, contact Sarene Yablonsky, Business Development Manager at syablonsky@iirusa.com or via phone at 646.895.7474.

Due to the high volume of response, we are unable to respond to each submission. All those selected to participate as speakers will be notified shortly after the deadline.

Should retailers leave demographics behind?

Reuters reports that German consumer products maker Henkel has found that shoppers who plan their trips, scanning circulars and clipping coupons, actually spend more money than others, making them a prime target for retailers and manufacturers.

These shoppers accounted for 31 percent of spending on packaged goods in 2009, even though they only make up 26 percent of U.S. households.

Despite their bargain-hunting ways, the group -- which Henkel dubbed "Shoptimizers" -- on average spent more than $7,100 last year, buying more packaged goods while cutting back on some fresh items, Henkel said.

Consumers who do a little planning before they shop and look for deals once they are in stores, a group Henkel calls "Mainstreeters," spent close to $6,300 on average, up $81.

Carefree shoppers, who never use coupons, spent just over $5,600 in such outlets last year, up $246, Henkel found.

Despite their distinct shopping patterns, the three groups generate profit margins for retailers that are nearly identical, he said. They are also split evenly in age, income and household size.

Learn more about the survey done by Henkel ACNielsen and Information Resources Inc by visiting the original article.

Retailers should leave demographics behind

After you've reviewed the data, what do you think?

Follow Shopper 360 on Twitter!

In addition to this blog, the Shopper 360 team is engaging and learning about current shopper trends from Twitter. We encourage you to follow us @Shopper360. Tag all of your tweets with #Shopper360. We'll follow you back and we look forward to you joining the conversation!

Engaging Shoppers with Every Step, Real Time

Stop & Shop/Giant has set out to improve its customer loyalty by creating a uniquely personal and relevant shopping experience. In this session, you will learn how a customer-facing technology was leveraged to create operational enhancements and reach customers at their point of purchase. This case study showcases how real-time in-store behavior and past purchase history can be translated to deliver highly targeted promotional messaging and exclusive savings to customers while they shop. You'll learn how participating brands are experiencing saldes life and how the retailer is benefiting by giving their customer a rewarding shopping experience.

Stephen Vowles, Senior Vice President of Marketing, Stop & Shop will discuss:

• How new audience targeting tactics are revolutionizing the way retailers and brands can reach specific customers
• How Stop & Shop is driving larger baskets and increased frequency with targetd media and self-service technology
• Pitfalls to avoid when selecting & implementing customer-facing technology solutions
• How brands can effectively and measurably leverage digital in-store marketing

"Engaging Shoppers with Every Step, Real Time" Monday, July 12 at 9am

Shopper Insights in Action 2010

Brochure Download

Register Today

Study: Trying Too Hard to Track Spending Counterproductive for Grocery Shoppers

A recent report by Koert van Ittersum, assistant professor of marketing, van Ittersum sought to learn whether, when, and how grocery shoppers keep track of their in-store spending. The report found that most shoppers do overspend because they rely to heavily on calculating costs in their heads. van Ittersum said, "When shopping in a grocery store, the chaotic, information-rich environment can tax a shopper's ability to mentally calculate the total basket price. Executing many arithmetic operations with multi-digit pricing is demanding. Our findings show that shoppers tend to be more accurate when they employ short-cut strategies in their calculations."

We encourage you to read van Ittersum's report. How can you use this information in your efforts to improve the in-store experience for the shopper?

Study: Trying Too Hard to Track Spending Counterproductive for Grocery Shoppers

How to reach the Penny Pinchers

Zippy Cart recently posted an article about how to reach the customers that aren't really looking to listen: the steadfast fruglists and the involuntary penny pinchers. Both of these shopper segments are looking to save money, and may therefore be not very receptive to advertising. It's key to tap into their core motivations to overcome their frugalness. The article suggests reaching them where they are looking, in coupon ads and deal seeking newsletters. The article also looks at other ways you can reach them as well as the increase in mobile shopping. Read the full article here.