Ahold USA's chains continued to make price the focus of most in-store messaging in January after turning in a fairly successful financial performance in fiscal 2009.

Petco continues to position itself as a reliable source for information on keeping pets healthy.

Driven by what National Retail Federation president Tracy Mullin called "the worst economic environment in nearly a century," 2009 was a year to remember in many ways. Here are a few that I'll remember most vividly:

Story of the Year: Walmart's "Project Impact." By cleaning out Action Alley and whittling down its SKU count, Walmart is forcing a lot of companies to rethink the way they operate in-store. The industry's response to the retailing giant's new business strategy will be the story of 2010.

"Non-Story" of the Year: The P.R.I.S.M. project. Based on the thousands of page views generated by old articles describing what might have been, Nielsen's aborted effort to launch an in-store measurement service could have given "Project Impact" a run for its money had the plan successfully reached syndication. ...More

A collection of articles and image galleries covering holiday merchandising activity.

Pink was again the retail color of choice last month, as leading chains and national brands undertook campaigns leveraging October's designation as National Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

An analysis of self-reported shopping behavior from Meyers Research Center

Nearly three-quarters of respondents to our annual survey reported some level of reduced display placement due to Walmart's Project Impact, but not all CPGs see this as a negative.

This panel presentation provides highlights from the Front-End Focus 2009 study to identify opportunities and maximize profit performance in checkout merchandising.

Walmart's Terry Nannie and Shopper Events' Brian Pear discuss how brand marketers are using the retailer's new in-store sampling program to drive brand awareness and sales.

An overview of industry news and noteworthy technologies from the National Retail Federation's annual conference and trade show.

Free-standing insert (FSI) coupon activity increased 8.0% in 2009 versus 2008 to more than 272 billion coupons dropped, according to Marx Promotion Intelligence, a division of TNS Media Intelligence.