When Shopping Was a Pleasure

I sometimes get the feeling that, once everyone has figured out exactly how to translate their unique shopper insights into relevant, localized, customer-centric marketing programs, retailers are going to act just like they did 75 years ago.

You'll have consumers who frequent particular stores because they feel understood and appreciated there, because they know that the products they need and the services they want will be available within those walls, because they feel like that retailer cares about them as individuals.

Treating customers as individuals with particular wants and needs wasn't called "shopper marketing" 75 years ago. I don't think retailers even had a term for it -- unless it was something general, like "good business sense." But it was practiced on a daily basis at every successful store.

That kind of unwavering dedication to the customer is, to me, the primary reason for the success of Publix. The southeastern supermarket chain (whose profile gets an update this month) more than held its own in Florida -- where 665 of its 926 stores are located -- when Wal-Mart entered the market because it already had a strong connection with its customers; rival chains Winn-Dixie and Albertsons didn't, and they've paid the price in recent years.

A few years ago, I found myself wandering through a Publix in Orlando looking for something called "wine gums" at the request of a co-worker, who mistakenly believed the product would be available at the chain. I had only been searching for a few minutes before a stock clerk asked if I needed help.

This, in itself, is noteworthy. I spend a fair amount of time wandering through supermarkets, and I'm usually only accosted by store employees if they, noticing that I'm not buying anything, identify me as a potential shoplifter -- or, worse, a reporter gathering field intelligence -- and alert the store manager. So simply requiring employees to offer assistance puts Publix ahead of some competitors.

The employee had never heard of wine gums, so he took me to find the store's category manager. She hadn't heard of the product either, but thought maybe the person in charge of checkout merchandising might. He didn't. Neither did the store manager, who offered to have someone call nearby Publix stores to see if they carried it. By this point, my Irish-Catholic guilt over being such a bother had taken hold, so I declined the offer.

The moral to this story is that, by displaying such courtesy, these employees turned what should have been a neutral or even negative experience -- I walked away empty-handed, after all -- into a positive interaction with the brand. Publix is the store "where shopping is a pleasure," even if you don't find what you want.

And I get the feeling that Publix probably supplied this same level of service 75 years ago, no matter what they called it.

Peter Breen
Managing Director, Content
In-Store Marketing Institute

Members: More information here.

Retail Handbook: Marketing at Publix

Speaking of finding things at Publix: Based on our experience, the chain is among the industry leaders when it comes to chain-wide execution, for both corporate-level campaigns and vendor-supplied promotions. That's one of the many reasons Publix is regarded so highly in the packaged goods world and serves as a role model for other supermarket companies. Our updated profile includes more than 100 recent photos of in-store marketing activity.

Members, view the profile.

Store Check: Winn-Dixie in Orlando

Since emerging from bankruptcy protection in late 2006, Winn-Dixie has promised shoppers that it is "Getting Better All the Time." In late 2007, the chain launched a plan to remodel the 520 stores in its scaled-down portfolio at a rate of 75 annually. The Institute presents images from one of the first remodeled Winn-Dixie locations, along with photos from one of its 11 remaining SaveRite price-impact stores.

Members, view the store check.

Marketing Toolbox: In-Store Media & Technology Overview

The Institute presents an overview of noteworthy P-O-P technologies and in-store media advancements from two recent trade shows: March's GlobalShop in Chicago and February's Digital Signage Expo in Las Vegas. Among the highlights are new data-capture systems that turn digital signs into audience measurement tools.

Members: View the overview.

IRI's New Product Pacesetters 2008

Now in its 13th year, the annual "New Product Pacesetters" report from Information Resources Inc. showcases the prior year's most successful packaged goods launches. The Institute's coverage includes more than 75 photos of marketing and merchandising activity conducted by last year's Pacesetters and the brands IRI expects to make next year's list.

Members: View the article.

Desktop Marketing Conference: "Innovative Retail from Around the Globe" by Colin Beaton, Watt International

When it comes to innovative store designs, the U.S. isn't exactly on the cutting edge. Beaton, Watt International's managing director, Middle and Far East, works to remedy the situation by providing an inspirational virtual tour of high-end retail concepts from Dubai, Delhi, London, Shanghai and -- Americans, take heart -- Las Vegas. His audio-enabled presentation from last fall's In-Store Marketing Expo examines such retailers as Louis Vuitton, Biotherm, De Beers, Lucky Brand Jeans, Tourneau, Carolina Herrera, Harvey Nichols and Ted Baker.

Members: View the presentation.

Welcome New Institute Members

The In-Store Marketing Institute is delighted to welcome new and renewing members to the Institute family. Below is a list of the companies that signed up recently. Welcome aboard.

• AccessVia
• AMP Agency
• Armstrong World Ind Inc.
• BBDO Atlanta
• Carl Buddig & Co.
• Colgate-Palmolive
• Columbia College Chicago
• Decision Insight Inc.
• Energizer
• Geoff Howe Marketing Communications
• Goodwin Youth
• IMS (Integrated Merchandising Systems)
• Keter Plastics Ltd.
• MARS Advertising
• Mass Connections
• Medela
• Modernistic Inc.
• North American Corp.
• Omnicom Management Services
• Pratt Displays
• Premier Retail Networks
• Process Displays
• Rand McNally
• Reckitt Benckiser - Engineering
• Sunkist Growers Inc.
• Techtronic Industries Co. Ltd.
• TJX Corp
• Venture Communications Ltd.
• Wal-Mart Stores Inc.
• Westchester Community College