Featured Articles

The Human Factor

By Tim McKenzie, Vestcom International, Inc.

The first vending machine was introduced in London, England to sell postcards, and just a few years later, America ran away with the concept when the Thomas Adams Gum Company began placing self-service gumball machines on train platforms, providing passengers with what, at the time, was a unique shopping experience. Retail automation — meaning the ability for consumers to purchase without the assistance of a clerk or salesperson, or even a retail environment — has gone way beyond the original vending machines and now is a key feature of the retail landscape. Today, we have automated payment and delivery systems for almost every consumer product under the sun. Automation has caught on because it is a good idea for both the retailer and the consumer. The bottom line is customers like automation. But while automation has brought significant advantages, it also has some recognizable drawbacks.

From the Editor

New Kid on the Block

By David Keene, Executive Editor

As we come off the spring trade show season and finally get time to… how do I put this? Men don’t really shop, do we? If I listen to the current agency jargon, I’m not sure I exist at all. In agency speak the shopper is now officially a "she." OK, as I finally get time to do some in-the-field research in retail, I’ll try to forget about gender politics in the pursuit of the elusive shopper. It’s summer, so I’ll put on a pair of flip-flops, and head to the mall as a kid, and see what the new kid on the retail block, digital signage, is up to. We’ll be reporting in the coming issues on what’s new in dynamic signage at-retail. And we’ll be following up on some new developments that hold a lot of promise for those that are betting that digital signage will revitalize the retail space in a way that will lift all boats—digital or traditional media.

Legislation

Retail, and the Healthy Child

By Jim Davidson, Polsinelli Shalton Welte Suelthaus

The year 2007 will go down as a benchmark year for food manufacturing and advertising industry achievements designed to address the issue of childhood obesity in America.  Nevertheless, in spite of major leaps forward to change the nature of advertising directed at children under 12 years of age, and the introduction of a broad range of new “better for you” products, the pressure continues to mount in Washington, D.C. to adopt new regulatory restrictions or enact new legislation designed to regulate the advertising of food products.  
All this is taking place during a year in which U.S. Senators Sam Brownback (R-KS) and Tom Harkin (D-IA), and Federal Communications Commission Chairman Kevin Martin, have overseen the collaboration by a Joint Task Force on Childhood Obesity and the Media that is working to complete a comprehensive report to document the numerous programs initiated by food manufacturers, advertising organizations and the media to promote exercise and better for you foods for kids.  At the same time the report is expected to set out some future objectives for the food, media and advertising industries to tackle.

Marketing At Retail Research and Metrics

The Future of the Retail Transaction

By Lily Lev-Glick

Flashback to 1995 and I’m knee deep in data working on what would turn out to be one of the most quoted statistics in the in-store marketing industry: “Two-thirds of purchase decisions are made in-store.” – 1995 POPAI Consumer Buying Habits Study. Circa 1995, this is when the first real insights into the power of in-store marketing began to emerge. Flash forward to 2008. Today, I’m elbow deep working with brand marketer and retail clients on developing a holistic view at the path to purchase. For as we get closer to the next decade, “winning at retail” will no longer be just about the in-store experience.

Digital Signage

Reality Check For In-Store Marketing

By Laura Davis-Taylor

We're at a critical place in the industry, as the excitement of marketing at-retail and in-store technology continues to ramp up. As rosy as it looks, we still have some serious work to do. For this month’s column, I decided to bite the bullet and explore a topic that not many care to dwell on: the big hurdles that the in-store digital media space still needs to work through. By doing this, I by no means aim to rain on the parade of all of the truly exciting developments that we’re currently appreciating (with a sigh of relief I might add). My goal is to shine a light on some of the sticky stuff that may keep us from continuing with the pace of progress that we’ve enjoyed over the past year or so. Also, rather than just sharing the challenges and bailing out with a heartfelt "good luck," I’ll be taking many of them on in future columns with the help of some of the top minds in the industry. On that note, rather than just provide a bulleted list, we decided to do a round-up interview on this topic with a variety of industry insiders and offer you perspectives from various industry constituents. We hope you find the insights as provocative as we did.

Product Showcase

POPAI Outstanding Merchandising Awards

The 2008 (POPAI Outstanding Merchandising Awards (OMA) Contest celebrated its 50th Anniversary this year, and the Awards were presented at Globalshop in Chicago in March. In this issue, we take a look at some of the Silver Winners, from among the Temporary, Semi-permanent and Permanent categories, further broken down into 28 categories such as Cosmetics, Entertainment, Snack Products & Soft Drinks, Electronic Interactive and Technology, Health Care, Home and Garden, Toys, Beverages, and more.

Shopper Engagement

What Shoppers Say - And What They Do

By Scott Young, Perception Research Services

As marketers recognize the importance of point-of-sale, they want to better understand shoppers’ needs, priorities, and behavior at-retail. Specifically, they want to know how purchase decisions are made — and how to consistently influence shoppers in the aisle. Meaningful insights can come from directly asking people about their shopping habits. However, gathering these insights is not always as simple as it may seem. That’s because simply asking people about their shopping process can also result in misleading feedback. This article will explain why and explore the “gap” between claimed and actual shopping behavior. It will also share some insights gathered from observing shoppers at retail and their implications for improving point-of-sale marketing efforts.