Over the past few years, grocers have innovated in a number of ways to attract more customers: varying store formats fit different needs and spaces; loyalty programs coupled with gas savings drive traffic; and in-store kiosks, smartphone apps and other new media applications appeal to consumers’ passion for technology.

Store perimeters too have undergone significant change as part of this effort. The traditional bakery and produce sections, which have been expanded with organic and whole-grain products, are now joined by banks, health clinics, restaurants and other departments designed to bring more shoppers through the door and entice them to spend more time and money. Self-service checkout stations symbolize convenience. These and other moves focused on the perimeter have been successful in generating growth – more than 8 percent in perimeter sales growth in grocery stores.

But lost in all of this is one fundamental fact: the center store, which generates 73 percent of total store sales and 77 percent of profit, is actually showing declines on a same-store basis. Management practices that are based on a product view of the market cause competition between similar products and categories. In fact, one can argue that disproportionate investment in the perimeter can actually create a drag on total store sales and profits.

The net result is the traditional center store has become vulnerable to value retail players. Shoppers are fulfilling some of their needs in retail formats based on a product’s price. So cleaning supplies once bought as part of the weekly grocery trip might now be purchased at mass merchandisers, club or dollar stores with lower prices. For the grocery channel alone, over a five-year period ending June 2010, this channel blurring and consumer switching trend equated to $23 billion in lost opportunity due to lost trips.

Winning Consumers Back is Mission Critical
So what can grocers do to win back some of those trips? It begins with a strong focus on true shopper demand and leveraging the total store, moving away from product-centric category management and toward consumer-centric shopper management. While price, convenience, variety and shopping experience all play important roles in determining where consumers shop, only through a better understanding and leveraging of shopper needs and missions can the industry align around demand, deliver against current and future shopper needs, and win trips.

A new model for winning trips and to drive shopper loyalty is by focusing on what Nielsen calls the demand landscape. This requires a focus on true shopper demand. Simply put, shoppers plan their shopping missions based on need. Once retailers understand customers’ mission in and around their stores, they can create solutions targeted to those shoppers.

Fulfilling mission-based shopper demand requires a shift from a category management approach to one that revolves around shopper management. Consumers typically buy combinations of products across the store.

Innovate and Renovate
Consumers have responded positively to some innovations. Think about the way stores are organized for the holidays. Many retailers stock all of the food common to that time of year/event together in one place. Around Thanksgiving, for instance, stuffing, cranberry sauce, pumpkin pies, festive decorations, tableware and other items related to that holiday are grouped in one section, making it more convenient for the shopper to stock up on the merchandise necessary to fully celebrate the occasion.

Why not extend that concept beyond the holidays? Think of these typical needs – taco night or birthday parties. No single department or category can deliver against those needs alone. So what about developing fully integrated meal or event-driven sections, or simply in-aisle displays that include assortment from across the store along with a written and video-driven recipe center. One major food manufacturer has done just that by grouping their products along with complementary items into focused end cap displays, leading to a 30-70 percent incremental lift.

Another way retailers can rejuvenate center store is by establishing other mission-driven store sections, such as pet, entertainment, home cleaning, alcoholic beverages, health & beauty and housewares. “Stores within a store” provide consumers with a destination where they can complete their missions.

One leading grocer created an open-air store within a store focused on pets to attract the large number of shoppers who indicated that their shopping trips always began with a stop to restock their pet supplies. While the concept is still in its early stages, it has already yielded some impressive results: total pet department sales were up almost 15 percent, with sales of supplies and accessories up a tremendous 73 percent. What’s more, the establishment of this store within the store has increased shoppers’ likelihood of purchasing from the store as well as the perception that the retailer cares about pets and pet owners.

The Opportunity is Clear
While some of these ideas may not be new, there still is tremendous opportunity for all. The store within a store concept has been attempted in many cases, to mixed effect. But many of those efforts have been category focused (e.g., office supply, toy and dollar store sections) rather than shopper-centric solutions.

The magic lies in tailoring solutions to your local shopper needs. Shoppers want solutions that span the entire store, and winning retailers will be those who are flexible and adjust formats to cater to their needs at a mission level, not simply category-by-category. That means striking the right balance between perimeter and center store.  At the same time, winning manufacturers will be ones who help retailers provide these solutions with an eye on the total store, not one product. This shift from category management to shopper management is one way to drive shopper loyalty and total store growth.

In the post-recession global economy, retailers in developed markets are facing a changed landscape that features fewer stores, heavier discounting and more discriminating shoppers. In contrast, retail in most developing markets like Vietnam has remained fairly robust, and all signs point to further opportunities for expansion. Desirable real estate is still difficult to obtain, competition remains strong from both domestic and foreign players, and the middle class continues to grow.

The Retail Landscape
With these factors in mind, it is no surprise that A.T. Kearney ranked Vietnam one of the top three most attractive Asian markets in their 2010 Global Retail Development Index.  The nation’s 2010 GDP growth is expected to be 5.5 percent, slightly lower than previous years, but still ahead of many markets. Yet amidst relatively high inflation, the economy remains robust, with the performance of most Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) categories fairing well.

Vietnam now has over a half million stores selling consumer packaged goods and continues to see steady growth.  While the number of traditional trade stores grew 6 percent in 2009 (see Figure 1), the growth of Vietnam’s modern trade (MT) store numbers was substantial: up 45 percent. The strong growth in MT outlets is expected to continue as significant growth opportunities remain relative to the country’s Southeast Asian neighbors.

Figure 1

Vietnam’s population is estimated at 86.5 million, with around three quarters of the population residing in rural areas. It’s no surprise then that almost 46 percent of Vietnam’s FMCG store turnover is attributed to rural areas. What’s interesting for suppliers is that over time, rural consumers are introducing new categories to their repertoires as their level of disposable income increases and demand grows for more sophisticated products. Consumers are also moving from “must have” staple items such as rice and shampoo to discretionary items such as deodorants/skincare.

Since the opening of the retail market by the Vietnamese government, the key international players continue to be Big C, Metro Cash and Carry, while Saigon Coop continues to be the leading local chain.  Over the past few years, convenience stores have also taken root, with both local and foreign players competing for customers.

Modern Trade Outlook
Sales in modern trade stores enjoyed growth of 63 percent in 2009 versus 2008, with MT sales contributing 11 percent of total FMCG sales across Vietnam by the end of 2009. There are 752 MT outlets in Vietnam, up 45 percent from last year.  With the significant increase in MT outlets shoppers have only slightly increased their store repertoire (see Figure 2).  Although shoppers have not increased their number of store visits in any noticeable manner, they have increased spend per visit, especially at supermarkets (see Figure 3).  With the continued opportunities for expansion, 66 percent of business leaders expect MT to contribute at least 10 percent to sales revenue by this year.

Figure 2

Figure 3

Food For Thought
Growth is still on the radar for Vietnam with a number of areas to keep in mind:

• Modern trade and specific convenience management systems will need faster development.
• Maximizing portfolio efficiency in-store will be key to success in the still dominant traditional trade channel.
• Rural strategies must be part of long term planning in Vietnam.
• As modern trade development accelerates, this channel will have an increasingly more significant influence on the way people shop, which will inevitably lead to opportunities to create new categories.

Most importantly, to win in the modern trade arena, incumbent players as well as new, emerging entrants will need to consider very carefully the needs and wants of their consumers, and devise strategies to satisfy these specific consumer demands.

To get a better sense of where the fast moving consumer goods industry stands – and where it’s going – in Asia Pacific Nielsen has released its comprehensive mid-year report highlighting regional trends such as total FMCG category growth, the role of hypermarkets and the changing gender profile of shoppers as well as country highlights on retail trends in 14 key nations.

FMCG Growth
Volume growth in the industry was down across many Asia Pacific countries as consumers cut back during the recession.  But there were some standouts: India and Vietnam posted value sales rises of nearly 15%.  In China, where value sales had been posting double-digit gains for much of the decade, growth slowed to just 3% in 2009.  But thus far in 2010, the segment has rebounded nicely, with 11% in the sector in the first quarter of the year.

Modern vs. traditional
The traditional retail trade, both wet markets and counter service mom & pop stores, continues to play an integral role throughout much of Asia.  Even in countries experiencing rapid growth such as China, Vietnam, Indonesia and Malaysia, the wet market continues to be the main place for buying fresh food.  But modern grocery stores, such as hypermarkets and convenience stores are now an established presence in most urban areas, with the strongest growth for such formats seen in China and Korea.

Modern channels have continued to grow steadily and now account for 53% of all packaged grocery sales in the region, up from just 35% in 2000.  But that trend varies widely: almost all packaged grocery shopping was done in the modern market in Taiwan and Singapore (94% and 92%, respectively) while in India, just 5% went through self-service outlets.

China has been the most dynamic country over the past decade, with the modern trade growing from 34% in 2000 to 64% in 2009, the fastest retail ever seen with Korea fast on its heels, expanding from 63% in 2000 to 86%.

Format Wars
The expansion of hypermarkets has been a boon for many shoppers, especially those in urban areas.  Today, this format is the strongest modern trade channel, accounting for 28% of packaged grocery sales in China.  In Shanghai, 77% of shoppers use hypermarkets as their main store, while in Beijing, 45% do the same.  In Korea, the channel accounts for 31% of trade.  Meanwhile, in Southeast Asia, Hypermarkets are strongest in Thailand with 90% of urban shoppers using them regularly, there has also been significant development in Malaysia where nearly 40% of shoppers spend most in this format.

In many of these countries, the traditional grocery store has been in slow decline as it has faced increased competition.  In Korea, the traditional channel posted a closure rate of 5% per year, accounting for more than 50,000 store closures over the course of the decade.  Although the hypermarket is making huge gains in Malaysia, most shoppers (over 70%) still visit traditional grocery stores two to three times a week. Asian shoppers now have a wide portfolio of alternative shopping channels to meet different shopping needs and occasions including both traditional and modern stores.

Any visitor to Asia will notice the surge of small format stores, both convenience stores and mini-marts, with some intersections boasting two or more such stores on the corner.  Convenience stores such as 7-Eleven, Familymart and Circle K have continued to grow strongly throughout the region, with shoppers attracted by their convenient location and food service offer.

Indonesia has seen explosive growth in mini-markets, small modern grocery stores, with local chains leading this change.  With just 2,000 such stores at the start of the decade, the nation now boasts more than 11,500, and this channel’s now accounts for more than 17% of grocery sales.

Tapping the Potential of Private Label
In North America and Europe, private label goods have experienced strong growth, especially during the recession.  What’s more, consumers in those regions say that they expect to continue buying private label goods even after the recession is over.   The story is very different in Asia.  The private label concept has yet to make a significant dent in sales, and only in Hong Kong do they have above 5% share of sales.  Retailers across the region have been investing in the development of Private Labels but still have a lot of work to do to convince shoppers of the quality and value of these products compared to leading brands.

What’s Ahead
The changes shaping the retail scene in Asia Pacific go beyond store size and format.  Nielsen has identified a number of trends that will affect retailers and manufacturers in the next decade, including:

• The growing role of the male shopper – Tradition still leads the way in most countries in the region, but an increasing number of men are becoming involved in grocery shopping.  Only in India and Indonesia do housewives dominate, and Korea and Vietnam also still strongly adhere to traditional roles.  Across the region, 22% of the “main” grocery shoppers for households are now male, up from 14% a decade ago.

While there are signs of change in Korea, likely driven by the development of Hypermarkets, only 11% of men claim to be the main shopper for their families.  In Vietnam, the percentage is likely to stay low for a while as long as the traditional Wet Market channel continues to dominate packaged grocery sales.

• Hypermarket growth stalls as multi-format strategy gains – Smaller formats that offer shoppers a more convenient way to “top-up” shopping have gained in popularity, many being opened by the leading hypermarket chains themselves.
• Shopping outside the store – Shopping done via the TV or Internet is gaining traction in Asia Pacific, with Korea leading the online shopping sector.   Koreans have embraced this “format,” with 4% of shoppers saying they use the Internet for the majority of their grocery shopping and 71% saying they use it regularly to purchase groceries and personal care items.  An additional 30% say they use TV shopping.

These and other trends are discussed in the 2010 APAC shopper trends report.

Todd Hale, SVP Consumer & Shopper Insights, The Nielsen Company

Gloom or Boom?
While consumers around the world are more confident about the year ahead, Americans still seem relatively unconvinced there will be drastic improvement. And they have good reason to be leery. The “jobless” recovery—like government bailouts—hasn’t yet touched consumers. Banks remain skittish about extending credit. Home foreclosures will likely hit hard in the first quarter of 2010 as banks work through an incredible backlog. And smaller community banks with exposure to commercial loans will be acquired should they not have the reserves to cover the losses. While economic indicators point to a technical recovery, a fair number of looming issues have yet to be addressed.

With these mixed messages, what will the American consumer do? Nielsen research reveals that consumers’ fundamental spending adjustments are likely to last in the next year. Either by choice or necessity, their new-found thriftiness will continue. Almost one-third of consumers (30%) say that they will use credit less even when conditions improve with 19% saying that they intend to save more money.

Discretionary spending cutbacks continue to change the way consumers shop. Consumers now use coupons with an enthusiasm not seen in many years—for the first three quarters of 2009, Inmar reported that manufacturer coupon redemptions were up 26%. Food departments outperformed non-food, health and beauty and general merchandise departments as Americans returned to cooking and eating at home—boosting grocery channel shopping trips in the process. Store brands grew becoming an acceptable alternative—or even preferred brand—for many. Meanwhile, consumers “traded down” across categories, preferring chicken, turkey and pork to beef and seafood. While value channels such as supercenters, club and dollar stores, as well as online retailers, drove shopping trips to their stores, discretionary retail channels (home improvement, office supply and pet stores) saw declines.

Top Five Consumer Goods Spending Trends in 2010:

1. Restraint remains the new normal
   Americans’ confidence has been slower to rebound compared to other parts of the world. The need to save money, unemployment and other economic issues continue to be top of mind, suggesting that any return to past behavior may take some time—if at all.
2. Value is a top priority
   With no signs of readiness to open wallets, a focus on low prices at the expense of all other variables threatens margins. Value messaging must also include some point of differentiation beyond pricing. Manufacturers and retailers that “drive the recession wave” and take an active role in innovation and ad spending are likely to be the big winners.
3. Store brand growth continues
   Even with year-end 2009 softness in store brand dollar share growth as retailers cut prices across the store to be more competitive, unit share growth continues and retailer focus has never been stronger.
4. Grocery consolidation intensifies
   Local and regional players, unable to drive profits in the soft economy, will become acquisition targets and some larger national and regional grocers will divest unprofitable formats and banners to strengthen investments behind their winning formats and banners.
5. Assortment wars escalate
   Retailer efforts to simplify the consumer shopping experience by eliminating aisle and shelf clutter will cause market share land grabs for small and medium-sized brands in pursuit of elusive revenue growth. Retailers may lose sales as they shift away from in-store merchandising that drove impulse buying and built shopper baskets. Look for brands caught in the trap of greater store brand focus and assortment optimization to forge alliances with key retailers, enter or step-up efforts as store brand suppliers, and/or explore direct-to-consumer sales.

2010 U.S. Outlook

Part 1: Cross Media

• Big Screen, Smart Screen, Small Screen: Top 5 Cross-Media Trends
• You Can Take It With You: Future Trends In Media

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Part 2: Consumer

• Winner Winner Chicken Dinner – Top 5 Consumer Goods Spending Trends
• Innovation Creates Opportunities for CPG Growth
• Aging Puts a Wrinkle in U.S. Marketplace

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Part 3: Advertising

• Talking Back – Top Five Advertising Trends
• Get Ready for the Audience-Centric Web
• What Would John Wanamaker Say Today?

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Part 4: Entertainment

• There’s No Business Like Show Business – Top Five Entertainment Trends
• Game On – The World is Watching More Than Ever
• Video Games in Play

In item posted here in March, I made the following statement:

U.S. consumers would certainly benefit from lower prices.  But retailers should be careful with how far they push their manufacturer partners to lower prices. If they simply push for lower prices without planning for the right lower prices, they may find it extremely difficult to grow same-store sales this year.

That article reviewed category retail unit price trends for the 4-week period ending 1/24/2009, which were up 5.5 percent across the store, but we were starting to see some sizeable price reductions in a number of commodity-price-driven categories.  Of the 123 studied categories, we found 11 with price declines of up to 12.4 percent versus the prior year.

But what a difference six months makes.  Since the end of January, unit prices have fallen rapidly.  For the 4-week period ending 7/11/2009, unit prices were up just 1 percent and the number of categories with price declines almost tripled to 30 categories.  Categories with the largest price compression include fresh eggs (- 24%), milk (- 19%), cheese (- 10%), diet aids (- 9%), baby needs (- 8%), fresh produce (- 7%) and shortening & oil (-6%).  None of these seven categories posted dollar sales growth and four of the seven saw dollar sales fall between 16 and 20 percent.

Consumer Packaged Goods Prices Have Dropped Sharply

July 2009 Unit Prices Up Just 1.0% Across the Store

Five of Seven Categories with the Greatest Price Increase Posted Dollar Sales Growth

My colleague Mark Laceky, Vice President of our Price & Promotion Practice, cautions retailers on price rollbacks, stating that price rollbacks reduce category sales as categories have far less price sensitivities than brands.  As price rollbacks are market-wide, there is no competitive advantage for individual retailers, so no inherent traffic gains are made.

These price cuts are providing consumers with exceptional value, but they are showing up in the form of weakening or declining department, category and same-store store sales trends for many U.S. retailers.  Just check out the latest monthly or quarterly same-store-sales trends for the leading food, drug, mass-merchandiser and warehouse/club retailers.  Retailer announced price reductions have been very common as of late, so don’t expect for the situation to improve in the near term.

“The fact is that the contamination was limited to one supplier, and none of the big name brands were affected.  Consumers seem to have gotten the message and resumed their usual buying habits,” said Todd Hale, Senior Vice President, Consumer and Shopper Insights at Nielsen.

62 percent of Taiwan’s grocery shoppers claim to have become more price-sensitive, while among females over 35 and low income households, that number rises to 75 percent.  One store, Post Exchange, has capitalized on this trend with its low price strategy. As a result, 17 percent of all Taiwanese shoppers spend the majority of their grocery dollars at the chain.

Brand loyalty for some categories has suffered: more than 60 percent of consumers would buy an alternative brand of biscuit, snacks, shampoos and laundry detergents if their usual brands were out of stock.  That said, vitamins and face care products seem to engender the highest levels of brand loyalty, with high levels of consumers saying that they would wait until their brand was available or locate it at another retailer.

Read the full press release about Taiwanese consumer trends here.

“While many retailers will likely scale back expansion plans in 2009 and 2010, aggressive and forward-looking retailers will use this time to test new formats and look for opportunities to expand in existing and new markets as weaker retailers close their doors or put themselves up for sale.  Americans will continue to look to stretch their dollars further given the current economic uncertainty, creating larger markets for discount retailers and grocers alike.  At the same time, we expect to see continued contraction among electronics, toy retailers and other discretionary retailers,” said Todd Hale, Senior Vice President of Consumer & Shopper Insights at Nielsen.

Since 2001, value and convenience stores increased store count by the largest percentages.  But that trend is not likely to continue.  Since the end of 2007, the number of convenience stores declined by more than 1,400.  Additionally, the number of toy stores has declined by 60% over the eight year period (from 2,458 to 999).  Electronics stores dropped by 5%, and with the recent announcement from Circuit City that it will liquidate all of their 567 stores, that retail format will likely continue to decline.

On a more positive note, several retail channels showed solid growth:

• Warehouse Clubs
• Supercenters
• Dollar stores

Additionally, pet stores, book stores, office supply, hardware/home improvement and liquor stores all posted growth as well.

Walmart and Target led expansion over grocers, which expanded more slowly and in different ways, such as opening new, smaller formats.

The niche grocery segment has shown tremendous growth, with expansion from high-end (Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s) and low-end (Aldi and Save-A-Lot).  Aldi, the deep-discount German grocery chain is looking to add 75 stores in the US in 2009, and its sales grew 21% to $7 billion in 2008.  Aldi and Save-A-Lot, which has also expanded during the eight-year period in question, offer budget-conscious consumers extreme value across a reduced assortment set with strong emphasis on store brands.

In the drug store segment, Nielsen finds rapid new store openings as well as acquisitions from three big chains.  Walgreens opened or acquired 2,952 stores between 2001 and 2008, while CVS expanded by 2,158 stores and Rite Aid expanded by an additional 1,316 locations.  CVS will get another boost in store count when they close the deal to acquire Longs Drugstores.  Warehouse stores also continued to be popular, with BJ’s, Costco and Sam’s all showing significant growth.

Perhaps the most interesting finding of Nielsen’s research is the tremendous growth within the Dollar channel.  While Walmart corporate opened up 1,025 stores between 2001 and 2008, the five leading dollar store chains opened 8,291 locations during the same period.  Companies like Dollar General, Family Dollar and Dollar Tree opened thousands of stores each.  And in the process, some of the companies, notably Dollar General and Family Dollar, have evolved to offering more mainline brands than in the past to position themselves as a destination trip among their core shoppers.

Growth (by value) of British food sales for the four-week period ending December 27 was up by 2.6% year-over-year overall and by 4.5% year-over-year for grocery multiples.

“The consumer was much more cautious this year, and it was a back to basics Christmas,” Mike Watkins, senior manager, retailer services, Nielsen, noted.  “Sales of packaged grocery (+11%), frozen (+10%), and confectionery (+8%) were buoyant, while sales of liquor (+4%), heath and beauty (+1%), and deli counter (+1%) were more muted.”

Overall, “Out of Town” super stores (25,000 square feet+) were the star holiday performers, with sales up by 8% in the two weeks ending December 27, according to Nielsen.  The data suggests that shoppers held back on Christmas shopping, waiting until last minute and then maximizing their spending at larger stores.

Among “Out of Town” retailers, Asda had particularly strong sales growth (+6.7%).  The chain increased its market share from 15.7% during December 2007 to 16.1% this December, according to Nielsen.

Morrisons also showed impressive growth (+9.1%) during the 12 weeks ending December 27.  The retailer increasing its market share from 10.1% during Q4 2007 to 10.6% for the fourth quarter of 2008.

“Retailers with keen pricing and a value for money offering have really performed well over Christmas,” Watkins noted.  “It is evident that consumers really did cut back on the luxuries and make do this year.”

View the full press release.

1. Take higher margins in less price-sensitive categories
Ranking categories based on purchase frequency is a fast and inexpensive way of identifying categories that are least sensitive to higher pricing.  Shoppers are less likely to remember pricing on products purchased only once or twice per year. For higher-priced products, however, shoppers are more likely to shop around for the best deal.

2. Lower the thermostat in stores this winter
Your customers will be wearing coats anyway.  This will save on heating costs while promoting a “green” image.  Retailers can post a sign on the front door, letting shoppers know how lowering the heat helps the environment.  Also consider turning down the air conditioning in the summertime.

3. Publish your own $100/week family menu
Supermarkets can create a weekly meal plan for a family of four to eat nutritious meals from easy recipes tied to key items. Look to your vendors for meal ideas or consider ways to promote your own store brands. Consider showing price comparisons to fast food restaurants.

4. Tie discounts to large or frequent trips
Why offer red-hot door-buster deals that do nothing to generate additional purchases?  Instead, consider offering hot prices for shoppers with a $100 purchase.  Supermarkets may consider a special deal for shoppers with $500 in receipts over the course of a month.

5. Expand beyond your channel’s traditional product mix
What’s stopping grocers from selling video games or electronics stores from selling snacks?  Convenience and liquor stores also have a huge opportunity to sell products appealing to men, like tools, gadgets, and video games. What’s more, grocers can take higher margins on “non-grocery” items, since shoppers buying electronics or clothes in supermarkets are looking for convenience and fewer trips — not always the lowest price.

6. Maintain competitive pricing in most frequently-shopped categories
Shoppers can recognize a high price on the products they buy weekly, whether it’s milk, bread, soda, or diapers.  To give the appearance of low prices, retailers need to keep these items priced competitively, even if those low prices are subsidized by less price-sensitive items.

7. Disguise store brands
Consumers can usually spot store brands positioned as a low-cost alternative to a national brand.  But in the past few years, savvy retailers are developing premium, multi-tiered store brands. Some retailers, like Walmart, downplay their store brands with different brand names for each department or category.

8. Support organic, natural and green products regardless of sales
The growth of organic products may slow during this economic downturn, but featuring healthy and environmentally sustainable products will help to boost a retailer’s banner equity.  Organic, natural, and green products project a positive image for retailers — and when the economy recovers, retailers will want to be known for more than just low prices.

9. Get shoppers to try premium private label products
No one will know if your private label salad dressing is as good as the national brands if they don’t try it.  Shoppers are creatures of habit, and changing habits takes some effort.  Offer trial sizes, $1-sizes, or 100-calorie packs.  Or, consider featuring one private label product each week with a free unit to shoppers spending $100.  Shopper taste comparison demonstrations in the store may also help to boost private label products.

10. Make a good impression on new shoppers
The struggling U.S. economy is significantly affecting how and where people shop, with consumers switching between both brands and retailers.  Now is not the time to cut corners on factors that will negatively impact shoppers’ experience.  Don’t let the checkout lines get too long, remove the used tissues and flyers from the bottoms of carts, keep the conveyor belt clean, and treat every shopper like it’s their first visit to your store.

Read more about how to cope during difficult economic times in “Consumer Insight.”

View the January 2009 issue of “Consumer Insight.”