Fitness Training

A few random thoughts for the new year, while I decide if Wii Fit really can fulfill my resolution for more exercise in 2009:

• If your car has a big trunk, are you more inclined to make impulse purchases at the store? That's one question to consider while reading a new academic study that finds a low incidence of unplanned purchases among shoppers in The Netherlands -- where walking to the supermarket is commonplace.

Wharton School professor David Bell, one of the study's three authors, uses the findings to question the "urban legend" of in-store decision-making. But as we've seen before, the key question for in-store marketers is no longer how many purchase decisions are made at the shelf, but what influences those decisions. Bell and his colleagues suggest that the answer lies more in the shopper than the environment ("nature vs. nurture"), which supports the main principle of shopper marketing: that you have to fully understand your customers to reach them effectively.

• Last week, Circuit City became the latest in a growing list of retailers to close its doors in a trend already illustrated by the demise of Linens 'N Things, KB Toys and others that brings the snarky adage, "Second place is the first loser," to life: If you're not No. 1 in your retail channel right now, you're in grave danger of becoming irrelevant.

With Walmart and Target around, Kmart isn't even No. 2 in the mass merchant channel. The chain has undertaken some major merchandising changes in recent years, but is still struggling to attract more shoppers. Does it have a future?

• The economic crisis has triggered a period of "retail Darwinism" in which the companies that survive won't necessarily be the strongest or the smartest, but the ones that can best adapt to change, said Chris Donnelly, a partner in Accenture's retail practice, while speaking this month at the National Retail Federation's annual "Big Show." Donnelly predicted that "a select few" retailers won't just survive the current recession, but will use it as the impetus to "reinvent themselves and reinvent the industry."

In the context of those thoughts, maybe it isn't so crazy to do a little window shopping for interactive technologies in 2009 (many attendees of the NRF Show certainly didn't think so). Like the aforementioned shopper study, this year's trend among emerging in-store media also speaks to the heart of shopper marketing, as technology providers increasingly offer ways to better connect shoppers with the content provided by kiosks, digital signs or hard-wired tables.

• A final thought on some news that broke over the holidays: It was a welcome surprise when Walmart joined the P.R.I.S.M. consortium back in 2006, and the company's support helped galvanize the industry-wide efforts to establish much-needed audience metrics for the retail industry. Its recent decision to drop out of Nielsen In-Store's soon-to-launch syndicated service was disappointing, but shouldn't be viewed as shocking. Walmart has always followed its own path, especially when it comes to sharing data, and the industry has always adapted accordingly. (Institute editorial director Bill Schober offers more insightful thoughts on the topic here.)

"Adapting" is shaping up to be the key action for 2009. Maybe I should go buy a cheap treadmill, too, just to be safe.

Peter Breen
Managing Director, Content
In-Store Marketing Institute

Members: More information here.

Technology: NRF Show Overview

Executives at the National Retail Federation's annual "Big Show" in New York this month were speaking in cautious tones about the state of the industry amidst an economic crisis. But the show floor was nonetheless abuzz with a variety of new technologies that put digital content directly into the hands -- OK, cell phones, technically -- of shoppers. The Institute presents a video overview of some new media solutions on display at the show.

Members, watch the video.

Store Check: Walgreens in Times Square

Looking to make a big splash in its return to Manhattan, Walgreens in November unveiled "the nation's largest, most advanced digital super-sign" above a new store in New York City's Times Square. The drugstore chain is now looking for product vendors who've always wanted to see their name in lights on Broadway.

Members: View the store check.

Retailer Profile: Kmart

Infused with big brands from sister chain Sears and renewed support from product vendors, the once big-five retailer has certainly been busy in the last few years. But hedge fund wizard Eddie Lampert still hasn't been able to conjure up a financial turnaround, and the chain's in-store activity is still playing to less-than-capacity crowds. Our updated Retailer Profile examines the many steps Kmart has taken to improve its still-sagging performance.

Members: View the profile.

Desktop Marketing Conference: "The Impact of Aging Consumers" by Paul Murray, Varsity/Pavone

Today's seniors want to age with style, which is why they're buying leopard-print hearing aids and canes in a rainbow of colors. In a highly rated presentation from last November's In-Store Marketing Expo, Varsity/Pavone's Murray presents results from an ethnographic study of seniors that offers insights into their views on packaging, store design and the shopping experience.

Members: View the presentation.

Research: "Unplanned Category Purchase Incidence: Who Does It, How Often, and Why," by David Bell, et. al.

The latest look at purchase-decision levels comes from the academic world by way of The Netherlands, where an analysis of in-store intercept data suggests that impulse buying is driven more by who the shopper is than what she encounters at the shelf. David Bell of the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School, Daniel Corsten of the Instituto de Empresa Business School in Madrid and George Knox of Tilburg University in The Netherlands presented their findings to the industry this month.

Members, view the research.

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.

• 3M
• Aero Products International Inc.
• BrandPartners Retail Inc.
• Compass Display Group
• Cosco Home & Office Products
• Cundari Group Ltd., Canada
• D.L. Ryan Companies
• Footprint Retail Services
• Fuse Marketing Group, Canada
• Hewlett-Packard Co.
• Hitchcock Fleming & Associates
• Hyde Tools
• Idea Industries Inc.
• Instachange Displays Ltd., Canada
• Launch Creative Marketing
• LeapFrog Enterprises
• MacNeill Engineering Worldwide Company Inc.
• Marketing Alliance Group
• MeadWestvaco
• Microsoft Corporation
• Paramount Home Entertainment
• Pharmavite Corporation
• Promarket Mexico
• Pro-motion Technology Group
• PromoWorks
• Runcit Media Sdn Bhd, Malaysia
• Russell Corp.
• Sara Lee Food & Beverage
• SmartRevenue
• Sonoco CorrFlex
• Sony Computer Entertainment America
• Sperian
• Starcom MediaVest Group
• The Integer Group
• The Marketing Store Worldwide LP
• Time/Warner Retail Sales & Marketing