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		Will retailers and suppliers go for shelf TV? Vote and view live poll results
	55% are more worried about being under stocked than over. See full results below.

You have such a big budget that you’re always looking for more ways to spend it, right? Wrong? Well, too bad, because I found another one for you anyway.

Automated Media Services is rolling out a test (at Delhaize’s Bloom stores) of a new system they call 3GTV, which features small TV screens attached to store shelving.

The test is in grocery, but clearly such a system would have applications in many other channels.

I find it interesting that, while the trade promo applications are obvious to all of us, the New York Times article I linked to discusses it in terms of a replacement for traditional media, and AMS is pitching the product to agencies and media buying services as well as to the retailers who would host it.

Bloom sees the medium as a mix of shopper marketing and trade promo:

Michael Lamontagne, director for innovation and strategy at Bloom, said testing the system was appealing because if successful, it could help “transform the shopper experience.”

For instance, if customers pay attention to the commercials on 3GTV, Mr. Lamontagne said, Bloom could cut back on printing the promotional sale circulars that are distributed inside stores.

Of course we’re curious to know whether this new tool will be a success, but we’re also wondering what it is – is it national advertising, shopper marketing, trade promotion, or some kind of hybrid? Defining it is important because those who choose to use it will need to determine from which budget it will come.

So we’ll have a two-part exit question this week: Will retailers and suppliers go for shelf TV? And: Is it more for brand-building or immediate sales impact? Please add your comments.

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Recent Poll


We discussed forecasting for the rest of the year and asked, “Which is the greater risk for the second half of 2010 – being overstocked or under stocked?”

• 55% Under stocked
• 45% Overstocked

There’s no easy answer to a question like this, as demonstrated by the results. There’s no consensus, but a clear edge for ‘under stocked’ – reflecting, I think, the hunger most marketers have for long-deferred growth. Most would rather risk overstocks than miss out on sales. As one commenter put it: “Most of us may have over-reacted to the down economy, so our biggest concern may be greater sales numbers than planned. If we [can’t] restock our customers when they're ready, we could lose them forever.”

Follow-Ups

SKU Rationalization
There is continuing controversy over SKU reductions on retail shelves, with Nielsen releasing a report saying customers may abandon stores where they can’t find their favorite brands.

According to Nielsen, 7 percent of shoppers who did not find the personal-care item they were looking for said they would leave a store without buying an item in the category. More importantly, some shoppers said they would leave without buying anything.

If just 0.5 percent of grocery shoppers were to leave a store without making a purchase, the lost sales would equal as much as $1.5 billion, according to Nielsen, which sells products and services to help retailers finesse assortment.

But the process continues, with retailers trying to work out the right way to do it. This report notes that the cuts are not across the board:

Store brands experienced a 2% expansion between 2008 and 2009, while premium national brands held their own, avoiding cutbacks. Assortment reductions largely came at the expense of new items (2% reduction) and economy national brands (5%).

In-Store Kiosks
We mentioned a few months back that Kohl’s was testing kiosks from which shoppers could order items for free home delivery. The test was a success and the kiosks will be rolled out chain-wide in the next few months.

Store shoppers can [select] from an expanded assortment of items not available in the store, [said Vicki Shamion, VP of public and community relations for Kohls.]

"We have tested these kiosks and have been very pleased with the results in the pilot stores," Shamion said.

The in-store, self-service e-commerce kiosks will be deployed to more than 1,000 stores in 49 states. Each features a "call box" shoppers can use for customer support if there are glitches with the order or transaction.

Leased Departments – and More
Sometimes you don’t just lease a department to a supplier, you lease out a large part of the store to a competitor. Or at least you do if you’re Sears and you have some overly-large stores and your sales per square foot are miserable.

According to this report, Sears is in discussions to sub-let 40,000 square feet of its 300,000+ at South Coast Plaza in Costa Mesa, CA to Forever 21. “The clothing and accessories chain wants to create a separate store, unrelated to Sears, with its own entrance into the mall.”

A 500-Store Chain You Never Heard Of
Well, maybe you’ve heard of Rue21, but I haven’t. But then, I live in a major metro area, and it appears that their path to success has been hanging out in small and mid-sized markets. The chain offers low-priced apparel to teens and young adults.

According to the Wall Street Journal, Rue21 focuses on “markets with fewer than 50,000 people and average household income of less than $55,000. The strategy is all about fast and cheap. Stores start selling within six weeks of signing a lease and typically cost just $160,000 to set up, including inventory. The clothes go for low prices and turn over quickly, with new styles arriving every day. Stores are profitable within a year …”

It seems to be working. Sales for the most recent quarter were up 28% to $138 million. The chain has 500 stores, and will add 100 more in the next year.

Bad Timing
Nobody would like to be in BP’s shoes right now, but probably the unhappiest guy at BP is the one who’s responsible for fulfilling what this headline proclaims: BP to Sell 114 Sites.

“So let’s get this straight,” you say to the boss, “Pretty much everybody in the country hates us, there’s a consumer boycott of our stores, and you want me to find a buyer for 114 locations?”

Of course, there will be buyers, but I just hope BP isn’t expecting to get good prices: “From a buyer's point of view … they know BP has to raise cash. So, [buyers] want to get in there while the getting is good."

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Quickly Noted

Pepsi Will Drop Its Label if Argentina Wins World Cup
Argentina’s national team coach, Diego Maradona, has stated that if Argentina wins the World Cup, he will run naked through the streets of Buenos Aires. Pepsi Cola has jumped on the bandwagon, by promising that it, too, will go naked of Argentina wins. They are running ads showing a bottle without a label and saying, “If the coach goes naked, so will we.”
Advertising Age, 16 June 2010.

Eye-Tracking Sees Growth in Hyper-Competitive Market
Procter & Gamble has named a company called Tobii as a ‘preferred partner’ to assist it in researching shoppers’ eye movements to judge the effectiveness of in-store displays and packaging. The process tests consumer responses in virtual environments and helps P&G move more quickly through the design process. “With virtualization, design iterations can be reduced from weeks to days.”
Brandweek, 7 June 2010

QR Codes Get Around Town, Get More Useful
The latest variate of the bar code is the QR code, which is beginning to get a lot of attention. “This jumble of little squares randomly arranged within a larger square is popping up on everything from bus stop billboards to restaurant windows. If you spot one and snap it with your cell phone camera, the device can show you a website, photo or video related to the advertiser.” QR codes on products could allow a customer to access online information about the product.
South Coast Today, 13 June 2010

Best Buy Searches for Inner Female
Best Buy has a problem – it doesn’t attract female shoppers (or workers) in sufficient numbers. This is a problem because some of its fastest-growing categories – mobile devices, appliances – have a female skew, but its market share among women is just 16%, and only 31% of its workforce is female. So the company is trying to reach out to women through forums to gain insights on better ways to appeal to women. “The groups helped increase appliance sales by suggesting that showrooms be redesigned to resemble kitchens. A group in Wisconsin created a customer loyalty plan that allowed women there to donate loyalty points to schools.”
Wall Street Journal, 16 June 2010

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