Lessons for Lemmings.
Here is a personal consumer story about a department store shopping
experience that has direct relevance to supermarkets and this particular
issue. As facilitator of a dialog with 4000+ shoppers, I . . .
Lessons from convenience stores.
The proliferation of convenience stores is helping drug and fast
food stores to degrade the image of supermarkets to "inconvenience
stores." Think of immediacy as convenience squared, the drumbeat . . .
Can well-meaning customers help Kmart survive?
Some consumers are shopping more at Kmart because they want them to
stay in business. We don't have a handle on the number, but our
qualitative input suggests that it is substantial. Some of . . .
Interpreting the findings.
This most liked/least liked study offers a way of looking at
supermarkets that may be of special interest to supermarket operators
who are currently or soon will be competing with Wal-Mart super . . .
The grocery opportunity study.
Two opportunities to make grocery shopping faster and less
frustrating emerge from a two-part study that we continue to present
this month. Last month we reported on the grocery department . . .
Back Burner Anger over Enron.
The Enron collapse has ripples that extend well beyond those
directly affected. Some of the ripples stain and strain the image and
substance of big business and big brands.
Those who have been . . .
Why smaller is getting bigger.
Consumers talk about Listerine's very little PocketPak strips
of breath freshener are the coolest product out there. P&G's
Pringles are still on the shelves in 6-ounce canisters, many of which
are . . .
Serious Fun.
a. Automobiles are becoming some families' kitchen table and
automobile cup holders are spaces that almost everyone in the food
business should be taking seriously.
b. Fun is something that isn't . . .
More on Kmart.
A 5-hour drive from Palm Beach to Key West took us past about a
dozen Kmarts, all of which were located in the same shopping center as a
supermarket. In most cases the store next door was a Winn . . .
Price image by category.
Price-sensitive consumers differentiate prices by category as well
as stores and items. And price images are hard to shake.
Consumers routinely justify shopping in Publix in spite of . . .
Accuracy expectations: a different look.
Over 20% of the consumers surveyed by The Consumer Network found
counting errors of 1% acceptable as long as they were getting a fair
shake.
After learning that 20 percent of the prescriptions . . .
Grocery Priorities: Accuracy, attitude & access.
With food shopping choices multiplying because of all the store
formats in which foods are available, we thought it was time to look at
shoppers' ideas about what is and isn't really important . . .
What's hard for consumers, now and last year.
Among 13% of our shoppers, feeling safe seems harder this year than
it did last year. But even though it's harder than last year, it
isn't as much of a problem as finding time or controlling weight . . .
Trouble at home depot, too?
In spite of the growth of catalogs and e-business, most retailing
is still local and still dependent on good and motivated store managers
who get things done with a supportive crew. Fat cats have a . . .
Self-Checkout inevitability.
Up until now, we've been less than enthusiastic supporters of
self-checkout systems. Several of the installations we've seen have
looked like desperation measures rather than significant, or . . .
Brands consumers do Love.
Over half of our respondents responded to our Best Loved Brand(s)
question. The brands below were at the top of the frequency list. Store
brands are included as an aggregate and include Kroger, . . .
Can Kmart be saved?
Kmart's recovery from bankruptcy depends on the support of the
consumers as well as suppliers, employees, courts, banks, etc. We asked
consumers if they would make an effort to support Kmart in a . . .
Capturing the holiday mood.
"This is a time when no one is going to feel particularly in
control, including financially. I'm just going to worry about
month-to-month expenses and hope the long term outlook improves and . . .
The importance of clean.
We asked shoppers about the best products of 2001, and found that
the share-of-mind was taken up by new ways to clean and new drinks to
drink. The cleaning category had more write-ins than any . . .
Best-Loved promotions.
In keeping with the promotional spirit of the holiday season, we
asked shoppers to tell us about their favorite promotions. Almost 50
percent of our respondents shared favorites on one of more . . .
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