STORES Magazine - February 2009 - (Page 12)

trEnDS COMPILED BY STORES EDITORS Are You a Pusher or a Puller? There’s some new research on supermarket shopping that has nothing to do with consumers’ preferences for fresh or frozen vegetables or whether they’re buying more private label now than they did six months ago. Relevation Research, a small boutique market research firm, examined whether shoppers were more inclined to push or pull their shopping carts through the checkout lane. According to the findings, almost three-quarters (74 percent) of those surveyed are pullers. Men and women are equally likely to be pullers; young people are slightly more likely to be pullers than pushers. Hispanic shoppers are twice as likely as Caucasians to push their carts through checkout, and parents shopping with their children in tow almost always push the carts to keep children from falling out or misbehaving. Digging deeper, the research reveals that pullers tend to be more aggressive and impatient about shopping; they perceive themselves to be more time-sensitive, more in control and willing to break with tradition. Pushers are more likely to take their time; they consider themselves traditional and described their push method as “the right thing to do.” The research yields some interesting insight into human behavior, for sure, but it has the potential to be far more significant for marketers and CPG companies. It begs the question: Could all that in-store marketing be backward? “The front of the store is a department, accounting for 1 percent of sales or more,” says Nan Martin, Relevation cofounder. “It’s designed for consumers to make impulse purchases as they push through. If you’re pulling, your back is to the merchandise most of that time.” 12 STORES / FEBRUARY 2009 Fraudsters Filch $4 Billion Online CyberSource is out with its 10th annual survey of e-commerce fraud, and the projected dollar losses continue to rise. Fraud loss rates are holding constant at 1.4 percent of revenue, but continuing growth in e-commerce sales suggests that dollar losses to fraud are still growing. “For years, U.S. e-commerce merchants have fought fraudsters to what amounts to an annual standoff,” says Doug Schwegman, CyberSource director of market and customer intelligence. “This year, however, merchants could not rely on doubledigit market expansion to bolster online revenue growth or cover inefficiencies. In two key areas — lower order rejection rate and higher interest in automated tools — merchants seem to be managing more aggressively in a challenging economy.” Merchants reported that only about half of their fraud is reported via chargeback (bank card holders disputing a charge with the issuing bank), with the remainder coming directly through their customer support functions. Other key findings: • Merchants accepted a higher percentage of orders, working more aggressively to boost top line sales • 87 percent of merchants say they must fight fraud with the same or less staff in 2009 WWW.STORES.ORG http://WWW.STORES.ORG

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of STORES Magazine - February 2009

STORES Magazine - February 2009 Contents Executive Editor's Page President's Page Are You a Pusher or a Puller? What Shoppers Think Online Retail Satisfaction 10 Things You May Have Missed Numbers Worth Counting Full Price/Markdown Retail People Cover Story - Something’s Got to Give First Look Concept2Watch Online Partners Merchandising Sustainability Inventory Systems Drug Store Systems Business Intelligence Inventory Managment Online Marketing Supply Chain - Better Data, Better Decisions Returns Management - Identifying Fraud Data Security - Securing Intimate Data Anti-Shoplifting - Mall of Shame? Risk Management - Securing Consumer Confidence Loeb Retail letter ARTS Update Point of View NRF News Retail Crossword Retail Industry Calendar End Cap

STORES Magazine - February 2009

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