STORES Magazine - July 2008 - (Page 23)

fullprice/markdown Relationships and Recalls CONSUMERS think of grocery loyalty cards as vehicles for saving 10 LL FU ICE cents on milk or 30 cents on cereal PR but, as shoppers in upstate New York have learned, they can be far more valuable. Executives at Price Chopper supermarkets, based in Schenectady, and Rochester-based Wegmans are using the data collected via loyalty programs to alert shoppers to product recalls. By scanning the loyalty card, the retailers are able to determine what was purchased. Once a product recall is issued, retailers are able to dive into the data and identify those customers most likely to have bought a recalled item. The data is then provided to SmartReply, a third-party company that issues a customized recall phone message to those affected. Roughly 12,000 Price Chopper customers who use the chain’s AdvantEdge card received a phone message in early April after Sam Adams recalled beer, fearing glass defects and very small fragments of glass may have compromised the product. In May, the system was activated to alert customers to a voluntary recall of hamburger. Wegmans switched to the phone alert system last fall. In November, when Cargill Meat Solutions recalled more than 845,000 pounds of beef, Wegmans got the word out to more than 190,000 customers who may have bought the recalled meat. Both companies offer shoppers an opt-out clause when it comes to recall alerts, but why would they? At a time when food safety scares seem to pop up more and more frequently, this is an idea every grocer in the nation should adopt. & RETAIL HITS MISSES Red pilot in the electronics department in 2005. The fact that it continues to test and track digital media initiatives is a sign that this approach is engaging guests and delivering information they find valuable. Gas – or Guns WITH GAS prices eclipsing the $4 per gallon mark RK nationally, several retailers and car dealers are MA N dangling gas cards as an incentive to buy. DOW Calloway Golf is giving away gas cards to those buying new drivers. Customers at H.E.B. stores in Texas get $5 in gasoline for every $25 spent on house-brand merchandise. Chrysler has promised car buyers a retail price of $2.99 per gallon for up to 12,000 miles annually for the next three years. And, Suzuki is offering “free gas for the summer” to get customers into its showrooms. But a Montana car dealer has gone too far. Max Motors in Butler is offering anyone who buys a car the choice of $250 in gas or $250 off the purchase of a gun at a local firearms store. “It’s a choice — protection or gas,” says Walter Moore of Max Motors. “We got high gas prices, theft, carjackings, innocent people getting hurt.” So far, the handgun is a more popular choice; Moore reports that 80 percent have opted for firearms over fuel. Still, with tempers and stress levels soaring along with gas prices, here’s hoping that this isn’t a promotion that backfires. Bulletproof Clothier STICKING with the ballistic theme… Miguel CaRK ballero is a Colombian clothing maker that recentMA N DOW ly set up shop in Mexico City. The company is Target Prescribes Wellness TARGET has extended its Channel Red in-store TV network into the aisles of the pharmacy departLL FU ICE ments. PR The initial deployment places screens in 100 of the retailer’s 1,600 domestic stores. The house-produced content highlights health and well-being products across various categories and departments, including clothing (featuring Target’s exclusive sports collection called Champion C9), electronics (highlighting Nintendo’s Wii Fit video game), and grocery (spotlighting organics from private label Archer Farms). Target launched the Channel WWW.STORES.ORG renowned for its fashion and design, but what truly sets its clothes apart from the competition is the fact that they’re bulletproof. Caballero started making bulletproof clothes in the early 1990s when Colombia was awash in violence. Now, as powerful drug cartels vie for control of Mexico’s capital, Caballero designs are in demand. (This year alone, more than 1,400 people have already been killed in drug-related shootings.) The opening price point for one of Caballero’s designs is around $2,000; the line includes bulletproof business suits, long raincoats, biker jackets – even a woman’s ski parka. The fact that there’s a need for Caballero’s bulletproof clothes is distressing; the fact that he’s serving a growing niche is downright depressing. STORES / JULY 2008 23 http://WWW.STORES.ORG

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of STORES Magazine - July 2008

STORES Magazine - July 2008 Contents Executive Editor's Page President's Page Dearth of Retail Creativity What Shoppers Think Wow, Is That a Wawa? 10 Things You May Have Missed Numbers Worth Counting Full Price/Markdown Retail People Merchandising Strategy Concept2Watch Point of Sale Outsourcing Human Resources Top 100 Retailers Store Design RFID IT Operations Systems Managements LP Vantage Point Newsbeat Cover Story Emergency Response Systems Background Checks LOEB Retail Letter Point of View NRF News Retail Crossword Retail Industry Calendar Last Laugh

STORES Magazine - July 2008

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