STORES Magazine - September 2008 - (Page 10)

CONSIDER THIS / EXECUTIVE EDITOR’S PAGE Price Check BY SUSAN REDA ook for pricing to be a hot-button issue as the industry winds its way through the third quarter. With shoppers continuing to feel their wallets pinched by everything from market woes to gas and home heating oil costs, how goods are priced will come under intense scrutiny. Last month The Wall Street Journal ran a page-1 story about price-fixing, reporting on the fallout from a 2007 Supreme Court ruling that gives manufacturers the power to force retailers to sell their products at a minimum price. A year ago, retailers were chagrined by the ruling; now, with the economy slumping they’re fuming, especially discounters that rely on the ability to flex their own pricing muscle to compete. How does this impact the cash-strapped consumer? Some say smaller businesses benefit because a level playing field on pricing allows them to shine in other areas, such as customer service. Still, having minimum-pricing dictated by the manufacturer makes it more difficult for the consumer who is shopping around for the best deal to actually find a deal. A budget-conscious couple shopping for the best deal on a crib will eventually buy it — regardless of the price: What’s harder to measure is the effect minimum pricing has on the rest of their spending. Had the couple really been able to find a great deal on the crib they wanted, there’s a strong chance that the savings might have led to additional purchases. Another story about pricing surfaced in an Ottawa newspaper. A research team from Cornell University tested the effect that menu price presentation has on the amount that restaurant patrons are willing to spend. The study found that restaurateurs can get diners to spend more if they drop the dollar symbol from their menus. Menus that featured numerals without a dollar sign — 20 instead of $20 — yielded checks that were an average of $5.55 more. (A friend found something similar on a recent visit to London. There, menu prices read £51⁄2 which is as jarring to the British eye as $51⁄2 would be stateside.) Playing around with price presentation feels manipulative to me, particularly at a time when so many shoppers are watching every penny. The challenge for retailers in the coming months will be convincing shoppers of honest value. Shoppers are smart; they know that if they choose to shop at a discounter or a warehouse they’re not going to get the service they’d receive at a specialty store or neighborhood mom and pop. Respect their intelligence, give them value and let them know you value their business; they’ll remember that long after they’ve forgotten the price. L STORES Magazine STORES Digital Edition STORES.org STORES Knowledge Series® STORES First Edition STORES Retail Deals 325 7th St. NW, Suite 1100 Washington, D.C. 20004 202/626-8101 RICK GALLAGHER Publisher Vice President 202/626-8103 FAX: 866/640-8136 E-mail: publisher@nrf.com SUSAN PATTERSON Assistant Publisher 202/626-8102 FAX: 202/661-3042 E-mail: pattersons@nrf.com EDITORIAL SUSAN REDA Executive Editor 516/437-1245 FAX: 866/640-8138 E-mail: editor@nrf.com HARRY LISTER Managing Editor 202/626-8199 FAX: 866/640-8137 E-mail: listerh@nrf.com EMINE BEHNAM Production Manager 202/661-3047 FAX: 866/235-1939 E-mail: behname@nrf.com MARY ALICE ELMER Copy Editor LUCY D. REDDAWAY Creative Director ADVERTISING & MARKETING MIKE GRIBBIN Advertising Director 410/893-8003 Kim Daniele Molly Deise Therese Draddy Chris Hodges Dan McClure Tim O’Connell Executive Publishing Inc. 900A Main St., Suite 103 Bel Air, MD 21014 410/893-8003 FAX: 410/893-8004 E-mail: advertising@stores.org CIRCULATION ELENA CAIOLA Senior Director, Circulation and Information Management 202/626-8146 FAX: 866/640-8139 E-mail: circulation@nrf.com DORIS MASON Circulation Assistant 202/626-8172 FAX: 866/640-8140 For article reprints, including e-prints, please contact our Reprint Coordinator at Wright's Reprints 877-652-5295 or STORESreprints@wrightsreprints.com. editor@nrf.com At STORES, we appreciate hearing our readers’ thoughts and comments. Please address your correspondence to editor@nrf.com, or contact me at (516) 437-1245. 10 STORES / SEPTEMBER 2008 WWW.STORES.ORG http://STORES.org http://STORES.org http://WWW.STORES.ORG

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

STORES Magazine - September 2008 Contents Executive Editor's Page President's Page Office Depot Unveils First Green Store Dunkin’ Donuts Debuts DDSMART What Shoppers Think 10 Things You May Have Missed Numbers Worth Counting Full Price/Markdown Retail People Are You a Facebook Fan? RFID Concept2Watch E-commerce Supply Chain Marketing ERP Credit Web Optimization LP Vantage Point Newsbeat Cover Story LP Program Building Biometrics Industry Perspective Customer Service Site Selection E-Commerce LOEB Retail Letter Arts Update Point of View NRF News Retail Crossword Retail Industry Calendar Last Laugh

STORES Magazine - September 2008

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