At SaveOnBrew.com, customers enter their zip codes to find low prices and sales on beer in their area. The Beer Institute reports that the most popular places to buy beer outside bars, restaurants and stadiums include: convenience stores (32%), liquor / beer stores (20%) and supermarkets (8%). SaveOnBrew.com, a search engine made for beer products,…
Capturing Hispanic Customers
Offering quality customer service with bilingual employees and traditional foods can drive retail loyalty among the growing Hispanic population. By Erin Rigik, Associate Editor. Today, Hispanic food is mainstream and attractive to a wide array of demographics seeking spicier flavors, but the secret to keeping your Hispanic customers’ repeat business lies in more than just…
SymphonyIRI Report Examines Shopping Mission Trends
Times & Trends report finds pantry stock-up and quick trips account for two-thirds of CPG trips and dollar sales. It has long been a daunting task to stay in lock step with the shopper mindset. After all, mindsets are a moving target and can quickly change due to a variety of reasons, including purchase…
Deloitte Survey Shows Shoppers Expecting Discounts
Savvy consumers research brands and prices before heading into stores. Excitement over unexpected in-store deals has diminished as discounted prices become an anticipated part of the consumer products shopping experience, according to the Deloitte/Harrison Group annual American Pantry Survey. For nearly one-third (30%) of consumers, at least seven of 10 items in their shopping cart…
Calming the Beverage Storm
As marketing category manager for Mansfield, Ohio-based EZ Energy USA Inc., Deb Davis oversees the beverage category and makes the critical call as to which products head to the cooler, and which don’t make the cut. Having just finished meeting with soda vendors to finalize the 2010 soda contracts, Davis is now busy overseeing beer…
Burst of Energy
Did You Know? By the year 2001, the U.S. energy drink market had grown to nearly $8 million per year in retail sales. Over the next 5 years, it grew an average of more than 50% per year, totaling over $3 billion in 2005. Diet energy drinks are growing at nearly twice that rate within…
C-Store Food Sales Get Healthier
Convenience retailers are increasing their share of healthy, fresh food sales, according to industry observers, who noted convenience outlets and big boxes are also gaining share at the expense of grocery stores. Though fresh and prepared foods offer high margin rings, c-store retailers should be certain they are truly ready to do food preparation before…
Driving HBC Sales
Convenience store operators preparing to expand their health and beauty care (HBC) category in time for the summer months may be facing some challenges. With the moribund economy depressing impulse sales across retail, this may be a bad summer for new products, while tried-and-true brands of medicines, sunscreen, sunglasses and other warm-weather favorites remain strong.…
Concerns Abound Over Food Costs
In today’s struggling economy, more than half (58%) of U.S. consumers are “very concerned” about rising food prices, The Nielsen Co. found in a new survey on consumer purchasing trends. As consumer packaged goods (CPG) manufacturers and retailers employ options to manage abnormally high cost increases due to raw material and other expenditures, consumers voiced…