POI Pulse: February 2, 2015

Whole Foods, Half Off, and Other Value
Source: (Bloomberg January 30, 2015)

Dangling over the displays are a series of SALE! placards in red letters. The company was once reluctant to compete with rivals purely on price, but here are signs proclaiming that organic broccoli is marked down to $1.48 a pound and two boxes of Driscoll blackberries are $3. Mackey points out a sign across the aisle: The seedless navel oranges and green kale are “responsibly grown.” Learn more

Changes at Campbell for Growth and Value
Source: (Food Bus News Jan 29, 2105)

In a move designed to “unlock the value” of its brands, Campbell Soup Co. plans to implement a new enterprise structure that will align the organization of the company’s business operations with its core growth strategies. The three divisions are Americas Simple Meals and Beverages, Global Biscuits and Snacks, and Packaged Fresh. Learn more

Record Attendance Expected at POI Summit in 2015!

The most advanced and relevant agenda is taking shape.  Capacity will be limited, so register for the POI Spring Summit “Collaborative Marketing to Execute at the Rate of Change” Summit – Predicting promotional outcomes in-Store, online, and everywhere!”
Teams who have registered include:

Diageo, Land O’ Frost, Red Gold, Pilgrims, Kao USA, Kraft Foods, Prestige Brands, Pictsweet, Jennie-O Turkey Store, Pacific Foods, Wells Enterprises, White Wave, Mars, Carl Buddig, Pfizer, Pinnacle Foods, CVS Health, Topco, Organic Valley, Morton Salt, Danone, Energizer, Red Bull, MillerCoors, Keurig Green Mountain, Norseland, Walgreen’s, JM Smucker. DPSG, Windsor Foods, Bush Brothers, Coca-Cola, Kellogg’s, Johnson & Johnson, JBSS, Musco Olives, Unilever, Del Monte, Popcorn Indiana, Post Foods, Starbucks, Giant Eagle, Hormel Foods, PepsiCo, Ainsworth Pet, Grupo Bimbo, Dean Foods, 7-Eleven, Michael Angelos, and many more. April 12-14, 2015 — Learn more  

3 Ways to Linking Online/Offline Experiences
Source: (Chief Marketer January 29, 2015)

Ahold, the Dutch grocery chain, developed home delivery but soon realized the limitations, such as the fact that customers had to be home to receive the delivery. In order to further improve the customer experience, the company piloted three stand-alone pickup points near highway exits in the Netherlands. Customers place their order online or via the mobile phone. When the order is ready for pickup, they receive a message, along with a code. When they arrive at the pickup point, they punch in the code and the system tells them which parking space to park their car in. An employee comes to the car with their groceries. They are done with the entire transaction in two or three minutes. Learn more

Candidates Gained Collaboration Skills w/ POI SJU Source: (Next Orientation is June 10-11, 2015) 

The program began by exploring how organizations develop and implement a collaborative culture and strategy. Next, core functional areas of business were explored -from forecasting, trade marketing, to merchandising, pricing, supply chain and predictive analytics- providing candidates a solid understanding of each function and how it contributes to internal alignment, and trading partner collaboration success.

Guest Column -Mintel Research – Recession-scarred consumers are almost constantly redefining their definition of “value” by the occasion, category and more. Their ongoing search for good deals forces brands, as well as private labels, to choose between affordability or premium positioning.

One true constant for US consumers is the ever changing definition of ‘value’, with the only certainty being that ‘value’ is not always just about lowest price. Instead, it can be private label in some scenarios and premium brands in other occasions or categories. In the year ahead, brands have to navigate between being affordable options or attainable luxuries in order to capture the benefit, not brand loyal shopper. Value will continue to drive consumer choice in 2015 as the influence of private label products will be more noticeable. Between January and November 2014, 30 percent of US food and drink launches were private label. 

Today, US consumers do not always associate private labels as store brands. In fact, a hefty 87 percent of US consumers when tested got at least one store or name brand identification wrong, although just 13 percent say they have trouble differentiating branded from private label products. In addition, ‘Value’ does not always mean ‘inexpensive’. Manufacturers will cater to consumers’ quests for value in 2015 by offering affordable options that also have added amenities. 

E-commerce was an estimated $301.3 billion industry in the US in 2014 (Online Shopping – US  – 2014). Yet, purchasing groceries online is still more of an intrigue rather than a habit. Thirty-one percent of men in the US age 18-34 have bought groceries online in the past 12 months and would do so again, while only 21 percent of women age 18-34 have done so. In comparison, 18 percent of men age 35-54 have bought groceries online in the past 12 months and would do so again, while only 13 percent of women age 35-54 have done so. However, certain consumer sets view the internet as a resource for the hard-to-find, not an everyday shopping tool. Thirty-five percent of US consumers age 65 and older agree that price is not the most important factor when shopping online, rather getting what they want. Only about half of US consumers age 18-24 agree with that statement. Learn more

Make your plans now to join 250+ retailer and manufacturer executives April 12-14 in Chicago to identify, understand, and achieve Promotion Optimization .

Be sure to register early for these events, as space is limited, and previous have been sold out. join us in April in Chicago, or May in Geneva, Switzerland – Registration is open!

Reach me at mkantor@p-o-i.org to express how you’d like to participate at POI this year! 

Travel safe, and have a sensational week!! 

Michael Kantor
CEO & Founder
Promotion Optimization Institute, LLC
mkantor@p-o-i.org   

www.POInstitute.com