Harness the power of inspiring, informative signs
By Margie Proctor Hillphoenix Marketing & Design Specialist Merchandising has two main objectives: to engage shoppers and influence their buying decisions. Beautiful, surprising displays are powerful ways to accomplish both goals. But don’t overlook the persuasiveness of a simple sign. Signs can do everything from attract shoppers to your juice bar from 30 feet away to educate them about the nutritional value of the fruit and vegetable beverages they’ll find there. Here are some great ways to incorporate signs into your store installations and displays, all centered on selling food — and your brand. Train shoppers to open the refrigerated [...]
Supermarket Food Service Operations Require a Customer-Focused Business Plan
Orlando Espinosa is the Founder, Orlando Espinosa + Associates LLC. Orlando Espinosa recently presented “Enhancing the Customer Experience Through Engaging Kitchen Design” at Supermarket Sense 2016 in Conyers, Ga. Supermarket food service operations offer tremendous potential for business owners, which is why a carefully considered plan is essential to success. This is not a case of “if you build it, they will come.” Developing a successful grocerant requires homework on specific customer trends and habits and a business plan for meeting those needs. Some successful supermarket owners have treated food service operations as an add-on or even a loss leader. [...]
Meal-centered “Occasions” Drive Prepared Food Sales
Getting customers to purchase your freshly prepared food instead of that of the restaurant down the street is the name of the game. Tailoring your food offerings to your customers’ needs is key to making that happen. Why are your customers eating what they do? What time of the day and days of the week are they coming in? Hint: They’re not just buying ready-to-eat lunches and family dinners anymore. A study from Datassential identified a few lesser known “occasions” for customers buying ready-to-eat or semi-prepared meals. Up-and-coming urban areas may be saturated with young couples and singles looking for [...]
Off-Grid Energy Soothes the Sting of Peak Demand Charges
Electricity consumption during certain times of day comes at a high price. To prevent brownouts during demand spikes, utility companies maintain a lot of very expensive equipment on standby and they pass that expense on to commercial (industrial) ratepayers in the form of demand charges — a portion of the electric bill, in addition to actual consumption, that customers pay to ensure utilities can supply “extra” energy, if and when needed. For commercial customers, demand charges account for about 30 percent of the electric bill. The demand charge is typically based on time of use – the time of day [...]
Use digital technology thoughtfully
Carre’ Bistline is the Director, Business Development Digital Solutions for Anthony International. Join Carre’ Bistline for “Engaging Digital Signage Opportunities for Food Retailers” at Supermarket Sense 2016, September 21-22, in Conyers, Ga. For consumers, digital technology can be a disruptive or engaging presence. To ensure such technology has the desired effect on grocery shoppers, it is imperative that grocers thoughtfully plan their messaging in terms of both content and placement. That means delivering messages that resonate quickly and function well with mobile devices. Understanding that mobile devices also have the ability to both connect and distract customers while shopping, retailers [...]
Saving the Center Store — 6 Strategies for Shopper Engagement
Join Harold Lloyd for “Saving the Center Store” at Supermarket Sense 2016, Sept. 21-22 in Conyers, Georgia. At the upcoming Supermarket Sense, happening just outside Atlanta on Sept. 21-22, I’ll explore ways to save the center store. Here’s a preview — six strategies for rebuffing online (and other) competition by revamping those long, boring aisles: Rethink lighting. Replace glaring, fluorescent bulbs with properly spaced LED lights that make packaging pop and guide shoppers down your “runway” of products. Cross-merchandise center store products throughout the store. For example, next to the apples in produce, add a sign: A tablespoon of peanut [...]
Saving the Center Store — Inertia Is the Enemy
Join Harold Lloyd for “Saving the Center Store” at Supermarket Sense 2016, Sept. 21-22 in Conyers, Georgia. The supermarket center store is stuck in a time warp, and that’s especially dangerous in today’s food retail environment. We’re going up against online shopping that’s fast and entertaining, and products in the center store are particularly vulnerable to online competition. Yet, those long, boring, rectangular aisles haven’t changed in decades. At Supermarket Sense, happening just outside Atlanta on Sept. 21-22, I’ll lead a session on “Saving the Center Store” — diving into the issues and opportunities. Here’s high-level view of the problem: [...]
Case studies: Boost ROI on refrigeration upgrades
When grocers look into refrigeration system upgrades, the first thing they want to know is how much they’ll spend. That’s logical and important, of course, but the upfront cost is not your only key metric. To fully understand your potential return on investment, you’ll also want to calculate just how much you can save through refrigeration modernization. Mini-case studies of two recent Hillphoenix projects give a real-world view of the potential: A Massachusetts supermarket replaced more than 40 single-condensing units with three modern, parallel refrigeration racks. Store size: 40,000 square feet Length of project: completed in phases over 9 months [...]
Infographic: Capture Savings as You Spend Capex Dollars on Refrigeration Upgrades
Are you looking for projects to help you make the most of your allocated capital expenditure budget before the year runs out? A refrigeration system upgrade is a strong option. Here’s why: It’s a capex project that can be accomplished in a relatively short time. There’s no major construction. It positions your store for more modernization down the road. The upfront costs can often be offset by rebates and incentives — as much as 40% depending on project size and location. The investment is returned through years of energy savings. Your refrigeration system upgrade also may lead to savings on water [...]
Lighting helps highlight true colors of products and stores
Join Margie Proctor and Jack Sjogren for “The Art of Lighting – Merchandising and Food Presentation” at Supermarket Sense 2016, September 21-22 in Conyers, Ga. From highlighting food products to setting the tone for the shopping experience, lighting – in particular, color choice – is a key merchandising strategy for grocers. Lighting is one of the first things a shopper sees when they enter a store, so it is important to make a good first impression with the right lighting. Think about lighting in different types of stores: A discount store has brighter, more even lighting that is designed to [...]