Dollar Stores High Growth Retailing Sector

Dollar stores have become a force to be reckoned with, as they are among the hottest high growth retailing sectors. As wholesale topic writer, Claudia Bruemmer explains, “Posting some of the highest growth rates across retailing in recent years, largely due to rapid expansion, solid sales gains and increasing consumer interest,” dollar stores, both independently owned and chain operations, have seen significant expansion. The white paper, “Dollar Days: How Dollar Stores are Growing in a Weak Economy,” explains such rapid growth to be a result of consumer confidence in value and bargain buys.

It is true that some of the leading players in this retailing sector are dollar store chains, such as Dollar General, Dollar Tree, Family Dollar and 99 Cents Only, which are driving store traffic and upping transaction size by adding more high-turn consumables and improving in-store presentation. But it is the fact that dollar stores now serve a larger consumer base that allows many independent discount/dollar stores to thrive and pop up across the nation. In fact, a study by Retail Forward estimated that enough untapped and under-penetrated geographic markets exist in the U.S. to support another 15,000 dollar store retail outlets.

Federal Fairness for Retail

Bruce Josten, executive VP for Government Affairs at the U.S. Chamber, agrees that the passage of these bills are to be applauded, saying, “The principles in this legislation make the regulatory process more transparent, agencies more accountable, and regulations more cost-effective.” The Regulatory Accountability Act requires all federal agencies to examine more thoroughly proposed rules before they are adopted, limiting regulatory burdens placed upon the U.S. economy and individual Americans. The Regulatory Flexibility Improvements Act is a major priority in the effort to create a more fair and transparent regulatory environment. Below are more specific ways these bills will help in the enhancement of the regulatory process:

1) Increase public participation in shaping the most costly regulations before they are proposed.

2) Require that agencies must choose the least costly option, unless they can demonstrate a need to protect public health, safety, or welfare.

3) Give interested parties the opportunity to hold agencies accountable for their compliance with the Information Quality Act.

4) Provide for on-the-record administrative hearings for the most costly regulations, to insure that agency data is well tested and reviewed.

5) Provide for a more rigorous test of legal challenges for those regulations that would have the most impact.

Check out our Industry Headlines to read more on legislation and industry updates.

Real Time Data for Better Supply Chain Management

Out of the 65 multichannel and store retailers surveyed, 50 percent indicated that they have no access to real time inventory and order data. As a result, they order too much and the extra inventory is carried on the books as an asset, added to the net profit, and therefore taxable. Or, like the recent mishap experienced by electronics retailer, Best Buy, they are unable to fill orders because some products run out of stock, requiring steep discounts later.

To better handle supply chains, retailers need to improve the responsiveness of the links in their supply chains and increase their ability to see how chains operate, in order to avoid both out-of-stock and overstocked items. Retailers looking to deliver on their promise to meet demand must also understand the technology consumers are using to learn about and purchase products outside of the store. According to the study, 69 percent of retailers say they don’t have programs in place that would enable them to see their suppliers’ inventory levels. Retailers are faced with the reality that they need to find a better way to forecast demand for inventory, while 55 percent of multichannel retailers and 41percent of store retailers say they are also trying to get a more accurate read on store and product-level inventories.

This article has been adapted from a piece on InternetRetailer.com.

Consumer Confidence Highlight of the Holidays

Much of the data was similar for other indexes and surveys focused around consumer confidence during and after the holiday season. The Los Angeles Times reports, “Pollster Gallup said December was the most optimistic month since June.” Thomson Reuters and the University of Michigan also received positive feedback, as 29 percent of customers surveyed are expecting good economic times ahead, compared with 19 percent who said the same in November.

How is this increase in consumer confidence actually affecting shopping habits? The NPD Group Inc. released statistics that indicate nearly seven in ten consumers went shopping at brick and mortars during the week before Christmas, and spent 4.7 percent more per visit than the week prior. The Los Angeles Times highlights, “Beauty stores saw 31 percent more visits from shoppers, while apparel vendors enjoyed a 26 percent bump. Bookstores, shoe stores and department stores also experienced double digit increases.”

Check out our Industry Headlines to read about other consumer reports and surveys.

Organizing Email Marketing Campaigns

Email marketing campaigns can be organized so each group of recipients receives a relevant, even personalized, marketing message. And in 2012, the concept of learning something about customer preferences, demographics, desires, and devices, and then building relevant and authentic customer conversations via email around that data, will continue to grow in importance. As with any kind of marketing, targeting the right people at the right time is essential, and email makes it easier to strategize and customize. “While segmenting an email list by purchasing behaviors, funnel stage, and user declared preferences has proved successful, marketers need to continue to listen and look for shifts in consumer lifestyles,” wrote W. Jeffrey Rice, Senior Research Analyst for MarketingSherpa, in his company’s 2012 Email Marketing Benchmark Report.

Forty-nine percent of marketers responding to the survey said they could not segment their email lists based on viewer device habits. This is significant, considering that in May 2011, Nielsen reported that 38 percent of mobile users own a smartphone, and 55 percent of all new phones purchased were smartphones. As Practical eCommerce writes, “Given that one in ten email recipients are reading emails on a mobile device, marketers need to find a way to segment email lists so they can accurately identify those subscribers.” In preparation, however, those marketers designing for the B2C channel have created emails for mobile readership (41 percent), even without accurate readings on the exact number of consumers using their mobile devices to read email.

This article was adapted from a piece by Practical eCommerce.

Read more about strategies and the how to’s of marketing.

• The launch of www.RetailMeansJobs.com, breaking down the retail industry’s economic impact by state and congressional district.

• Advertising in print, radio and online markets.

• Social media campaigning through Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.

• A viral video campaign to highlight the “Faces of Retail.”

That viral video campaign is now organized to be the result of a nationwide video contest entitled, “This is Retail.” “We’re on a hunt to find the best retail stories in America, from marketing geniuses to customer service superstars to small business owners, who are the fabric of every local community,” says NRF president and CEO, Matthew Shay.

How to Participate

Retail employees or business owners must submit a two-minute video sharing their retail story, which can highlight anything from the positive impact it has on shoppers to how an initiative within the business will help generate new jobs to boost the economy. All video submissions will be accepted during the dates of March 5 to March 16.

Viral Video Payouts

A panel of retail executives will narrow the videos down, featuring finalists on www.RetailMeansJobs.com. Winners will then be chosen based on votes. During NRF’s Washington Leadership Conference in May, a third place winner of $10,000, second place winner of $15,000, and a first place winner of $25,000 will be announced.

For more information visit www.retailmeansjobs.com/contest.

Check out our Industry Headlines for more NRF related news, studies and contests.

Internation Pavillions Showcase a World of Gems and Jewelry

The international pavilions make the JOGS Gem and Jewelry Show a worldwide attraction. “The Amber Pavilion is the biggest in the United States,” Mayzenberg notes. “There are about 30 amber dealers, everything from carvers to stonecutters to jewelry designers. It’s the best selection that anyone will ever see of amber.” Featuring dealers from Poland, Lithuania, Russia, Colombia, and the U.S., the Amber Pavilion is always on the cutting edge in showcasing new products. JOGS also has more than 100 booths dedicated to Native American Jewelry at the Southwestern Pavilion, which features contemporary, antique and reproductions from various tribes such as the Navajo, Zuni, and Hopi. Other popular pavilions include the Nepal Jewelry Pavilion, the Thailand Jewelry and Gem Pavilion, and the International Gem Pavilion.

Allowing attendees to buy directly from the wholesale sources, the event also offers more than 100 jewelry classes and two special exhibits (Unique Stone Carving and Indus Valley Pottery). Held at the Tucson Expo Center, at 3750 East Irvington Road, registration for the JOGS Gem and Jewelry Show is still open, and attendees can register at the show as well.

Holiday Input Help Forecast 2012 Retail Trends

The frugal mindset of the female consumer, according to multiple studies by NPD, appeared in the early months of 2011 and lasted straight through the holidays. The recent study affirms that women over men openly admitted to spend less on each gift this holiday season, as well as cut back on the number of gifts bought. NPD also reports, “When asked if they bought items on sale, shopped in less expensive stores and bought more practical or thrifty gifts, again a higher percentage of women answered ‘Yes.’” This doesn’t mean, however, that women sold themselves short in the shopping experience. In this post-holiday study 50 percent of women told NPD they bought something for themselves during the course of their holiday shopping. Marshal Cohen, chief industry analyst of the NPD Group, Inc., confirms, “Women were the ones that told us they cut back on their spending, cut back on the number of people on their lists and in general were more thrifty in their gift shopping. So, they felt more comfortable about rewarding themselves for being so frugal ad there were a lot of deals that were hard to pass up.”

Another noteworthy trend was the popular topic of smartphones and mobile marketing, as both men and women consumers used their phones as a channel for research and purchasing this holiday season. Women were only slightly more inclined to research a product (13 percent versus 12 percent), as well as follow through with a purchase (5 percent versus 4 percent). Men, however, were more willing to use the phone as a resource while shopping in store, reading product reviews along the way (7 percent versus 5 percent). They were also slightly more inclined to discuss their shopping experience via social networks with other holiday shoppers (4 percent versus 3 percent). “I think it is becoming clear that there is a growing market for this kind of consumer engagement,” said Cohen, “While the 4 percent of consumers that told us they used smart phones to make a purchase doesn’t sound like a lot, remember it was less than a decade ago that only 3 percent of consumers told us they shopped online,” noted Cohen.

To read other details of The NPD Group’s holiday sales and trends study, click HERE.

To read other industry news and analysis, check out IndependentRetailer.com’s Industry Headlines section.

As the event website boasts, “Anyone who is in retail has a home at Retail’s BIG Show,” from the C-Level and Senior Execs who make up 39 percent of the BIG Show audience to the regional managers and the single store operators. All in all, this year’s event is expecting in attendance 22,000 industry professionals, 500 plus exhibitors, 175 plus speakers, with 82 countries and 45 international delegations represented.

Promoting Indie Business at the Retail’s BIG Show

From the kick-off opening night reception and EXPO Hall happy hours to the more intimate working breakfasts and lunches, the Convention offers numerous networking opportunities for attendees. That includes the highlighted, Independents’ Day, sponsored by Dell, to be held during the event on Jan. 16. Independents’ Day provides a full day of programming specifically for those independent retailers attending the Convention and Expo. More than 95 percent of retailers in the U.S. operate just one location, and the NRF is proud to say that these retailers have a place at Retail’s BIG Show, and best of all can attend for free. “A mistake many small businesspeople make is that we think the NRF show is just for the big boys, but the NRF does a really good job of having stuff for us,” says Dave Ratner, a returning Independents’ Day retailer. “Last year, I went to different sessions and learned how to fine tune some ideas, and I got a couple of new ideas for how to market my business. And, not only that, but walking the show floor is great. For a little guy, you would think it would be intimidating because you have all the big vendors, but we found some management tools that work with small businesses as well.”

Independents’ Day programming is designed especially for small-to medium-sized companies. The day’s programs include sessions presented by retailers such as Ratner, Linda Hundt of Sweetie-licious Bakery Café, Sarah Endline of Sweetriot, and Allan Reagan of Flix Brewhouse. Other speakers include professionals from KAB Marketing and the Montana, Louisiana and Massachusetts retail associations. Many of Independents’ Day sessions fall into the following educational tracks: Online Retailing; Marketing and Brand Management; Merchandising; and Store Operations.

For more information about Retail’s BIG Show and Independents’ Day, visit www.nrf.com/annual12.

For more industry and tradeshow news, click HERE.

Shay offered his remarks on retail and the economy to nearly 600 attendees representing the Los Angeles and San Fernando Valley business communities. This year’s conference theme was, “The Big Economy That Should.” Shay used his speech to underscore the important role retail is playing in powering the U.S. economy. “In these difficult economic times, saddled with high unemployment and low consumer confidence, there are still many reasons to remain optimistic about the nation’s political and economic future,” he said. “Creativity, innovation and hard work remain firm tenets on America’s Main Streets, led by our nation’s retailers, and it is that binding, dynamic spirit that will lead our economic recovery.”

Shay’s speech also described three critical measures that the country and Congress could focus on immediately to help the economy: investing in infrastructure and transportation, opening new markets to trade and investment, and reforming and streamlining the tax code. Below are clips from his speech:

Infrastructure is vital to the supply chain.

“The world’s largest economy needs a national commitment to infrastructure improvements,” said Shay. “We must update and upgrade our vital supply chain links, be it our near-dock facilities or highways, to ensure our nation’s central role in the global economy. New public and private initiatives and creative funding mechanisms are essential to address our unchecked infrastructure deficit.”

More trade means more jobs.

“I commend Congress and the Administration for working together to secure passage of the free trade agreements with Korea, Colombia and Panama,” said Shay. “These agreements will help America’s relationship with the developed and developing world, increase opportunity, lower costs and provide a bipartisan path forward for additional agreements, including those associated with the ongoing Trans-Pacific Partnership.”

Taxes need to be competitive and fair.

“Reforming our arcane tax code is certainly resonating with politicians and the public these days,” said Shay. “Now is the time to make our nation a more competitive place to create jobs and establish businesses, by lowering corporate tax rates and simplifying and streamlining our disjointed sales tax, so every retailer is treated fairly.”

This piece has been adapted from an original article on NRF.com