According to Nielsen—the global marketing and media information company headquartered in New York City—your shoppers in 2010 will expect reduced store clutter. Retailers have already been cleaning up aisles and shelves. In some cases, things are more tidy because the retailers decided to carry less inventory in economically uncertain times, so there was little need to stuff in the merchandise. In some cases, the cleanup came from a realization that consumers are wanting to keep all things more straightforward in their lives, again because of the economically uncertain times. Loblaw Companies Limited—Canada's largest grocery retailer—rolled out their "Clutter-Free Check Out Lanes," and Superquinn in Ireland has moved in that same direction.
Nielsen predicts that the consumer's drive for simplicity will also energize interest in store brands. I agree with the prediction. The shopper will figure they'll save decision-making time and mental energy by simply purchasing from the same brand name across product categories. They've already made the decision to shop at your store. This means they associate value with the store name, and that attitude will generalize to your house brand names.
Nielsen argues that the marketplace interest in store brands gives you—the retailer—increased negotiating leverage with suppliers as they seek to forge alliances to continue providing products, even if under a different brand name. Trader Joe's has championed this business model. About 80% of the products they carry are private label from a variety of suppliers. But notice that the remaining 20% or so of the products are not private label. Also, Trader Joe's uses a variety of private label names. You might see Trader Ming, Trader Jacques, or Trader Giotto.
This is great planning. Shoppers do want simplicity for year 2010, but in the times ahead, their desire for variety will strengthen.
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