The NRF & IRI Both Report That Circulars Still Heavily Influence Shopper’s Lists And Store Purchases

Posted on 22 February 2010 by Patrick Flanagan No Comments

(5.00 out of 5)

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OK.  I have always been a bit of a skeptic over the importance of a shopping list. One of my mine primary rational has been the historically poor usage of lists by online circular users.  However in the last 3 months, my perspective has changed dramatically, mainly by the below IRI study in which circulars are the #1 driver or input for consumers to make shopping lists.

This leads me to a conclusion that shopping lists are still a key tool to shoppers, however my current hypothesis is that online shopping lists (eg the tool or site feature) are just:

• Too hard to use
• Hidden or poorly visible
• Not well understood or the value prop to the user is poorly messaged
• Fear of not being to take the data contained within the list with them (lack of portability)

So the ideal grocery "planning" or "deal" site would include circulars+recipes+browse by category+coupons and ALL of this content would flow and drive into the user's shopping list.

With the competition to online lists being the traditional paper list / sticky note, its very clear that for online shopping list to be heavily used by shoppers, they will need to become  nearly as easy, well understand and portable.  Until then, I don’t suspect list usage online will jump.  However this is exactly the challenge that ShopLocal has taken on and will continue to focus on, especially in the grocery space.

Circulars + Recipes + Coupons + Category Content = A Killer Grocery App In Which All Content Is Collected, Shared And Used Within A Shopping List

Not surprising that during this peak shopping period that the circular is a key influential source. However it is somewhat shocking that the the shoppers "list" has so much sway of store purchases.

Circulars (Again) Remain Relevant To Back To School Shoppers Looking For Bargins

Posted on 4 August 2009 by Patrick Flanagan No Comments

(3.33 out of 5)

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According to a recent BIGresearch study for the National Retail Federation (NRF) that eMarketer re-published, consumers responded that in this down economy, during the “Back To School 2009″ season, circulars are being turned to by over 42% of shoppers this year as an effective way of saving money. Smart shoppers are increasing price comparing across multiple retailers, and circulars provide a great way of enabling this type of shopping.

Circulars remain top of mind for budget conscience consumers this back to school season.

Here at ShopLocal, the team also sees this exact same, cross-retailer shopping behavior growing. By having such a high density of the top US retailers as direct clients that use the SmartCircular product, ShopLocal can actual measure the % of consumers that visit multiple online circular sites within any reference time period.  Curious to learn what % of your customers Mr. Retailer are hopping from your online circular over to your competitors?  Or what % of your circular traffic is coming from a competitors circular? Give the ShopLocal team to learn the answers today.

See You At The Shop.org 2009 Annual Summit In Las Vegas, NV

Posted on 31 July 2009 by Patrick Flanagan No Comments

(4.00 out of 5)

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A core ShopLocal team will be attending and exhibiting at the upcoming Shop.org 2009 Annual Summit in sunny Las Vegas this year.  The show will be taking place at the Mandalay Bay Report & Casino over September 22nd and September 23rd.

If you find yourself at Shop.org, make sure to stop by and see the ShopLocal team!

If you are attending the conference this year, the team would love it if you stopped by our booth (#727) so that we could meet face to face and chat.  We like talking and engaging with our clients, partners and vendors in person.  It’s just most fun all around.  Attending from ShopLocal will be:

• Vikram Sharma, CEO
• Rob Gatto, VP of Sales
• Jamie Ray, Director of National Sales
• Patrick Flanagan, Senior Director of Product Management

Amazing PaperBoy Coverage In NRF’s Stores Magazine

Posted on 8 January 2009 by Patrick Flanagan No Comments

(3.00 out of 5)

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Sorry.  I can’t help be excited.  This dedicated article in the January 2009 issue of NRF Stores that covers my baby, PaperBoy – a localized rich media display ad product that pulls targeted in-store content – is exactly the the type of trade group / publication the team here has been diligently pursuing.  It’s been a product that I’ve been creating / managing for nearly 3 years and its been so rewarding to see it grow in acceptance and market share.  It’s always a great sign of confirmation that the product that you are offering is relevant and of high enough interest to catch the ears of such a top retail trade journal.