Progressive Grocer - April 2009 - (Page 96)

Wake-Up Call Tough-love tips on smart retailing Paper, Plastic or Yours? Reusable bags can build loyalty and sales — while helping the planet. By David Diamond I t’s now clear that environmental issues are real, serious and require attention from all of us. But addressing these issues is not easy; food retailers face a significant set of environmental challenges, ranging from sourcing product from environmentally sensitive vendors to minimizing energy loss in the stores. Just as importantly, our consumers are demanding that we run our stores in an environmentally friendly way, but without diminishing the shopping experience — they want us to run our stores using less energy, but don’t want to be too hot when shopping in the summer, or too cold when shopping in the winter. They want us to use less wasteful refrigeration, but they want to see all of their favorite brands and products neatly arranged and easy to reach. That is to say, we need to be environmentally sensitive while not sacrificing the attributes our customers treasure in our stores. a small margin on bag sales, while a 10-cent rebate is only slightly more costly than the disposable bags you will replace. Good reusable shopping bags are now widely available, even in quantities appropriate for single-store operators (I know of one vendor who will sell you 250 custom-imprinted, heavy-duty, full grocery-sized bags for $2.10 each). Have Fun Once you have these two basics in place, you can begin to have a lot of fun, and use the program to make a statement. Whole Foods Market has been a leader in this area, as you would expect given its environmentally friendly corporate positioning. It started by working with the noted designer Anya Hindmarch to design a custom bag. These items were in such demand that they sold out in hours, and have become Bag Basics a must-have item among These are huge issues that we will all need years the fashion cognoscenti. to wrestle with and resolve. But what I do have to They are emblazoned offer today is a simple place to get started — reusable with the message “I AM shopping bags. Developing a good reusable shop- NOT A PLASTIC BAG” in bold script, and feature a ping bag program is relatively simple, requires a very variety of somewhat impractical details such as a rope small investment, and builds both revenue and cus- handle. They sold at Whole Foods for about $5, and are now available on eBay, starting at $70. tomer good will. After running through its supply of designer bags So, what are the basics of a good reusable shopping bag program? There are really only two requirements, in literally a few hours, Whole Foods rolled out a variand then there are plenty of bells and whistles to play ety of fun and attractive bags priced at $1 each. They with. First, you need to source a good, sturdy, low- have a line of bags based on retro food cases, and cost bag to sell in all of your stores. And second, you another that says, “I used to be a soda bottle” in a need to provide consumers with an incentive to keep variety of fun colors. And Whole Foods offers a rebate ranging from 5 cents to 25 cents, depending on the using the bag. store manager, every time you use If you want a good place to More ONLINE a reusable bag — and it makes start, selling the bags for $2 and the offer on any reusable bag, not offering a 10-cent rebate every For additional green just its own. time the bag is used seems rearetail solutions, But this is just the beginning sonable. The price of $2 should go to Progressivegrocer.com of the creative possibilities. Start allow you to break even or show A H E A D O F W H AT ’ S N E X T by having fun with the design of the bag, introduce a new pattern every month, build adjacencies to other in-store events — perhaps a bright -orange bag to commemorate salmon month. Make the bag more than a utilitarian object. And challenge your consumers to use the bags early and often. Offer a $2 bonus for anyone who spends $100 and uses only their own bags to carry the goods in, or offer a punch card attached to the bag, so if you use the bag 20 times to bring home your groceries, you get the next one free. Most importantly, set the marketing department loose on the idea. They are tired of deciding if Coke should be 79 cents or 89 cents next week — let them spend some energy bringing a reusable bag program to life. And finally, consider some more radical approaches — like eliminating plastic bags entirely (as Whole Foods has done). This will be too aggressive for some retailers, as it crosses the line from asking to telling your consumers what to do, but it is a simple way for you to make a dramatic point while still offering paper bags, which are easily recycled and low cost, as an option for those who either don’t want reusable bags or simply forget them. If you follow these simple guidelines, you can show your consumers that you care about the environment, address a real issue, make some headway in your marketing efforts, and have something fun to talk about at your next management meeting. Contributing Editor David Diamond is an independent consultant focused on marketing and strategy, and was most recently chief vision officer for Catalina Marketing. His e-mail is david@ddiamondassociates.com. www.progressivegrocer.com 96 • Progressive Grocer • April 2009 http://www.Progressivegrocer.com http://www.progressivegrocer.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Progressive Grocer - April 2009

Progressive Grocer - April 2009
Contents
Nielsen's Shelf Stoppers/Spotlight: Salty Snacks/Variety Snack Packs
Market Snapshot: Cleveland, Ohio
Independents Report: How Jax Markets' MacAloney Triumphed Over Adversity
Lempert Report: Consumers in Command
Nielsen Report: Keeping Up With the Economy: Insights and Opportunities in Uncertain Times
Store of the Month: Close to Home
Sustainability Best Practices: It's Not Easy Being Green
Give Green, Get Green
Store of the Month: The Collection
Household Cleaners: Green Clean Is Growing
Meat Conference: Annual Meat Conference Rustles Up Retailers, Vendors to Denver
Produce: Organic Opportunities
Meat: Premium Possibilities
Reusable Bags: Paper, Plastic or Yours?
Technology: Priced to Sell
Equipment: A Flash of Green
What's Next: Editors' Picks for Innovative Products

Progressive Grocer - April 2009