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Loss Prevention Research Council Weekly Series - Episode 127 - Zebra Consumer Study and Thanksgiving Fun Facts

With Dr. Read Hayes, Tony D'Onofrio, and Tom Meehan

Loss Prevention Research Council Weekly Series - Episode 127 - Zebra Consumer Study and Thanksgiving Fun Facts
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The World Has Changed – Have Retailers? – Zebra 15th Annual Retail Study

https://connect.zebra.com/SHOP23_VS_US_EN

Let me start this week with the just published 15th annual retail study from Zebra. This year it is titled, the world has changed with the question have retailers changed to respond to the “next normal.”

The next normal is unified commerce. As customers return to levels of pre-pandemic shopping in stores, retailers need to accommodate rising expectations for convenience, fulfillment, frictionless experiences, and price sensitivity.

The key trends identified in the study:

  1. Shoppers embrace blended channel experiences – Shoppers continue choosing online or in-store for the same reasons – availability, selection, and price. They prefer retailers with easy returns (80%), allow them to get in and out of stores quickly (76%), and offer order delivery to home (75%). They are also taking advantage of alternative pickup and delivery options with 34% of shoppers opting to buy online, pick up in store or buy in store and ship to home and with 90% saying they will continue to use these services.
  2. Associates are everything – Associates are the bridge between retailers and shoppers and play a pivotal role in ensuring shopper expectations are met. However, retailers are struggling to hire and retail workers in a competitive hiring market. 78% of associates and 84% of decision makers believe technology is an asset in attracting, training, and retaining extra-ordinary workers
  3. Investing in Innovation – Retailers are doubling down on tech investments to keep pace with consumers. 82% of decision makers surveyed plan to increase tech investments in the next three years. They are also preparing to evolve physical stores designs with 45% planning to convert more cash register space to self-checkout and 43% converting space for contactless checkout.
  4. Managing market forces – From supply chain issues in the news to empty shelves in the stores, consumers are keenly aware of the challenges that retailers face. Nevertheless, they are still frustrated by inventory issues and 76% of global decision makers are feeling the pressure to minimize out of stocks. And 82% agree they have increased focus on supply chain operations.
  5. Shopper behaviors shift to new habit and preferences – Old habits die hard, but post pandemic, new habits have staying power. After several years of accelerated growth of ecommerce and newer technologies like contactless payment, shoppers now expect a seamless experience however they shop.

The top priorities in the new study when investing in new technologies are:

  1. Increase automation
  2. Improve inventory management which includes real time visibility, out of stocks cycle counts, shrink and fraud visibility.
  3. Become more sustainable.

The top 5 emerging technologies identified by decision makers as for the next five years are:

  1. Advanced order fulfillment management (83%)
  2. Employee experience technologies (83%)
  3. Prescriptive Analytics (83%)
  4. Demand planning (82%)
  5. Distributed order management (82%)

Finally, the key takeaways from the new data this year:

  1. Meet shopper expectations around availability, selection, and price.
  2. Manage supply chain and inventory
  3. Drive tech experiences especially for associates.
  4. Focus on the right emerging technologies in the five year outlook which today center around labor and supply chain issues.

35 Thanksgiving Facts to Share with your Family

https://bestlifeonline.com/thanksgiving-facts/

As it is Thanksgiving, let me end this week with a summary of some fun facts about the holiday:

  1. You may not that know for example, that the day after Thanksgiving is the busiest day of the year for plumbers.
  2. Americans eat 704 million pounds of turkey every Thanksgiving.
  3. The Butterball hotline answers 100,000 turkey-related questions every year.
  4. Female turkeys don't gobble.
  5. The movie Frozenhad the biggest Thanksgiving opening of any movie.
  6. Tofu is the most hated Thanksgiving dish.
  7. "Jingle Bells" was originally a Thanksgiving song.
  8. The first Thanksgiving lasted three days.
  9. The woman who got Thanksgiving reinstated as a national holiday also wrote "Mary Had a Little Lamb."
  10. Canada celebrates a totally different Thanksgiving.
  11. The Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade balloons used to just be let go after the show.
  12. About 50 million people watch the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade annually.
  13. The original TV dinner was the result of a Thanksgiving miscalculation.
  14. Red wine is the most popular Thanksgiving tipple.
  15. Holiday weight gain accounts for most of the thickening associated with aging.
  16. The tradition of cracking the wishbone is an ancient one dating to the Etruscans which are pre-Roman Empire people in Italy.
  17. Benjamin Franklin liked turkeys more than bald eagles.
  18. Thanksgiving is America's second favorite holiday behind Christmas and followed by Halloween.

Just would like to take moment to thank all of you for listening and we appreciate the growing popularity of this podcast. For the USA listeners, Happy Thanksgiving to you and your families. For the rest, we appreciate you too. Thank you. Over to you Tom.