• by Dana Blankenhorn , April 7, 2003

Retailers want, in fact they need, their ads to get people into their stores first. If you can't do this for them, they don't need you.

Britt Beemer, president of America's Research Group in Charleston, SC, bases this conclusion on 8-15,000 phone interviews he's conducting for retailing clients each month, along with a special bi-monthly set of 1,000 interviews he publishes.

The mattress industry is typical, he said. "When I started in 87-88, consumers would go out and less than half would buy at the first store. Now three fourths do. In most markets it's up to 70%."

The stakes are especially high now, with fewer people shopping at all. "When the war started, 18.5% of consumers were watching TV instead of shopping. The second weekend there were 14% still at home, and this last weekend we'll be 12-14% still at home not shopping.

"The home improvement stores have been hit a little harder than they expected. But the apparel stores have also been hurt because those are non-essential purchases that are easily postponed. Since there's no hot merchandise category there's nothing you have to buy."

As a result, "I'm trying to get my clients to shift to TV supported by four-color circulars," Beemer said. "I find readers are reading ROP (Run of Press) ads less. It's a category that's on the decline the last 4-5 years.

"The department stores are still more newspaper driven than other industries, and I can't figure out why, especially those that are upscale," he added. "Those consumers want to see items in four-color, and many newspapers have a hard time reproducing four-color."

Beemer spoke to Mediapost after visiting High Point, North Carolina, where he was presenting results to the bi-annual furniture market.

"The furniture market was way down," he said. Foreign buyers were no-shows. Many domestic buyers also stayed away because of the poor economy. "A lot of people will wait until October, and there were no major collections at this market Last time there were six."

Retailers need their advertising to deal with both the short-term trend of fewer shoppers and the long-term trend of harried consumers buying at the first store they see, Beemer concluded.

"You have consumers going to fewer stores, and more buying at the first store they shop. If you don't get them in the front door you won't see them at all."