The Wise Marketer: At the recent Consumer 360 Conference for the consumer packaged goods industry, ACNielsen analyzed the past, present and future of U.S. retailing. Todd Hale, ACNielsen's Consumer Insights' senior vice president, said the company foresees several changes in the retail landscape leading up to 2010.
RFID technology will be widely applied to track in-store shopping patterns, stock merchandise and measure consumption. Hale also said self-checkout facilities will be greatly simplified as these RF-based devices become common on supermarket shelves, effectively replacing bar codes with radio identifiers.
"Today's hectic lifestyles have changed the way people shop," Hale said. "What used to be a rather leisurely activity has turned into a rushed, stressful nuisance for some shoppers. Retailers that acknowledge this stay one step ahead of the game. These days, retailers are looking for ways to keep customers is to keep them happy by selling them unique products, getting them in and out of stores more quickly, smothering them with good service, and saving them money."
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