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Don Unser
Group President,
Retail Business Group
Don Unser leads NPD's recruitment, product, and business development efforts for our panel of more than 750 retail partners, representing 150,000 doors worldwide.
Prior to joining NPD earlier this year, Don was a 20-year veteran at Hewlett-Packard. Most recently his responsibility spanned the retail, online, and contract outbound sales channels across 13 categories, 100+ partners, 20,000 outlets, and contract stationer branches throughout the U.S. Don managed Hewlett-Packard’s relationship with all U.S. retail outlets for the company's consumer product portfolio.
Here, Don shares his perspectives on retailers’ challenges and how they can leverage NPD’s data and insights.
What are the main challenges facing retailers today?
The obvious challenges of the consumer spending climate have had a firm grip on much of the retailing community. The value retailers have had some success, but most retailers have struggled. You don’t have to drive very far in most U.S. markets to see the vacant commercial real estate where large national retailers once thrived. A drop in traffic for a retailer has a compounding effect on a both revenue and profits.
I see two common themes emerging from most retailers. The first theme is a renewed focus on growth as the economy shows signs of recovery. In some retail sectors this is evident as retailers grow their footprints by adding stores. Retailers also have had to amplify their value proposition. Examples of this can be seen in most promotional and CRM strategies being deployed in all forms of media. The consumer is being driven by products being on sale or having clearly-defined value statements.
The second theme is retailers’ insatiable need to differentiate their own brands. This is evolving with the expansion of retailers’ private label strategies. Many retailers even quote the percentage of sales that come from private label on analyst calls to show the progression of their strategies. This puts increased pressure on the manufacturing community, in terms of what roles their brands will play at given retailers. Exclusives are another way retailers are pushing to differentiate their offerings.
Are retailers relying more on information for decision-making? And, if so, how?
Retailers are drowning in data, which is contrasted by a thirst for insights that are actionable. Data is powerful only if it provides a path to an action that advances the retailer’s interest. Accurate and timely data is the foundation, but having the tools and skilled labor to turn it into insights is the formula I see working really well at NPD.
The online marketplace presents some acute challenges for retailers in almost every industry. The amount of information available to the consumer continues to increase every day. This means consumers are coming into the store with knowledge that is unparalleled compared to any time in history. A retail merchant must use data to stay current with what the consumers are seeing. Promotions, loyalty programs, and pricing are all important data sets for retailers to track.
How does NPD work with its retail partners?
NPD deploys assets in conjunction with the data to obtain the desired insights. These models vary widely, but they have a few common components. The NPD products, such as reports, consumer panel data, POS data, etc., are enhanced by the NPD staff to drive measurable business results. NPD has a variety of tools available to the team to drive these insights. A few examples are our online consumer panel, POS data, topical reports, and customer surveys.
In many cases, the NPD team is called on by our retail partners’ top executives for information that is used throughout these companies. Measuring performance against the market is a powerful metric used in both internal and external (analysts, shareholders etc.) audiences. NPD data is often quoted to benchmark performance or define a future strategy based on an opportunity.
What is the “next big thing” that is emerging with retailers who rely on
NPD data and insights?
NPD is investing to enable a geographic approach to using the POS data set. This will enable a manufacturer or retailer to expose opportunities and track performance in a specific geography. This data has been especially productive where budgets can be adjusted by geography. Some examples of where the geographic data has been useful are in adjusting advertising (both traditional and online media), deploying sales resources, and optimizing inventory plans.
To learn more about NPD’s products and services for retailers, or to find out about becoming an NPD retail partner, contact Charles Camaroto at 866-444-1411 in the U.S. and Canada or (INSERT HERE), or email contactnpd@npd.com.
