Freshen Up for Your Shoppers

“Fresh” sells. Arby’s, in an effort to best Subway, has kicked off a “Slicing Up Freshness”™ campaign centered around the pitch that Arby’s carves up the meat on the store premises, but meat slices come to Subway already having been cut at a factory.
     The psychological appeal of freshness is because of its associations with authenticity as much as because of its associations with health. Krispy Kreme grew and then, after a fall, rebounded largely on the sensory charm of fresh donuts. However, the health angle does reinforce the sale. When Jim Morgan took over the failing Krispy Kreme, he introduced yogurt, oatmeal, and fresh fruit juices.
     If you’re considered authentic as a retailer and you’re seen as providing health benefits, you’re more persuasive not only with consumers, but also with regulators. In early 2011, Walgreens—America’s largest retail drugstore by location count—announced plans to introduce a few more product lines:

• Fresh fruits and vegetables. Walgreens said they were especially interested in making the additions in “food deserts,” such as inner-city locations with few stores currently carrying fresh foods. 
• Alcoholic beverages in most stores, including a house brand beer selling for about 50¢ per can to augment the private label Southern Point wine at about $4 a bottle. 

     Many community stakeholders viewed the sale of low-priced alcohol as retailer misbehavior. When approving the Walgreens request for permits, the Omaha city council placed restrictions on single can sales. One way to view the Walgreens announcement of those two line additions at the same time was as the retailer earning permission to sell cheap booze in low-income neighborhoods by showing that they’re going to help kids in low-income neighborhoods to be more healthy.
     Freshen up for your audiences:

• Fresh flowers in a new arrangement each day on your counters implies to shoppers that you keep up with changes. Fresh arrangements of your merchandise and changing merchandise mixes are important, too. 
• Packages you carry on your shelves which include green in the label are more likely to be perceived as fresh. Show consumers from throughout the world green product packaging and you'll probably hear descriptions like new, organic, healthy, and refreshing. If the packages themselves don’t have green, you can use green in the signage or even on the shelf tags. The freshness appeal of green is stronger when the store environment is tidy and there is a scent of pine. 

For your profitability: Sell Well: What Really Moves Your Shoppers

Click below for more: 
Donut Omit the Indulgent 
Dress Up Those Dressing Rooms 
Earn Permission to Misbehave 
Portray Freshness in CPGs