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Today's Retail Action Article, February 3rd,  2010

Retail Must Go Green With Local Suppliers In Our Environmentally Conscious Market

Retail Consumers Love Buying Local Goods For All The Best Reasons

In earlier articles I have elaborated on the need to re-invent and tweak your brand in the new economy. Consumers with less cash at hand are more frugal and calculating with their purchases. With a more conservative outlook, families also focus on the environment and favor more environmentally friendly products. Consumers will certainly buy products made in America or Canada or whatever their home country is as a matter of sovereignty.

Purchasing products including food from your own country has now evolved to a new level: Buying Local. Consumers feel a connection with foods or other products that have been produced in proximity of their community. There's also the added benefit that the cost of transporting the goods to market is minimal. Think of the energy consumed to bring some food from South America to your supermarket compared to a 35 mile trip from a local farm outside of town.

Does your store feature goods from foreign countries?  Cheap labor countries like China, India and The Philippines have flooded our stores with cheap mass produced products. It's agreed that in this price driven economy that consumers will buy these items to fit their budgets, however most are prepared to spend a little more for locally produced goods. It makes them feel good too!

Even a small percentage of your product offering that features local goods reinvents your brand in the eyes of the consumer. Local goods can be featured near the front of the store and on sale with prominent signs. You may also have an opportunity to have a local supplier do some in store promotions and demonstrations for your customers. Solid long term loyalty can be created when customers not only like your local products but have also met the creators of the goods personally in your store.

Your whole store doesn't need to be overhauled to enhance your brand. Start with a handful of selected local products and promote them for their quality, price and "made at home" features. Your customers will appreciate how your store now caters to this hot new trend.

Take Action Today:

1) Consider local goods for your store. Common categories for local goods include foods, kitchen items, wood products, hard goods and specialty clothing.

2) Review possibilities with all your employees. They may know of specific suppliers in town or near your community that can offer competitively priced home spun merchandise.

3) Aggressively promote your hand picked local goods in your store and in local advertising. Enhance your brand and meet the new needs of environmentally concerned familes.

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