August 17, 2015

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 Retailers golfed at MnRA's annual tournament last week at The Legends in Prior Lake.
Appreciating Retail
Retailers Recognize and Thank Senator James Metzen For Appreciating What Retailers Bring To Minnesota's Communities  
 
At our annual legislative wrap-up golf event on August 11 in Prior Lake, the Minnesota Retailers Association (MnRA) recognized and thanked James Metzen for his leadership in the Minnesota Senate and support of retail jobs. Senator Metzen--a South St. Paul 9-term Democrat in the State Senate--serves as chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee.

Throughout his tenure at the State Capitol, Metzen has supported first-work-experiences and careers offered by retailers in his local district and across the state.  Metzen's actions as chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee have shown an understanding and appreciation for importance of businesses and the retail community.

In recognizing Metzen, MnRA president Bruce Nustad said "Jim Metzen believes in Minnesota, its consumers, its workers, and he has a long history of understanding and appreciating what retailers bring to local communities.  In fact, he's been a longtime advocate for the 788,000 jobs the retail community impacts across the State. In his leadership role, Senator Metzen brings people together to solve Minnesota problems and capitalize on opportunities. Today retailers across the State say thank you to Senator Metzen for his decades of leadership and commitment to the State of Minnesota."



Having worked closely with Metzen on dozens of vital economic projects, River Heights Chamber of Commerce President Jennifer Gale added this: "Senator Metzen is an asset to not only the south metro region but to the entire state of Minnesota for his ability to see the bigger picture.  He is an advocate for business and is respected in both parties, brokering conversations to pass fair, pro-jobs legislation.   Senator Metzen was instrumental in projects such as the Wakota Bridge expansion, the Lafayette Bridge project and the Cedar Avenue express way, and many other transportation projects that make it easier for commerce to move smoothly in our region.  The River Heights Chamber of Commerce is proud to have Senator Metzen as a partner working towards a pro-business region." 
 
Better, Stronger, Faster Retail
Free Retail Background Screening Webinar: Avoiding "I Should Have Known" August 28
 
"I should have known" hiring mistakes can cost a retailer thousands of dollars, however those costs can be greatly reduced by implementing a pre-employment background screening program.

Learn about the best practices in retail background screening from the experts at The McDowell Agency--all from the comfort of your own computer on August 28.

Whether you are hiring 1 or thousands of  employees, this 40 minute webinar will provide you the information you need to make smart decisions on background screenings as well as understand the options available today.



Covered In This Webinar
  • An understanding of the importance of having a background screening program.
  • An understanding of criminal records and how they are kept.
  • The limitations of a database only search.
  • The process for ordering a background check.
  • Overview of the Fair Credit Reporting Act.

 

Avoiding "I Should Have Known" | Best Practices In Retail Background Screening 

featuring Kimberly Marois and Tim Landsberer of The McDowell Agency
Friday, August 28
Webinar - 8:30 - 9:10 a.m.
Free for members and non-members.
 

Incentives
Digital Coupons: The Paperless Chase  
 
From Progressive Grocer, John Karolefsky, August 14, 2015

"Digital coupons are currently a footnote in overall coupon distribution and redemption. Traditional free-standing inserts (FSIs) that shoppers receive in newspapers are overwhelmingly dominant.

But if newspaper readership is declining and so-called "Mobile Millennials" will be the key grocery shopper of the future, it's clear that digital offers will grow.

Digital coupons are available on a grocer's website or smartphone app. They can be loaded onto a store's loyalty card. They're also available on websites for coupon networks and coupon aggregators, which both draw a huge amount of traffic from deal seekers.

"Given the recent outstanding track record for digital promotions, there is no question that these offers are gaining momentum with both shoppers and marketers, and that there is tremendous future growth potential for them," affirms John Ross, CMO of Winston-Salem, N.C.-based Inmar and president of Inmar Analytics, whose research has seen 100 percent year-over-year growth for five consecutive years in share of overall redemption for paperless digital offers.

"Digital coupons have a value to consumers because they are convenient," says David Ciancio, senior customer strategist at Cincinnati-based Dunnhumby North America. "The best-in-class capabilities allow consumers to select and load hundreds of digital coupons directly to their loyalty card or to a mobile app, and redemption is automatic and painless for the shopper." 
    
Last Week's MnRA Golf Tournament: Thank You Sponsors!
 
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Target 
 
 
 
 
 




 
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Social Media
Pinterest: In-Store Mobile Shoppers' Little Helper 
 
From E-Marketer, August 17, 2015

"Pinterest has a large part in users' purchase decisions, and April 2015 research conducted by AcuPOLL for Ahalogy found that its influence follows mobile users all the way to the store.

Shopping was one of the top activities during which users liked to access Pinterest, and smartphones were their favorite devices on which to do so. When the study asked US active Pinterest users-those ages 15 and older who had logged in to Pinterest at least once in the past month-about their preferred devices for accessing Pinterest during certain activities, one-third of respondents said they favored smartphones while shopping. This was well above the 10% who preferred tablets and 9% who chose PCs

As such, when heading to the store, smartphones tagged along. In all, more than two-thirds of Pinterest users had looked up pins via mobile phones while in-store.

DIY and crafts, home decor, food and drink, design, and hair and beauty were the leading content categories for which users considered Pinterest a "go-to" source, and in-store mobile activities largely revolved around these topics. Among those who had looked at a pinned item via any mobile device while in-store, around half did so to find ingredients for a recipe or look up supplies needed for a project."
    
Bar code
Minnesota Retailers Associaiton
400 Robert Street North, suite 1540
St. Paul, MN 55101
Tel. (651) 227-6631 - mnretail.org - [email protected]