Viewpoint

My biology is a bit rusty, but you can't undergo a metamorphosis if you're already dead, right?

The No. 1 lesson I've taken away from all e-commerce-related programming I've observed in the past year is simply this: CPG brands should do everything they can - today - to elbow their way to the top of any and all "digital shopping lists."

If this issue also seems a little spliced together, it’s only because there’s a real buzz about the Institute right now.

I’ve always felt sorry for the QR code, a perfectly harmless device that was deemed an early loser in the race to develop effective mobile marketing communication.

I never dreamed our retailer receptivity chart could be taken to the next level of analysis, which shows cost and lift per 1,000 shoppers as well as overall ROI.

Irrational paranoia aside, the arrival of IoT devices such as the recently announced Samsung Family Hub Refrigerator is a trend that should start keeping brand marketers up at night.

If you haven’t noticed the promotional blitzkrieg for next month’s Shopper Marketing Summit, you’ve either been transferred to an oil rig somewhere above Finland or you’re in a coma. 

My wife and I didn’t feel the need to go Black Friday shopping this year. And apparently, we weren’t the only ones who stayed home. 

I would hope that by now you recognize that our 2016 Summit keynoter will be none other than Sir Martin Sorrell.

Now we find ourselves in an era when most traditional retailers are scrambling to turn back the clock and find simple, affordable ways to provide home delivery services.

Once again, Institute editorial director Bill Schober is calling on the industry to nominate someone to the 2016 class of the Shopper Marketing Hall of Fame.

Included in this issue you will find