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GOURMET NEWS JUNE 2015 www.gourmetnews.com Retailer News RETAILER NEWS 1 3 BRIEFS Bring Your Own Bag Policies Change Shopper Behavior life, you might feel licensed to do some- thing indulgent in another area of your life," Karmarkar said. That led them to an- other question: Does it make a difference if the customers bring their own bags of their own volition or because store policy re- quires them to do so? The researches found that customers who bring along their own bags are more likely to buy organic products if they're available and if the price difference between organic and nonor- ganic products is not large. "The higher the prices, the less likely it is that bringing your bags will result in a different purchase," Karmarkar said. "Peo- ple aren't suddenly going to run out and purchase a huge box of expensive truffles merely because they brought their bags. They're still sensitive to prices." Customers who bring their own bags are also more likely to buy indulgent products like candy and snack chips, but only if they brought bags because they chose to do so rather than as a result of a store policy re- quiring them to do so. Karmarkar and Bollinger suggest that that's because there may be a different psychology involved in the decision to buy the candy bar than in the decision to buy the organic apples. "In the case of organic items, our proposed psychology is that bringing the bag primes the customers with the reminder to take green actions. That might not change if the supermarket makes the rules," Karmarkar said. "For indulgences, if consumers know that they're bringing a bag because of the requirements of the store, we don't see the same effect." The takeaway from the study for grocery retailers is that changes in store policies can have unexpected ripple effects, and that's something to think about while planning the change, according to Karmarkar. "It's useful to know that applying this kind of policies can have broader effects across the store. When a store enacts a policy, depend- ing on the way they enact it, there can be downstream effects," she said. "There are some interesting questions about environ- mental promotions – the store might con- sider enforcing that in a positive way. If your consumers are bringing their own bags, you might highlight the organic and environmental offerings in messaging and promotions. Because these effects for indul- gences are conditional on the way the poli- cies are implemented, the takeaway is that there may be different patterns in the way that consumers address impulse items or desserts in the store." GN BY LORRIE BAUMANN Does asking your customers to bring reusable shopping bags with them to your store change their shopping behaviors in other ways? It turns out that it does, espe- cially if customers have the choice about whether they do that or not. The question was the subject of a recent study by Harvard Business School con- sumer behavior researcher Uma Karmakar and Bryan Bollinger, a researcher from Duke Fuqua School of Business. They used loyalty card data from a single California location of a major grocery chain and a set of their own experiments to demonstrate that shoppers who bring their own shop- ping bags to the grocery store are more likely to buy organic products as well as those considered indulgences, which in- cludes products like candy, ice cream and snack chips. "Asking customers to bring their own bags introduces a new element. You're asking customers to change their routine for a good reason. We were curious about whether asking people to add some- thing new to something that they're very fa- miliar with could create a ripple effects, or changes in their decisions," Karmarkar said. The researchers began their study by speculating that the act of bringing reusable bags along to the grocery store might prime shoppers to behave virtuously, and they might express that by taking other positive environmental actions, such as choosing organic produce over nonorganics. They also speculated that, if customers took an action they considered virtuous – bringing their own bags to the store – they might then feel that they had earned themselves a little treat, and that might make them more likely to toss a candy bar or a carton of ice cream into their baskets. "The psy- chological effect is called licensing. If you do something virtuous in one area of your Natural Markets Food Group, an industry leader in the sale of organic, local and nat- ural products in neighborhood markets across the U.S. and Canada, has named Richard D'Addario its new Director of Pre- pared Foods. "Natural Markets Food Group under- stands that individuals and families on the go still want access to healthy, freshly-pre- pared food. Richard will help us deliver for these customers – providing the cutting- edge recipes and organic products families want. He is creative, whip-smart, and a great addition to our passionate family," said Natural Markets Food Group CEO Pat Brown. Director of Prepared Foods Richard D'Addario said, "When it comes to pre- pared foods, the Natural Markets team is committed to moving beyond the deli counter and delivering healthy, innovative meals to our customers. That's an exciting opportunity – both in terms of the com- pany's growth and our ability to inspire happy, healthy lives." Richard D'Addario brings nearly two decades of experience in prepared foods to Natural Markets Food Group, the par- ent company of Mrs. Green's Natural Market, Planet Organic Market and Richtree Natural Market restaurants. In his most recent position of Senior Coor- dinator for Whole Foods Market, D'Ad- dario oversaw all aspects of the prepared foods program in the Northeast region – from merchandising and recipe develop- ment to vendor relations and new store openings. D'Addario also won many awards during his tenure, including global all-star for the company and top innovation awards for many new con- cepts introduced in stores. His addition continues Natural Markets' expansion as a destination market and comes as the company prepares to open ad- ditional stores in the mid-West and mid-At- lantic, including in Manhattan's West Village. GN Natural Markets Taps D'Addario for Prepared Foods Natural Grocers Registers Net Sales Increase Natural Grocers by Vitamin Cottage Inc. announced a 21 percent increase in sales to $157.7 million in the second quarter and a 21 percent increase to $303.6 million for the first half of fiscal 2015. Daily average comparable store sales increased 5.6 percent in the second quarter and 5.9 percent in the first half. The chain opened eight new stores in the first half of fiscal 2015, compared to nine new stores in the first half of fiscal 2014, resulting in growth rates of 17.3 percent and 24.6 percent for the 12-month periods ended March 31, 2015 and 2014, respectively. Food Lion Feeds Donates 40,000 Meals Food Lion Feeds made four 10,000-meal donations, including both fresh and non- perishable products, to local feeding agencies in Newark, Delaware, Waldorf, Maryland, Richmond, Virginia, and Roanoke, Virginia. In addition, the grocer provided specially- marked Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive grocery bags to 4.3 million residents in these states to help the National Association of Letter Carriers and the United States Postal Service collect food donations on May 9. Through Food Lion Feeds, the company has committed to provide 500 million meals to individuals and families in need by the end of 2020. Whole Foods Market Opens Newest Store Whole Foods Market opened the doors of its eighth location in Washington state on May 7 with the grand opening of the Whole Foods Market in University Place. Store highlights include The Lumberyard, a 29-seat wood-fired pizza eatery inside the store that offers wine by the bottle and beer on tap, a selection of local beers, a covered patio with seating for 50 and a community art installation created by students at Curtis High School that greets shoppers as they approach the store. WinCo Foods Opens 100th Store WinCo Foods LLC opened the employee owned chain's 100th store in Lewisville, Texas on May 7. This is the fifth WinCo Foods store to open in Texas. Occupying approximately 83,000 square feet, the store initially employs approximately 150 individuals, about 140 of whom have been hired locally. Lewisville Store Manager Kathy Johnson transferred to the store from Everett, Washington, with 16 years of experience with the company. Assistant Managers Brandon McCain and Thomas Robbins transferred in from Ft. Worth and Sacramento respectively.

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