Retailers cite Growth Initiatives as key Industry Issue for 2006.

Retailers will be focusing on accelerated growth this year, according to new research by the NRF Foundation and BearingPoint, Inc. unveiled at the NRF Annual Convention in New York. The fourth annual study, “Retail Horizons: Benchmarks for 2005, Forecasts for 2006,” revealed that the majority of retailers cited their mission of growth as a priority initiative. Close to three-quarters (71%) of retailer executives stated that growing existing comp store sales is their top priority.

“While cost reduction and cost retainment continue to be business imperatives for retailers, growth has moved to the forefront as top priority,” said Scott Hardy, a managing director with BearingPoint , a leading global management and technology consulting firm. “Many retailers are refocusing their efforts on growth initiatives in order to drive up their comp store and incremental sales.”

Other key findings of the study include:

41% of respondents are making 11-40% of their purchases through private label sources, with plans to increase that number to 49% in 2006;

Retail companies with an online presence nearly doubled to 94% in 2005, up from barely 50% in 2004;

Customer-focused decision making continues to gain momentum, as 13% of respondents had more than a quarter of their field management compensation tied to customer satisfaction results.

Within the next 12 months, nearly a quarter of respondents plan to add e-training and another fifth plan to implement hiring technologies and self-service kiosks.

“In today ‘s increasingly competitive environment, retailers understand that there is a heightened importance on accelerated growth and differentiation in order to set themselves apart from the pack,” said NRF President and CEO Tracy Mullin. “We are now seeing retailers refocus their efforts on growth initiatives in an effort to increase sales, expand their consumer base and retain customer loyalty.”

The study suggests several approaches retailers can use to provide competitive advantage and generate robust prospects for profitability:

Differentiate through compelling and relevant assortments that exceed customers’ expectations;

Understand customers and provide the right combination of products and services in right locations to earn customer loyalty;

Integrated personalization on web sites is essential in order to obtain and retain the more valuable multi-channel shopper;
Invest in and embrace emerging information technology, including POS and forecasting and planning technologies.

This fourth annual study surveyed more than 150 retailers from a wide assortment of department, specialty, apparel, grocery, and home center stores, with as few as a single store to more than 2,000. The study focused on eight functional areas, including information technology, supply chain, merchandising, store and field operations, advertising and marketing, customer insight, online, and human capital.

For more information at http://www.nrf.com