Increasing sales through health and wellness products is a hot topic in 2017. As today’s shoppers become more health conscious we need to adapt quickly and accordingly. Here are the top three trends to increase sales in 2017.

In-store events are a great way to generate foot traffic, loyalty and eventually sales. Here is a basic checklist of 8 important steps to hosting a successful in-store event.

With all of the discount grocery and cross-shopping going on today, grocery retailers need to find a way to differentiate themselves and compete on an even playing field, not just on price. Fresh is the name of the game, if played well. 

The future is here and this is what it looks like. Millennials are growing up and making way for the new generation of young consumers, Generation Z. The youngest of this generation, born between 1995-2014, are now graduating from college and becoming an important part of our economy. In the United States today there are 60 million people who make up Gen Z exceeding the number of millennials by a million.

The mindset of today’s retail shopper has changed. It used to be, people defined themselves by the things they acquired-the best, the most expensive and the latest greatest trends. Today, we are what we experience, not just what we own. We spend much of our time searching for social media content instead of purchasing. How good will this look on my Instagram feed? It seems we are only as good as the sum of our Instagram pictures and online persona. While a picture is worth a thousand words, there needs to be more motivation to drive shoppers to enjoy the in-store experience.

Pan-Oston is proud to be part of one of the largest Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP) companies in the United States. As a Houchens Industries Company, Pan-Oston provides ESOP benefits to all employees, which time has proven is beneficial for employees, the company, and for our customers.

In 2017, technology will play a large role in retail. Media is becoming the store. As a direct path to purchase, Retailers will use technology to make every single piece of media — be it online, social, mobile, or conventional. Providing exceptional content, decision-making tools and commerce software, will be important so that anyone exposed to that media could confidently purchase items on the spot.

On the flip side, the brick and mortar is becoming a powerful form of experiential media. Your retail space should convey a powerful brand story through every touchpoint, provide lots of opportunities for immersive product experiences, and expose shoppers to your entire ecosystem of product experts, purchase channels, added-value services and loyalty tools. If designed well, your customer experience and your store is the most powerful form of media.Brick-and-mortar stores will also become more integrated this year. With the benefit of the customer at heart, the physical store will continue to learn how to truly incorporate technology to create a connected store. Store Associates will have more information, about the customer and products, at their fingertips to improve the overall experience.

Brick-and-mortar stores will also become more integrated this year. With the benefit of the customer at heart, the physical store will continue to learn how to truly incorporate technology to create a connected store. Store Associates will have more information, about the customer and products, at their fingertips to improve the overall experience.

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Top 5 Retail Trends in 2017

AlixPartners’ 2016 North American convenience store consumer study is the first to take an in-depth look at consumer behavior in the c-store industry. It's findings point to the need for c-stores to master four strategies to succeed in this space: enhancing the execution of foodservice programs, improving the customer experience, building scale, and launching comprehensive enterprise-improvement programs.