Phil Lempert's Friday keynote address at Retail 2020 was informative, entertaining and funny. And nothing makes learning easier than funny.

In addition to being entertaining, the Supermarket Guru is a television and radio news reporter ("The Today Show," "The View"), newspaper columnist, author, consumerologist, food marketing expert, and Web site futurist. For Retail 2020, he was a teacher. His first lesson was, "Don't follow the elephant, get in front of it." The message was, don't follow the trend (the elephant), get ahead of it to see what's
next and begin your own trend.

Lempert is an expert analyst on consumer behavior, marketing trends, new products and the changing retail landscape. He echoed the message of Todd Hale, the consumer panel analyst and another Retail 2020 keynote speaker, when he asked, "How will market spending be different this year than last year?" Then answered, "They're going to purchase less."

Lempert warned that with the Internet and other retailer formats, consumers could buy anything, anywhere, and buy it cheaper. So, he advises, "If you can get somebody in your store, you'd better not screw it up. Pay attention to your customer. There is zero tolerance for error. Listen to what the customer wants, do research, talk to people, and give customers a reason to come back."


He gives an example of express supermarket checkout lines. Something that on the surface seems like a good idea, but in reality, retailers are giving the best service to the people spending the least amount of money. His advice: Give the best service to those who spend the most. The fullest carts get the best cashiers on the registers and give them two baggers each.

Historically, shoppers have looked for a holistic experience that includes satisfaction physically, environmentally, mentally and spiritually. With the economic downturn, shoppers are now looking for additional satisfaction and value. They want to enjoy the experience and even be entertained. As far as the environment is concerned, statistics show customers will spend a little more for planet-friendly merchandise. Those stats include: 41 percent want locally grown foods while 23 percent want organic food. The public, especially those who consider themselves in the category of "gourmet" and those who make up the bulk of the population, the baby boomers, are very concerned with health. He insists, "Health is the open sesame to the consumer's purse."

The overwhelming message from all the speakers was, "Listen to your customers, then give them what they want." In addition, pay close attention to your competition; and finally, "Don't follow the elephant."

Retail 2020 was the first conference designed specifically for the specialty food and kitchenware industries. Nearly 150 professionals attended the event at the Mohegan Sun Resort in Uncasville, Conn. The two-day conference (Aug. 20-22) was an amazing exchange of information between retailers, vendors and manufacturers. The conference included keynote addresses by experts in the field, retailer-to-retailer roundtable sessions, panel discussions and plenty of time for networking and roaming the exhibit floor.