A CALL TO GET INTO INTERACTIVE TV SHOPPING

JOHN KAROLEFSKI

WHITE SULPHUR SPRINGS, W. Va -- A cable television executive suggested that grocery shopping via interactive TV could become a widespread and attractive alternative for store-weary consumers.

The executive, Geraldine Laybourne, president of Nickelodeon, consequently recommended that brand marketers and retailers get involved now.

"If I were a retailer, I would definitely get into this. If I were a grocery manufacturer, I would get into this. Otherwise, you'll be in the same situation you are in right now with endless negotiations for shelf space," said Laybourne, who also is vice chairman of MTV Networks, a Viacom division. Nickelodeon is a unit of MTV Networks.

She spoke here at the Executive Conference of the Grocery Manufacturers of America. Her comments on interactive grocery shopping were part of a general talk on reaching consumers on the information superhighway.

Laybourne pointed out that interactive grocery shopping will soon be tested in Florida. Time Warner Cable, she emphasized, will offer supermarket and pharmacy shopping on its Full Service Network in Orlando, and orders will be filled by Winn-Dixie Stores, Jacksonville, Fla., and Eckerd Drug, Largo, Fla.

In the test, up to 4,000 subscribers will be able to view products on their televisions and then place orders. The system offers images of supermarket gondolas, as well as package close-ups.

During her talk, Laybourne challenged the traditional shopping experience. "Who's to say the best way to buy grocery products is in the supermarket?" she asked. "We've gotten comfortable with supermarkets, which has been a way to get people comfortable with buying staples."

Laybourne acknowledged that some people enjoy the in-store shopping experience. "I think that retail fulfills an important role in our lives," she said. "But the parts of retail that are not enjoyable are the ones most apt to be appealing to interactive."

She envisioned getting groceries on a subscription service. "I would get all my products on a monthly basis," she said, "and they would be automatically sent to my home." Specific items could be added or de-listed from the master list. "If I could do that minimal amount of work, it would be great," she said.

While interactive grocery shopping is exciting and appealing in many ways, Laybourne said that making it a reality is still challenging.

"History tells us that unless an innovation is 10 times better, the old forces protecting the vested interests will make it impossible for the innovation to go through," she said.

"How do you make it 10 times better? I don't know," she said. "But it does bring a completely different way of displaying products. Distribution of products will drastically change in this arena."