Prism Business Media -- Walmart, Kroger, Albertsons, Safeway, Ahold, Walgreens, Rite Aid - these are just a few of America's large retailers that have discovered the power of radio in the store. In an article titled, "Turning In At The Shelf," research indicates in-store technology is leading the way as the number method of increasing sales for retailers, especially those rooted in special music programming and  wrapped with promotional and product announcements. In-store marketing, in fact, surpassed the $18 billion mark last year and is expected to significantly grow over the next five years as retailers continue to report double-digit sales increases as a direct result of audio and/or audio-video marketing efforts in their retail outlets.  On average nationwide last year, five percent of marketers earmarked the biggest portion of their promotion budgets for in-store activity, according to PROMO's Industry Trends Report survey. Joint promos have successfully been staged between retailers and suppliers as well. Procter & Gamble has led the shopper marketing push, with the July 2004 consolidation of a reported $4 billion in holistic planning, divvied up between Carat and Starcom MediaVest. (A second agency review bundled in-store, account-specific, direct marketing and promotions for 35 health and beauty care brands and split the work between Arc Worldwide, Saatchi & Saatchi X and The Integer Group.) In spite of the popularity of video marketing in-store, radio marketing continues to provide the most cost effective method of reaching shoppers at the shopping cart. research carried out in Principles stores earlier this year revealed that when a specially created customer focused music channel was playing, sales averaged double digit growth over the times when no music was playing. The study (carried out through a new, innovative research approach developed by Vision One) highlighted the importance of playing the right music. Findings also showed that 90% of customers like having music in-store (the remaining 10% mainly consisted of no opinion) and, crucially, 60% said that music made them stay longer in store. Shoppers were also asked to rate each store against a range of key attributes. Stores that were playing the customer focused music channel were rated, on average, 15% higher against those attributes than stores with no such music playing. On the key attribute ‘welcoming’, the rating showed an increase of over 40%. Julia Haynes, Marketing Manager of Principles said, “We are very excited about the results of the survey and in particular the enhancement it has made to our customers’ shopping experience.” Tony Lewis, Director of Vision One Research commented, “This study demonstrates how research can bring retailers closer to their customers, with an innovative approach that enables retailers to enhance their customers’ shopping experiences profitably.” LOST PLANET MEDIA OUTSOURCE BROADCASTING Pioneering Broadcast Solutions for the Business World