General Merchandise

NEW YORK — Difrax is selling its brand of three-stage pacifiers in the United States, the company said.

DELRAY BEACH, Fla. — Polaroid unveiled its new concept, Polaroid Fotobar, here, in February, with plans to open at least 10 locations this year. The 2,000-sq.-ft. store is positioned both as a place to shop and a center for recreation and entertainment, allowing customers to release "trapped" photos and display them as premium-quality art. Customers can select pictures taken with their phones and wirelessly transmit them to a bar-top workstation for ordering prints or instantly uploading them to Facebook, Instagram, Picasa and other platforms.

Technology has certainly changed the landscape of the drug channel's general merchandise department. As categories shift, electronic accessories have become a crucial addition to the mix.

Nearly 40% of all consumer electronic spending in 2012 was on tablets, smartphones, laptops and notebooks, according to the Consumer Electronics Association. "Accessories for these products are the growth drivers for the category," said Chris Ely, a spokesperson for the organization. "They also are margin makers."

CINCINATTI — Procter and Gamble's Bounty unveiled a new cloth-like disposable paper towel designed to be used in place of dishcloths. P&G research shows that reusing dishcloths can redeposit millions of germs after just one use. Switching to disposable Bounty DuraTowel is a cleaner alternative. The DuraTowel is made with a durable, fiber-rich design and can be used for cleaning countertops, sinks and small appliances. The new product is available now at a suggested retail price of $3.19.

According to research, ownership of smartphones and tablets in particular have grown rapidly over the past couple of years, and that has created a multi-headed omnichannel hydra of a customer who retailers across all channels are desperately trying to appease.

There's a lot to like about the As Seen On TV category. It has a sell-through rate between 10% and 20%. Margins also are in the double-digits. Best of all, the products that make it to retail shelves are proven winners.

"Our market model is very sound," said AJ Khubani, CEO of TeleBrands. "As a group of companies, we test market hundreds of products on television, then bring the top 10 to retail. Drug chains are only getting the products that are most successful. They are consumer-tested with a known demand and significant advertising support."

LANDOVER, Md. — Giant Food of Landover, Md., is one of several retailers promoting environmental awareness as part of Earth Day Monday, the Ahold USA-owned retailer said.

With the steady accumulation of purchasing power attributed to the Hispanic-American community, marketers more and more are targeting Latinos. Here's why: the Hispanic-American population numbers more than 54 million today, with a total buying power of $1 trillion — expected to reach $1.5 trillion in the next two years — and 1.8 million households generating incomes greater than $100,000. DSN called in Reny Diaz, director of client engagement for Nielsen, for additional perspective about the Hispanic-American opportunity.