1. 1.The most educated consumers with the highest level of household income shop in this channel.
   

2. 2.The coveted “LOHAS” consumer is found primarily shopping this channel.
   

3. 3.There is significant fragmentation in this space with over 8,000 brands being tracked by SPINS - this fragmentation is accompanied by a lack of brand-centric marketing and operational best-practices.
   

4. 4.This channel is largely driven by “push” marketing and sales - where the retail staff are seen as experts that make product recommendations to consumers.  This push approach allows for a higher ROI on every marketing dollar invested.
   

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