Cast Your Vote for Your Favorite Best Practice!

How do independent grocers even the playing field in a highly competitive, always-evolving retail environment? They use their independence to their advantage, moving at a rapid pace to create and test innovative, localized solutions to the challenges they face.

Sure, not every solution works every time, but the ones that do become tried and true ideas that set the store apart, drive customer loyalty, and ultimately, increase sales. It’s those ideas that IGA is looking to capture with its new IGA Best Practices Library.

Only a few months old, the IGA Best Practices Library already has more than 70 best practices from IGA retailers around the world, all housed in a simple, step-by-step format that makes it easy for other retailers to adapt and implement in their stores. And now, IGA is asking for your help to honor the best of the best with its inaugural Best Practice Awards at the IGA Global Rally.

IGA has handpicked 13 IGA Best Practices for their creativity, ability to save money and/or increase sales, and adaptability by fellow retailers.

2019 IGA Best Practice Finalists

1. Maximizing Space and Profit with Made-to-Order Meat Bundles | Mt Plymouth IGA, Nakul and Nisha Patel
2. Turning Product Loss into Profit with ‘Cheese Orphans’ | Harvest Market IGA, Jennifer Bosma
3. Department Demo-Ramas Liven Things Up and Drive Sales | Archie's IGA, Brian McGregor
4. Local Cake Artisan Makes a Great Team Member and Store Differentiator | Mahomet IGA, Brooks Marsh
5. Expand Your Selling Space with Outdoor Supplier’s Day Festival | Take N Pay, Jad Pereira
6. Increase Your Sales Capacity and Satisfy Shopper Needs with a Text-to-Deli Program | Lake Region IGA, Irene Marks
7. Mobile Popcorn Machine Drives In-store Experience and Sales | Ritchies Carrum Downs, Jarrod Swaine
8. Mix-and-match Craft Beer Offers More Variety at a Higher Margin | Cornell's IGA, Kip Faulhaber           
9. Store-made Hoagies Become a Community’s Preferred Fundraising Tool | Sprankle’s Fresh Market IGA, Doug Sprankle
10. Turn Two Annual Events Plus Weekly Tastings into a 20% Increase in Annual Wine Sales | Schild’s IGA, Kevin Schild
11. Compact Stores and At-home Delivery Spark Daily Sales in Fresh Foods | Jiayuguan Western Horizon Commerce and Trade Co., Ltd, Zhe Zeng            
12. St. Lucia Stores Take a Risk with Green Technology That Pays Off | The Massy Stores LTD., Janice Edwards Lionel and Caron Charlemagne
13. Winning Shopper Trust with Tiny Bean Sprouts | Hebei Hui You Commercial Chain Development Co., Ltd, Zhe Zeng

Now it’s up to you and the rest of the industry to vote for the best! IGA is partnering with The Shelby Report to get the word out to the industry, but you can vote here first—and as many times as you want, now through Saturday, February 23 at midnight.

When all the votes are in, the top three will be announced at the IGA Global Rally Awards of Excellence Brunch on Sunday, February 24 and each will take home a $1,000 cash prize for the store.

Want to know more about these IGA Best Practice finalists?

Join us at the IGA Global Rally for live presentations from each of our finalists, or if you can’t make it, be sure to check out our live stream on Facebook beginning Saturday, February 23 at 9 am!

Special offer for unregistered IGA retailers and wholesalers:

30% OFF Rally registration with code IGA30. Join us at the IGA Global Rally to see the best practices in action!