By now, surely everyone knows the name Harry Potter and the record-breaking box office receipts of Harry Potter & the Sorcerer's Stone. Some of you may remember Cindy Lauper from the 80's. But does anyone know who Farhad Darian is?

Farhad Darian used to be Afghanistan's most popular singer. She (or he) went into exile in Germany when the Taliban took over and became a forgotten entity. Over the past three weeks, however, Farhad has had the good fortune to see her/his CDs skyrocket to #1 in that hot music center of Kabul. Rather than eat, the starving million or so citizens of Kabul chose instead to spend their sheckels (actually, Afghanis) on music CDs, DVDs and televisions the second the Taliban left town. Schwarzenegger, Van Damme and Indian music videos (Oh - that sitar!) are now top sellers. Taliban Koran educational tapes - formerly the only merchandise available - have been relegated to the recycle bin. Kabul electronics and music retailers are ecstatic: everything electronic is flying off the shelves at full list.

While the need to be entertained seems to be universal, it is particularly ingrained in the American psyche - or in the immortal words of Cindy Lauper, “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun.” Despite what Americans say about being time-pressured, the fact is that Americans will make time and spend BIG BUCKS in the interest of having fun and being entertained. In 2000, for example, Americans spent a total of $574 Billion on “recreation” - defined as music, videos, movies, amusement parks, spectator sports, rock concerts, wheel goods, boats and theaters. To put this $574 in perspective, consider the following:

This $574 Billion is over three and a half times more than Americans spent for Education and Research in 2000 ($160B) and 38% more than they spent for all clothing, accessories and jewelry combined ($416B).

Americans spent an additional $378B on eating out (read: “having even more fun”) in 2000, which is not included in the $574B “Recreation” number above.

In addition, if one uses spending growth rates to judge what is really important to Americans, Having Fun and Being Entertained is currently one of the American consumer's top priorities - while Eating at Home is last:

Of the 12 personal expenditure categories tracked by the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Recreation category spending growth rates between 1990 and 2000 exceeded all categories but “Personal Business” (which covers all those 401ks, stocks and mutual funds). Based on 1990-2000 growth rates, “Having Fun & Being Entertained” outpaced Education and Research, Food away from Home, Medical Care, Housing, Transportation and Personal Care.

It is important to note that this American predilection for having fun is NOT limited to the affluent but is characteristic of all Americans in every economic segment:

In 1999, the top 20% of the U.S. population as measured by annual household income spent 5.4% of their disposable income on entertainment. This top 20% segment of the U.S. population averaged $135.4K in annual household income in 1999.

In the same year, the bottom 20% of the population still managed to spend 4.8% of their disposable income on entertainment - only slightly less than the highest 20%. This segment of the population averaged only $9.9K in annual household income in 1999 yet they spent $475 on fun.

All other population segments - the remaining 60% -- spent roughly the same percentage of disposable income on entertainment in 1999 as the highest and lowest segments - ranging from 4.4% for the 2nd lowest quintile to 5.2% for the 2nd highest quintile.

Now let's compare this American desire to be entertained with Progressive Grocer's 2000 annual “Shopping Enjoyment Survey” - in which customers are asked to rank the various CPG trade channels in response to the question “Is Shopping Fun?” Based on the results of this survey, one could easily conclude that the entire U.S. CPG retailing community has missed the boat with respect to one of the biggest opportunities to differentiate in ways that will directly tap in to the American psyche - using entertainment to make the shopping experience memorable and exciting. Specifically:

The highest grade achieved in the Progressive Grocer survey by any trade channel was by Club Stores who got a 72 out of 100 - which, in academic terms, equates to a “C-minus”.

Is this fixable? You bet. While it is undeniable that providing low prices and time-saving solutions are at the core of successful retailing in the current decade, the “icing” on this cake is clearly adding “fun and excitement” to these ingredients.

Retailers now need to take a stand and figure out how they want to position themselves vs. leading competitors and stop trying to be all things to all people. Next step is to proactively work with their suppliers to ensure that all programs reinforce their chosen positioning.

Manufacturers should tap their creative resources to help key accounts develop tailored shopping environments and promotion programs that “give the customer an emotional reason to return.”

Fund all of these initiatives out of current trade promotion (not brand) budgets. If retailers wish to tap into the “entertainment opportunity” and differentiate themselves on a basis other than price and assortment, we feel that it is incumbent upon them - not suppliers - to fund whatever additional monies may be required to achieve this.