Okay, I admit, I’m a technology laggard, but for the sake of “being in the know,” I have embraced the iPhone and downloaded those apps that I was told were “must haves.” So far The Weather Channel, Facebook, and Mah Jong have proven the most engaging. But here is one I’ve tried that I was told would revolutionize my grocery shopping…

GroceryGadget. In theory, this should be a great one. Create your shopping list, take photos of preferred brands (so when Dad shops he knows what to buy), tick off your items as you shop, and the list recreates itself in the order products are shopped for next time.  Total winner right? Not so much.

Imagine pushing your cart down a crowded grocery aisle, baby in seat, purse hanging off shoulder (or shoved in baby’s lap), iPhone in purse (because let’s be real—holding a slippery, expensive piece of electronics while pushing a heavy cart whose wheels are probably not working properly just isn’t realistic), and scanning shelves. 

You’ve found the product you want, throw it in the basket, now…(1) pull the iPhone out of purse, (2) swipe the phone on, (3) scroll down the list to find your item on the list, [I’m presuming you launched the app before you entered the store to “save time”], (4) click button to turn iPhone off [can’t risk using up precious battery life in between items], (5) put iPhone back in purse, move on down the aisle. Five steps! Each time you check an item off your list!

The traditional list method? Three steps! (1) pull written list and pen out of purse when entering the store, (2) scratch off item with pen when the item goes into the basket, (3) put pen back in purse when checking out. The list presumably has been crumpled in your hand while shopping and will now be thrown out by the cashier. 

Thanks iPhone, but I think I’ll stick with my old method…that is, until my grocer of choice uploads my loyalty card data and I can download my preferred brands and most-frequently shopped items onto a list on my phone without ever having to create anything.

So who really is using all these apps for the iPhone? Who is creating them…and have they talked to us, the end users? Have they really figured out what we need, how we’re going to use it, and what our current circumstances are that beg for some sort of improvement? I’m all for simplifying my life—fewer steps, consolidated tasks—bring it on! But technology for technology’s sake…no thanks. I’ll keep searching for the app that is really relevant and meaningful.

It looks like consumer frugality is settling in for a long stay. For most shoppers, the new thriftiness is a cautious choice in the face of an insecure future. There is money to spend, but there is a new social consciousness around the idea of value. Value has less to do with price and more to do with intangible benefits, such as time-saving, problem-solving, convenience, consistency, creativity and confidence building.

In such an atmosphere, retailers would do well to redefine and reintroduce themselves. The key is a new and deeper understanding of brand and customer.

When it comes to retail brands, it is always difficult for businesses to get away from logo-centric thinking and question the company components that may or may not resonate with consumers. But devoting time to introspection now, while the economy is in limbo, could help find the crucial differentiation, credibility and greater relevance needed to win. Once found, these elements can be introduced into the brand experience, usually without the need for big capital-intensive physical transformations.

For example, although the extreme value category is seeing gains now, once the recovery takes hold, how will stores retain the trial customers driven through their doors by the recession? Dollar General knew that to go forward it needed to stand for something other than a cluttered, random, “cheapest” experience. By subjecting itself to a peeling back process, Dollar General revealed its original roots as an “honest and casual” brand. And after listening to its customers, the retailer discovered it needed to add a new dimension: fresh.

The subsequently refreshed brand is introducing itself through its almost 8,500 stores, supported by a conservative budget. The store plan is more shoppable and the brand benefits are clear; the regular customers are reassured that their favorite store didn’t change too radically and the new customers are encouraged by the experience. Even for the extreme value category, it’s a far better strategy to add value than pound the price drum.

It has always been difficult to create appropriate goods and services without shopper insight. Lack of it often leads to broadened assortments beyond a retail brand’s legitimacy. While stuck in the current economic limbo, companies can use the time to learn more about the new customer. It’s a given that today’s consumers escape traditional demographic conventions. Attitudes and values are a better predictor of shopper behavior than age and income. Decoding them requires a more sophisticated, retail analytics-driven approach to shopper research. These tools allow retailers to map the decision processes of each of their segments and identify both the connections and the gaps. Those with the highest to engage the shopper can be redesigned to be more effective.

This is where the idea of brand “touchpoints” comes into play. In the past, customers were “touched” by companies through the store, an associate or the telephone. It was easy to imbue those moments with a cohesive and consistent brand style. In a Web 2.0 world, the touchpoints seem almost infinite, from web pages to tweets. In the analog world they include new store concepts such as those planned, oddly enough, by Microsoft, which feels that people need something tangible in a digital world. And store formats designed to enter denser locations, such as Safeway’s urban lifestyle grocery in Washington D.C. From eBay to Hermes, pop up stores continue to be favored as way to surprise and interrupt consumer expectations. All offer the chance to put a new twist on brand so that people approach it in a different context, and see how it fits in their new framework.

Armed with endless touchpoint possibilities, how does a company choose? Three words retailers will be hearing more in the future are “prioritize,” “optimize” and “orchestrate.” Prioritize in regards to touchpoints, optimize in terms of ROI and orchestrate the elements of the brand experience—from flagships to digital sales receipts.

Hallmark, the specialty card and gift retailer, offers its products through its own stores as well as as supermarkets, drugstores and mass merchants. Its tradition of innovation has taken it into many digital territories, from television to in-store kiosks, online offerings and greeting card software. With so many touchpoints, each with its own potential for return, the challenge is to determine which of the many actions the company could take to please its customers, according to what priority.

Again, breaking down the big picture requires a repeatable analytics driven approach to brand impression management in order to guide thinking about the design of every touchpoint, so that all are aligned and orchestrated according to a brand that’s been refreshed and redefined according to shopper needs.

The new frugality is not solely about price. Quality, price and reason will share top consideration in the customer’s mind. For them, transactions will revolve more and more around ideas, information and relationships. As retail brands adapt to this new customer culture, they will redefine their ideas, values and positioning to stay in the game. In an age of frugality, thrift—the wise use of resources—is a cherished cultural value. It can also become a winning retail strategy.