Here’s a juicy nugget of information: “About 68 percent of Americans spend more time with their computers than their spouses,” says a trend-spotter quoted in this Cincinatti.comarticle. It’s juicy because savvy retailers can turn that rather sad statistic into a marketing advantage.

Even though the article is mostly about grocery retailers, it points out how customers really cherish relationships with their favorite stores. “Only 27 percent of grocery shoppers are loyal to a store,” an IBM retailing pro says. “That leaves three of four shoppers up for grabs.”

One way to grab them, the trend-spotter says: “Reach them with text messages and you lock in a customer.” I think it’s a great idea. Tex-messaging your customers’ cell phones and sending regular emails helps cement their loyalty to you. Making them the first to know about new products or special sales is easy and effective. Both tactics should be a part of your retailing toolkit. And if their spouse gets jealous, all the better for you

The article also discusses the growing impact of devices such as handheld scanners that allow shoppers to check each item they put in their cart, and then do a self-checkout without using a cashier. “Consumer goods companies now have the ability to talk directly to a customer in the store and are less reliant on commercials on TV,” a Motorola marketing exec says. “Electronic marketing offers a real competitive advantage.”

While such in-store devices are just debuting now, you should check them out now. You don’t want to be left in the dust when your customers decide to be loyal to someone else.