U.S. consumers have been battling adverse economic conditions for well over 18 months now. The country has faced sky-rocketing gas prices, high levels of unemployment, unprecedented increases in CPG prices and an array of other financial stressors.
To cope, consumers have been forced to make significant changes to everyday behaviors. No doubt, today’s consumers are more self-reliant and more in-tune with how and where money is spent.
In last year’s Channel Migration issue of Times & Trends we highlighted sizable share gains by supercenters across departments and income segments resulting from consumer efforts to stretch their CPG dollars. Supercenters continue to play a major role in providing consumers with affordable CPG solutions.
Over the past year, however, competing retail channels have turned up the heat.
The end result is a more complex battleground. Retailers are embracing specialized and targeted marketing and merchandising strategies in an effort to win shoppers.
This report provides insights into recession-driven changes in consumer shopping patterns across departments, categories and consumer segments, and serves as a foundation for competitive and distribution strategy development as well as a baseline for ongoing tracking efforts.
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