The recession has had a fascinating and unexpected impact on the price battle between private label products and brand name CPG products.
The chart below (from IRI’s January Times and Trends report) shows how the prices of private label products increased MUCH more rapidly than the total CPG market during 2007 and 2008. I believe these price increases [...]
I was on a morning flight from NY to Chicago yesterday, reading the story in the New York Times about the death of Gourmet Magazine. News about yet another magazine folding is hardly even news.
What makes this more interesting is that I looked up from the article to see that the in-flight entertainment was an [...]
Over the past 9 months, moderate and up-scale retailers have resorted to unprecedented deep discounts to drive sales and maintain store traffic. And it worked, for a while.
Now, it looks like these price promotions have begun to wear out. The Wall Street Journal had a very interesting article on the topic the other day Discounting [...]
Price promotions are an important tool, especially in these difficult economic times. But, the panic of declining sales often leads marketers to confuse price promotion with brand strategy. No where is this more evident than in fast food, where we’ve seen many restaurants try to drive traffic by virtually giving away their food.
A recent LA Times article outlined some [...]
Also posted in Advertising, Consumer behavior, Marketing Trends | Tagged brand, branding, Consumer Spending, fast food, food, Market Research, marketing, marketing research, price, prices, quality, recession |
There has been a lot of press recently on the dramatic rise in Private Label products. Most of the articles say something like: “Consumers are moving to store brands in an effort to save money”. Case closed.
In reality the causes of the shift - and the implications of the shift are a little more complex.Â
For [...]
Companies across the world are trying like crazy to incorporate elements of Social Media into their corporate sites. Very few ever get it right. Most are so corporate focused that their efforts just look like more ads. Others don’t understand that you have to provide some value to the participants - not just a place [...]
I have finally found a bright spot in these financial hard times. Direct mail is in the tank. My mailbox is less cluttered, trees feel safer and my mailman is walking a little straighter.
The most recent report by Mintel Comperemedia reports that nearly all the major Direct Mail categories are down. Some of the categories [...]
Retailers continue to struggle for ways to successfully cope with an accelerating decline in consumer spending.  Major retailers, across all spectrums, are experiencing dramatic declines in same store sales:
Williams Sonoma - 38% (forecast)
Gap - 14%
Target - 6%
Macy’s - 7%
Home Depot -9%
Some of the strategies being seen in the marketplace include:
 Cut costs - not prices.
Some stores, such as [...]
Many marketing gurus espouse the benefits of segmenting the market by “Generational Cohorts”. Cohorts typically have three distinguishing factors: Age, a defining event that effected their development, and a general world view. For Example Generation X is often defined as:
Born between 1965 - 1980.
Over-indulged by workaholic baby boomer parents
“Slackers”
There are many different ways to break out [...]
Also posted in Market Research Trends, Marketing Trends | Tagged Baby boomer, cohorts, Demographics, Generation N, Generation X, Generation Y, generations, marketing, Segmentation, Seniors |
