Shop Talk
Retailers, consumers and prices
Check Out Line: Have a flu shot, spend some more
Check out the impact of signs the U.S. flu season may be weaker this year.
Drug stores such as Walgreen, CVS and Rite Aid are offering flu shots earlier and more conveniently to keep sales from slumping with no expected H1N1 outbreak this year along the lines of last year.
Last year, consumers came for flu shots and bought other items as well, but those related sales could suffer this year. Walgreen, for example, said lower demand for flu-related prescriptions cut 0.3 percentage point from its same-store sales growth in August.
This year, drug stores began promoting flu shots in late August, a week earlier than last year.
Making it tougher for drug stores are rivals like grocery stores (Supervalu and Kroger), and big-box retailers (Target) have been offering flu shots as well.
Check Out Line: Consumers beware! Rising prices even at Wal-Mart
Check out rising prices even at Wal-Mart.
Pressures created by rising costs have caused even the world’s largest retailer, known for its ”rollback” discounts, to boost the prices that consumers pay for groceries.
Wal-Mart Stores raised average prices on supermarket items by about 6 percent in a month, according to a recent J.P. Morgan study in Virginia that compared the prices of 31-item goods sold at its supercenters, and at supermarket rivals Kroger, Safeway, Harris Teeter and Whole Foods.
Specifically, the study found that prices at a supercenter in Virginia rose 5.8 percent, the most significant sequential increase since JP Morgan started price comparisons in January 2009.
While the world’s largest retailer remains the cheapest among supermarkets, rivals such as Kroger and Safeway are gaining ground, according to J.P. Morgan.
Rising costs of raw materials and oil are pressuring companies to pass on costs to consumers with higher prices.
Indeed, clothes makers such as Nike, VF Corp and Hanesbrands are facing the same conundrum. And British baker Greggs said soaring wheat prices were set to push up costs, emphasizing a theme that may be repeated for such food makers as General Mills, Kellogg, Kraft and Sara Lee.
Check Out Line: Upset tummies in the food sector?
Check out sluggish results in the U.S. food sector.
Fast food giant McDonald’s and Kroger, the largest U.S. grocery chain, saw shares decline 2.5 percent and 10 percent, respectively, after reporting weak results.
McDonald’s said same-store sales at its U.S. restaurants slipped 0.6 percent in November, marking the second straight monthly decline. Following Yum Brands’ recent weaker-than-expected sales, it was the latest sign that the fast-food sector that had performed well through most of the recession was weakening.
Check Out Line: Buying basics buoys big chains
Check out the ten largest U.S. retailers.
The National Retail Federation’s STORES magazine is out with its annual ranking of the top 100 retailers.
The list shows that U.S. consumers have been focused on bargains and basic necessities, such as food and medicine. Wal-Mart tops the lineup, followed by Kroger and Costco. Home Depot fell from No. 2 in 2007 to the fourth spot in 2008 as many shoppers decided to cut back on costly home-improvement projects.
Check Out Line: “Insult to injury” for retailers
Check Out one analyst’s list of retail names at risk.
Around this time last year, stimulus checks amounting to more than $100 billion started landing in cash-strapped consumers’ bank accounts, giving them a chance to spend and boosting sales for many retailers.
But this year’s stimulus entails lower withholding taxes and not ”hard checks,” which means “the effects of this year’s stimulus on retailers will be a far cry from 2008,” Pali Capital analyst Stacey Widlitz said in a research note to clients.
No tug-of-war between grocers and food makers-Kroger CEO
Costs for ingredients like rice, wheat and oil are falling, so why are prices for breakfast cereals like Rice Krispies and Special K still rising?
If you want an answer to this question, you aren’t the only one.
Food companies like Kellogg Co, which makes the products mentioned above, say the higher prices are justified because while commodity price inflation has eased amid a global economic downturn, commodity prices remain well above historical averages.
Check Out Line: Hanging at the mall not so fun
Check out how consumers feel about shopping at malls.
Auto dealers and reporters are popular targets for hate mail. But mall operators may have reason to fear joining them if a new study conducted by the University of Pennsylvania Wharton School and the Verde Group, a market research consultancy, is to be believed.
Almost eight of every 10 people surveyed faced a problem at the mall, citing such issues as a limited choice of places to eat, lack of variety of stores, parking difficulties and a shortage of restrooms.
Wal-Mart donates food, cash to fight hunger
Wal-Mart is partnering with Feeding America, the largest charitable hunger-relief organization in the United States, to provide 70 million meals annually to families and individuals who are struggling to put food on the table during the toughest economic downturn in decades.
The move from the world’s largest retailer comes as U.S. food banks are seeing donations fall short of demand.
Check Out Line: Souped up
Consumers may be cutting back on restaurant visits and car purchases but they are still buying crackers and juice, as Campbell Soup raised its full-year profit forecast.
The maker of Pepperidge Farm cookies and V8 juice has raised prices to offset soaring commodity costs and announced a $1.2 billion share buyback program that should help boost shares.
Check Out Line: Kroger Kroger rides lower prices, gas discounts to higher profit
Check Out the quarterly profit at Kroger Co.
The largest U.S. grocery chain posted a higher quarterly profit on Tuesday, thanks to its emphasis on lower prices and gasoline discounts – music to its shoppers’ ears and higher sales for itself.
“Kroger continues to help customers stretch their budgets in a number of ways, including lower prices and our expanded generic drug and gas discount programs,” chief executive David Dillon said in a statement.
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