Shop Talk

Check Out Line: Grocery shoppers making their lists, checking them twice

Check out consumers’ discipline when shopping for groceries.

Most U.S. households have already made the majority of their purchasing decisions before they even enter a grocery store, and rarely buy on impulse, said market research firm NPD Group.

According to a new NPD report, 94 percent of households prepare a written shopping list before they go shopping, and 72 percent of shoppers never, or only occasionally, buy items not on the list.

“For food and beverage manufacturers and retailers, it’s all about getting on the list,” said Ann Hanson, executive director of product development for NPD and author of the report.

“With so many purchasing decisions being made at home where meals are being planned and shopping lists assembled, it’s important to focus on the consumer at home before they leave for the store.”

NPD said most U.S. consumers eat dinner at home, and that most households plan these meals in advance.

As for purchasing items not on the list, only about one in four grocery shoppers are impulse-driven while grocery shopping, the report found. The top reasons for impulse purchases, it said, were “saw it on promotion,” “saw it in the store and remembered it was needed,” and “it looked like a good meal or snack solution”.

Boxers or briefs?

As sales of women’s clothing have languished, felled by complaints about a lack of new fashions or fashions that women actually want to wear (who can forget the Jessica Simpson in high-waisted jeans debacle?), men’s apparel has been pointed to as a bright spot in an otherwise weak market.

But what exactly have men been buying?

Well, it appears to be underwear.

According to data released by NPD, the dollar value of apparel sales in the first half of this year was down 7 percent compared with a year ago, with sales of tailored clothing falling the most — down 11.4 percent.

There were only two categories that showed sales growth — fleecewear up 2.1 percent (We wonder if sales of Snuggies were captured in that number?) and male underwear — up 4.8 percent.

Part of that growth was due to higher prices. The average price for a piece of male underwear in the first half of the year was $2.93, up from $2.86 a year ago, according to NPD.

But the real question remains — is it boxers or briefs that are fueling the growth? And could this be good news for Abercrombie, which has been championing the dressed-only-below-the-belt male model look for years?

Consumers learning frugal back-to-school lesson

Could Americans really be getting the hang of life without excess? According to two recent consumer studies, they just might be.

NPD Group Inc, a market research firm, said on Tuesday that it found consumers are starting their back-to-school shopping later, spending less, and shifting away from discretionary items like shoes, clothes, and beauty items. Instead, they are focusing on necessities like school supplies and calculators.

“Back-to-school will be a big indicator of the consumer’s psyche with regard to overall spending this year compared to last year,” said Marshal Cohen, NPD’s chief industry analyst. “Consumers are clearly putting need over desire. They are more highly influenced by value than by fashionable or trendy products.”

According to NPD’s survey, the number of people who said they either ‘haven’t started’ or ‘don’t plan to shop for back to school’ by the end of July dropped 5 percent from last year .

About 44 percent of respondents said they planned to spend less for back to school, compared to 35 percent last year. The study also found that the percent of back-to-school dollars people plan to spend on footwear and apparel fell 9 points to 39 percent and 8 points to 52 percent, respectively.

Meanwhile BrandKeys, a marketing consulting firm, surveyed 10,000 households across the United States in July and found that the plans for back-to-school spending were down 10 percent this year. Spending fell across all categories, except for clothing.

“Clothing is unchanged because children grow,” said Robert Passikoff, president of BrandKeys. Even though spending fell in categories like computers, school supplies and study aids, Passikoff said kids will be going back to school pretty well kitted out in the classroom.

Watches and sunglasses – shopping’s bright spots

By Dhanya Skariachan

There’s nothing like a snazzy watch or a cool pair of sunglasses to  chase away those recession blues.   Despite the economic downturn, the U.S. accessories market has displayed some areas of growth, according to a report from market research firm NPD Group, with  watches and sunglasses being bright spots.

That could point to a trend where shoppers are not buying whole outfits, as they try to save money, but are drawn by powerful SALE signs to selectively snap up accessories to accentuate their old wardrobes. 

According to the NPD report, sales of men’s watches grew 20.8 percent in the fourth quarter of 2008 compared to a year ago, in stark contrast to the total accessories market, which saw a 26-percent decline.   “Watches continue to be seen as an investment purchase, at least by men,” said Marshal Cohen, an expert on consumer behavior and analyst with market research firm NPD Group.   While sales of watches to men of the 25-34 age group grew 1.9 percent, sales to the 35-54 years age group rose 8.5 percent.   Sunglasses have been the beneficiary of impulse purchasing, Cohen said, adding that NPD data shows nearly a third of sunglasses purchases were unplanned.  The top place for sunglasses’ sales was department stores. Sales of sunglasses rose 16.8 percent in that channel in the fourth quarter of 2008, according to the report.   “Even in a tough market, department stores ramped up their sunglasses assortment and put them front and center, and that really paid,” said Cohen.   Items like these may be indicators to, well, keep an eye on.   “Accessories was one of the last categories to post growth before this downturn and will likely be one of the first to return,” Cohen said.   (Photo/ Reuters)

Check Out Line: Supermarket food vs. restaurant fare

Check Out Americans’ dwindling faith in supermarket food.

A higher percentage of people doubted the safety of supermarket food in 2008 compared to 2004, even as a larger, but steadier, number continue to have qualms about what they eat at restaurants, according to a study by market research firm NPD Group.

The study’s results come as U.S. consumers cut back on restaurant visits and head to stores to buy items toward cooking more meals at homes to save money.

As supermarkets offer more prepared meals to cater to such cash-strapped consumers, they also face more questions about how the food was handled until it was served up, said Harry Balzer, chief industry analyst at NPD.

In 2008, 63 percent of Americans felt that supermarket foods were safe — same as 2007, but a 5 percent drop from 2004.  In contrast, while only 48 percent of those surveyed in 2008 agreed that restaurant fare was safe, that was only 1 percent below 2004.

“I believe that consumers’ slipping confidence in the safety of supermarket food is less about food safety and more about supermarkets expanding food service operations and offering more prepared, ready-to-eat foods,” Balzer said.

Consumers’ top worries – Salmonella and E. Coli. Eighty percent of the roughly 13,000 adults surveyed put those two as their top safety concerns in 2008.

Check Out Line: Shopping? No thanks

Check out a persistent weakness in consumer attitudes.

On a scale of 0 to 100, where 100 is “very confident,” general economic perception of consumers fell to 36.7 in February from 38 in October, according to a survey by retail research firm NPD Group. The survey uses online answers from 1,000 people each month.

On the heels of worries over the economy, consumers’ intentions to shop also weakened. NPD’s study showed a more than five-point drop to 35.4 in February, compared to 40.7 in October.

“While a five-point drop doesn’t seem like much, it represents millions of dollars,” said Marshal Cohen, chief industry analyst at NPD.

U.S. consumers have held back on shopping in the past months as they contend with weak home values, tight access to credit and the fear of job losses in a recession.

But not all is lost.

NPD did note that although consumers’ confidence about the economy was fading, their worries about job security were leveling off. While the number of consumers most concerned about job security peaked in December at 38 percent from 33 percent in October, it fell to 34 percent in February.

Check Out Line: Back to back-to-school

Check out a new survey on back-to-school shopping.   More than one-third of consumers plan to spend less when they shop for school this year, according to a survey by market research firm NPD Group.

Okay, many consumers may have already started, or even finished, their back-to-school shopping. And several back-to-school surveys came out last month from the likes of the National Retail Federation and consulting firm Deloitte that also showed signs consumers were cutting back.   (Actually, NRF broke its survey into two and showed that college kids were cutting back, but that younger students and their parents were planning to spend more. But that’s another story.)      NPD’s Marshal Cohen said the NPD survey is more current and is taken closer to when consumes will actually shop for school.   “On a good year, 25 percent start (shopping) and none have finished at the end of July,” Cohen said. He also noted that consumers have pushed the back-to-school season further and further back, waiting until the weather cools before buying apparel.   So, in this latest survey, NPD shows 35 percent of those surveyed plan to spend less on back to school and 34 percent plan to spend the same as in 2007.   Most plan to shop at discounters, but that percentage dropped to 81 percent from 84 percent. Office supply retailers continue to show more popularity, with 45 percent of those surveyed planning to shop at the Office Depots and Staples of the world, up from 43 percent in 2007.   Footwear stores fell 5 percentage points to 22 percent of consumers saying they were likely to shop at those outlets, with apparel stores down to 16 percent from 20 percent in 2007.   And that old backpack might just have to make it through another year. Only 33 percent of those surveyed plan to buy new school bags, down from 45 percent a year earlier.   According to Standard & Poor’s, which put out its own back-to-school study on Wednesday, about 75 percent of back to school spending occurs in the four weeks leading up to the first day of school, or during August. But many high school and college students wait until school starts before buying clothes so that they can see what is cool first, S&P said.   Also in the basket:   Wal-Mart profit up 17 percent, says consumers pressured   July CPI rise higher than forecast   Borders larger rival unlikely to make a bid (WSJ, subscription required)

(Photo: Reuters)

Check Out Line: More consumers see U.S. in recession

Check out darkening consumer sentiment in the month of May.

According to the latest results of NPD’s Fast Checks Study: Consumers Speak Out On the U.S. Economy, in May, 58 percent of consumers said we are in a recession, up from 55 percent in April.

Respondents to the survey said they are planning to spend less on items like apparel and footwear. With vacation season getting underway, 49 percent of consumers said they plan to cut back on leisure travel. 

A greater percentage of consumers also said they are spending less because they need to put money toward essentials, such as gas and utilities.

“Consumers are finally starting to react to the price of gas and other rising costs and are shifting shopping intentions.” according to NPD’s Marshal Cohen.

“Overall, in the past month, a 5 percentage point increase was seen in survey respondents who tell us they are going to do something different by taking advantage of promotions/events such as store sales, coupons, and discount or membership programs.”

Also in the basket: