Shop Talk
Retailers, consumers and prices
Check Out Line: April showers bring May shoppers
Check out the recent rise in U.S. sales.
U.S. chain store sales rose 3.3 percent last week versus a year ago, according to new data from Redbook. The sales were also up 0.8 percent in May so far versus April, Redbook’s figures on general merchandise retailers with about 9,000 U.S. stores showed.
That’s a bit brighter than the 0.5 percent rise in April same-store sales we saw last week, based on 28 chains.
Meanwhile, consumers are getting tech-savvy about their food shopping. Deloitte said that more consumers are turning to their computers to look for deals on food. According to the firm’s 2010 Consumer Food Safety Survey, 33 percent of people have signed up to get emails, recipes or coupons from food makers, a 6 percentage point rise from just two years earlier.
Deloitte found that food shoppers also feel the quality of store, or private label, brands is better. 
Fifty-five percent of those surveyed said they are buying store brands because they believe the quality is comparable to national branded foods, up 14 percentage points from 2008. Six percent even said the quality is better than national brands.
Check Out Line: Stores launch more of their own food
Check out the rise in private label foods.
These days, retailers are keen on turning consumers looking for value into shoppers willing to buy. One tactic is bringing out more products under their own labels.
Mintel has tracked nearly 1,800 new U.S. private label foods popping up in stores so far this year. Those items account for 27 percent of all the food products that have been launched this year. Private label foods comprised only 13 percent of new food product launches back in 2005.
Check Out Line: Imitators vs the innovators
Check Out the ongoing battle between food makers and retailers.
As the recession crimps household budgets, retailers like Wal-Mart and Target are increasingly looking to woo shoppers with their own private label food items that often look very similar to name brand products but are sold at lower prices.
Wal-Mart is relaunching its Great Value private brand, adding more than 80 new products, like double-stuffed sandwich cookies and organic cage-free eggs.
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