Shopper Intelligence

According to a recent survey by Chicago-based food industry research firm Technomic, the recession is playing havoc with shoppers’ access to more nutritious foods.

Colin Watts, chief innovation officer at Walgreens Corp., will be jury chair for the second annual Product of the Year USA Awards. On Product of the Year Jury Day (Sept. 30) at New York’s Gansevoort Hotel, Watts and the jury panel, consisting of industry leaders, influencers, and key stakeholders, will preview new consumer packaged goods in competition for the 2010 Product of the Year imprimatur from 100,000 American shoppers who will ultimately choose the winning products.

A fellow Nielsen associate recently sent me an article she had received from a client about how private label was receiving high acceptance among even affluent American households.

As the “great recession” continues and consumers hear conflicting messaging about when the U.S. economy will improve, shoppers from all income levels are increasingly seeking out and taking advantage of deals at the grocery store.

Almost one-third of men in the United States are now the principal shoppers in the household, accounting for over $201 billion dollars -- nearly 50 percent of the consumer packaged goods annual spend.

Price modeling and optimization solutions provider KSS Retail and brand-building consultancy dunnhumby have formed a strategic alliance that will enable dunnhumby to provide price modeling and optimization to its existing and future clients in North America and elsewhere.

Recently, at Nielsen’s Consumer 360 Conference, The Nielsen Company featured a unique exhibit, Consumed: The Economy Hits Home, which looks at how today’s uncertain economy is shaping consumer attitudes and behaviors and how marketers can navigate this new landscape to uncover growth opportunities.

According to Eric Claus, president and CEO of The Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Co. (A&P), based in Montvale, N.J., sales of bologna tend to spike during a challenging economic climate. The accompanying chart outlines sales of bologna at A&P stores from March 2007 to June 2009, which illustrates a significant increase in bologna sales over the past five months.