Why Food Retailing Battle Is Again a Free-for-All
Syndicated from SuperMarketNews.com
by David Orgel, Editor-in-Chief
One of the few advantages of this recession was that it led to clear-cut consumer behavior that could be counted on. High gas prices meant consumers would curtail trips to distant stores. High food prices meant shoppers would focus on value-oriented, one-stop-shop retailers, particularly supercenters. For better or worse, all of this created some certainties around which retailers could plan their strategies.
Now, with the recession beginning to ease and prices for many — but not all — categories lower than before, consumer behavior is no longer as predictable. Suddenly, all sorts of retail channels — from convenience to value — eye renewed opportunities to attract consumers, which means competition is heating up.
This week’s category-focused issue of SN and a timely report from Information Resources Inc. underscore the new dynamics.
The new IRI report is called “Channel Migration: The Blurring of Shopper Loyalty.” (The full report can be found on the SN website: SupermarketNews.com. Go to the section toward the bottom of the SN home page called IRI Times & Trends.)
This report outlines how the game is beginning to change in comparison to a year ago. Supercenters are still performing well in share of spending across CPG, with slightly slowed momentum. However, supermarkets have reversed a recent trend of declines in CPG dollar share, IRI notes. And dollar stores have seen a 5 percentage point jump in the average dollar sale per purchase over the past year.
To read the full article visit www.supermarketnews.com
E-Commerce Sales Expected to Pick-up in 2010
Author: Michelle OBrien, Marketing InsightsTODAY.com
U.S. retail e-commerce sales (excluding travel) will total nearly $132 billion in 2009, down about 0.4% from 2008. Assuming the recession ends this year, as many economists have predicted, eMarketer forecasts that online sales will begin to rebound in 2010 and hit full stride in 2011.
Web research has become a priority for value shoppers in today’s recession. Currently, 86% of Web users are shoppers who browse, research and compare products on the Internet, but they do not necessarily buy online. Often ignored, store sales influenced by online research are three times higher than e-commerce sales.
Many consumers opt to buy online for convenience, price and broad product selection. About 81% of Web shoppers are also online buyers. Web consumers who refrain from buying online often get hung up on security and privacy concerns or the inability to touch and feel products. Web retailers are adding new content and features to lower these hurdles.
Source: Data compiled by eMarketer, as cited in a July 21, 2009 online report by Adweek. Website: www.emarketer.com.
To read more visit www.marketinginsightstoday.com.
Time to Buy — Your Way into a Job
By Angus Loten, Recessionwire.com
If you’re looking for an employer or want to expand your business, now’s a good time to make a move.
Thanks to the recession, there’s never been a better time to buy a small business—provided you’ve got the financial wherewithal. There has been a surge in the number of small businesses going up for sale in the past few months, but only half as many have found buyers compared to the same period last year, according to BizBuySell.com, an online small-business marketplace. That means it’s a buyers’ market, conventional valuations are out the window and there are bargain-basement prices for investors willing to take a risk in a down market.
Among the small businesses that have sold this year, the median sales price has dropped by about 20 percent to $160,000 from $200,000 last year, the site reports.
Typically, brokers and market watchers gauge the value of these deals by dividing the asking price for a business by its annual revenue or cash flow. In the past few months, these figures, known as revenue or cash flow multiples, have dropped dramatically in closing prices, by between 2.5 and 8 percent. Until recently, both multiples were rising steadily.
To read more go to www.recessionwire.com.
