Consumer Attitudes & Behavior

Minneapolis -- Retailer promotion activity continued to grow with a 21.6% increase to more than 11.3 billion pages in the first half of 2013, with Walmart leading in retailer activity, according to Kantar Media’s Marx report. Following on Walmart’s heels were Walgreens, Target and Family Dollar.

San Francisco – Gap Inc. substantially improved upon its June 2012 same-store sales performance and beat analyst expectation with a 7% increase in same-store sales last month. In comparison, the retailer’s same-store sales were flat in June of last year and were only expected to rise 4.7% in June of this year, according to estimates from Retail Metrics.

Sales at Gap’s Old Navy helped drive the overall increase. Same-store sales at Old Navy rose 13% in June as a result of seasonal summer promotions.

ATLANTA — Coca-Cola says slow economies in Europe, Asia and Latin America and cold weather conditions across multiple regions affected consumer spending as well as its overall nonalcoholic ready-to-drink beverage performance. 

Grand Rapids, Mich. – Consumers will spend the same or more on back-to-school shopping this year as they did last year and many will also finish back-to-school shopping early.

A survey Meijer conducted of its customers reveals 90% of shoppers plan to spend the same or more than they did last year and 40% will have completed their back-to-school shopping before the school year begins. Median spend will range between $101-$150 per student and $201-$250 in total.

Chicago -- Home meal replacements or prepared foods from supermarkets, drug stores and other retail outlets will continue to capture share of the meal/snacks market by stealing visits from restaurants, according to a recent study by The NPD Group.

Its recent foodservice forecast through 2022 indicated that instances of prepared food purchased at retailers for at-home consumption will increase by 10% over the next decade compared to a 4% increase forecast for commercial foodservice traffic.

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Meijer conducted a survey of its customers, which revealed that 90% of them plan to spend the same or more than they did last year and 40% will have completed their back-to-school shopping before the school year begins. 

Median spend will range between $101-$150 per student and $201-$250 in total. In addition, 15% of parents expect students to help pay for a portion of school expenses and nearly 30% will get help from grandparents.

Chicago – Parents want to buy food and beverages for their kids that are healthy and appeal to the entire family. Results of a new proprietary study from food processing company Cargill show that 89% of parents said they ask their kids to broaden their tastes, and 69% said they ask their kids to try more adult food.

The U.S. Census Bureau released a report showing an increase of 0.6% in retail trade sales for June when compared to May. Sales were up 6% when compared to June 2012.

The figures are adjusted for seasonal variation and holiday and trading-day differences, but not for price changes, and exclude automobiles, gas stations and restaurants.