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The recent NYT article on sales trends at Home Depot and Wal Mart has some great clues into how consumers are changing habits in the light of economic downturn.

1. Food stays on the list, clothes and furniture don't
2. People are trading down to private label
3. People trading down the protein ladder from steak to ground beef, others moving from beef to chicken and others moving from protein to carbs
4. The home is the focal point- cheap take out pizza and movies is the new form of entertainment- people aren't going out and they are not cutting back on their entertainment tech. Sales of the more affordable flat screen are holding up
5. Vegetable gardens are booming
6. People are trying to stay healthy on their own with out resorting to experts- this means increased sales of vitamins and OTC medicines.
7. They need relief for these troubled times so they are buying more sleep aids, pain relievers and antacids
8. Home repair is on the increase
9. People are not buying new cars, they are repairing and maintaining the ones they have
10. Parents are not transitioning their kids between diapers and underwear with pull ups, instead they are going straight to underwear


Posted by Ed Cotton Wal-Mart has launched a number of green initiatives in the last 24 months, but all of them have been internally focused.

A couple of days back, the company went further than it's even done by bringing its suppliers into the mix. It's picked some categories and is asking suppliers in DVDs, toothpaste, soap, milk, beer, vacuum cleaners, and soda to look at their greenhouse gas emissions. It looks more of a carrot, than a stick, allowing suppliers to benefit from its own learning, rather than an accounting system to punish those that don't achieve targets. In fact, there are no targets for individual suppliers, Wal-Mart only has its own goal.

The net impact of the initiative will be to raise the profile of green measurement across a broad range of categories in consumer products. Obviously, the benefits for those that jump on board will be two-fold.

1. Cost savings- the accounting system will identify areas where companies can save money- as well as greenhouse gases

2. PR- There's the potential to publicize your efforts, but tread very carefully here.

Overall, it looks like its a smart step in the right direction with obvious benefits for Wal-Mart and its supply chain.

However, it's toothless and without serious targets in the program, one has to question how much impact it's really going to have.


Posted by Ed Cotton A new pilot study from POPAI looks at how UK shoppers engage in retail marketing at Morrisons and ASDA/Wal-Mart stores.

It reveals just how challenging the battle for consumer attention has become.

"534 shoppers enter the store per hour; shoppers are exposed to 1.6 pieces of marketing materials per second as they navigate the stores; shoppers' eyes are drawn to 17.8 percent of the marketing materials..."

Over 80% of materials get ignored.

The battle for attention is real.


Posted by Ed Cotton