New York SBDC Research Network

Once upon a time, syndicated data providers were the main source of retail POS data, and what was available was limited and extremely expensive. But times have changed, with richer, more detailed demand data becoming available from more and more sources: syndicated data providers, brokers, third party data managers, and increasingly, retailers themselves — usually for free. But not all consumer goods (CG) companies are aware of who’s sharing and what’s available — even from their own customers. While it’s true that few retailers share data on the level of Walmart with its Retail Link® portal, more and more are grasping the benefits of enabling their suppliers to access store-level sales and inventory information in virtually real time, and taking steps to make it more available. Store-level demand sensing is the fuel that fires a responsive, profit-enhancing CG demand chain. The ultimate goal is a robust analytics solution that drives actionable business decisions, from supply and

From the Bureau of Labor Statistics

Source: Ericsson ConsumerLab From Computing for a Scattered Mind: From desktops, files, folders and garbage cans to flat surfaces, apps and cloud services, consumers are increasingly turning their backs on a computing paradigm for the focused mind. Instead of sitting at a work desk and completing tasks, there has been a shift in favor of a computing paradigm where things are handled on the spur of the moment and with one hand – subject to the flow of events as we stand in a shopping line, talk to someone at a café, or run between buses during the commute. In our study, 18 percent intend to purchase a tablet, compared to 15 percent who plan to buy a desktop PC. The PC at the work desk becomes the tablet on the living room table, used while watching TV – or on the kitchen table, picked up during a breakfast discussion with the family. Tablet interest is particularly high in Australia, China and Russia. Infographic

From the Bureau of Labor Statistics Average annual expenditures per consumer unit rose 3.3 percent in 2011 following a decrease of 2.0 percent in 2010, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported. The rise in spending in 2011 barely outpaced the 3.2-percent increase in prices for goods and services from 2010 to 2011, as measured by the average annual change in the Consumer Price Index (CPI-U). This was the first yearly increase in spending since the 1.7-percent rise from 2007 to 2008, as expenditures had declined in both 2009 and 2010. All major components of household spending increased in 2011. The 8.0-percent rise in transportation spending was the largest percentage increase among all major components. Overall spending on food and cash contributions (including payments for support of college students, alimony and child support, and giving to charities and religious organizations) both increased by 5.4 percent. Other spending highlights include a 4.9-percent rise in health car

Some of my SBDC colleagues were interested to know if there is research regarding where consumers cut back first, second, etc., when times are hard. This is different than what one OUGHT to cut back in hard times, for which I find oodles of examples; I was looking for what people ACTUALLY do. Where Would You Cut Your Household Budget First? (2007) is interesting but flawed, in that it reflects what people saw they would do if there were hard times. But at the time, things seemed rosy. More useful were Psychology of Bad Times Fueling Consumer Cutbacks (2008) and Consumer Cutbacks: Temporary or Permanent? (2009), which reported on actual hard-times responses. Also very helpful: Americans Cutting Back on Everyday Expenses to Save Money (Harris poll, 2011). Addressing the issue from a different angle: 12 Things We Buy in a Bad Economy (TIME - 2011) But THE treasure trove, if one takes the time to study it, is the Consumer Expenditure Survey from the US Department of Labor

Consumer Expenditures 2010 [PDF] Multifactor Productivity Trends for Detailed Industries, 2009

The Federal Reserve Bank of New York released its Quarterly Report on Household Debt and Credit for the third quarter of 2010, which shows that consumer debt continues its downward trend of the previous seven quarters, though the pace of decline has slowed recently. Since its peak in the third quarter of 2008, nearly $1 trillion has been shaved from outstanding consumer debts. Additionally, this quarter’s supplemental report addresses for the first time the question of how this decline has been achieved and notes a sharp reversal in household cash flow from debt, indicating a decrease in available funds for consumption. More HERE . Quoting the American Consumers Newsletter: At the household level, the Consumer Expenditure Survey shows the same pattern. Household spending peaked in 2006 at $51,688. In 2008, the average household spent $50,486, or $1,200 less after adjusting for inflation. On many categories of products and services, the average household reversed the direction of its

In their third annual survey to measure and monitor consumer behaviors that have an impact on the environment, the National Geographic Society and the international polling firm GlobeScan have found that environmentally friendly behavior among consumers in 10 out of 17 countries has increased over the past year. The survey results show that environmentally friendly consumer behavior, as measured by the Greendex, has now increased from 2008 levels in all but one of the 14 countries polled in both 2008 and 2010. By environmentally friendly consumer behavior, we mean people’s transportation patterns, household energy and resource use, consumption of food and everyday consumer goods, and what consumers are doing to minimize the impact these activities have on the environment. Greendex 2010: Consumer Choice and the Environment — A Worldwide Tracking Survey is a comprehensive measure of consumer behavior in 65 areas relating to housing, transportation, food and consumer goods. Greendex 2010

Yesterday, the 12-year-old in my house reminded me that it was just two months until Christmas. It dawned on me that I'd not yet heard a single holiday song in a store, nor have I seen aisles of pharmacies or supermarkets turned over entirely to that season. I thought this to be a big change from recent years, when I began to think that the Halloween season had been absorbed in to Christmas, much like how small towns in the country wake up one morning to find out that they've become a suburb to a big city. Coincidentally, I would up reading this press release heralding the 2009 Online Buyer Economic Trends Study from Performics. This firm conducts consumer surveys every six months regarding their attitudes towards spending. This survey focused specifically on holiday shopping. Its findings include: - Almost 20% of the respondents had begun their holiday shopping in mid-September; - Nearly 75% of shoppers plan on buying fewer items overall; and - Friends, co-workers, and exte