After a month of strong growth, grocery sales in the UK took a step back in July, due largely to poor weather that dampened the traditional BBQ season.  Sales grew 4 percent in the four weeks ended August 8, 2009 compared to the same period a year ago, according to Nielsen’s monthly survey.  Unit growth was up 2.3 percent.
“The poor weather resulted in shoppers making fewer shopping trips this year.  But with grocers increasing promotional activity, with 33 percent of sales this month being on promotion, we expect monthly growth …

Warmer weather seems to have thawed the wallets of British consumers, as sales at grocery chains increased 6.6 percent in the four weeks ending July 11th, the best underlying growth in more than 24 months, according to new research from The Nielsen Company.  The strong results were driven by sales in fresh foods, soft drinks and general merchandise, the latter showing growth in the high single digits.  Unit growth also rose by 2 percent across the sector. 
“Shoppers continue to respond to offers, with another all-time high for promotional spend at …

Spurred by warmer weather and slowing food inflation, grocery sales in the UK grew 5 percent in the 12 weeks ending June 13th, and annual gains to date stood at 3.6 percent, according to Nielsen.  All of the top British grocery retailers posted gains, with one exception, and Waitrose in particular turned in an impressive performance with 8.4 percent growth.  The chain has attracted almost a quarter million new shoppers in the last month, and consumer spend grew more than 5 percent.
“Waitrose has gained strong momentum going into the summer, …

UK grocery sales grew 5.1 percent in the 12 week period ended May 16th, largely due to the record number of products on promotion according to new research from Nielsen.  Morrisons continued the solid performance it has been exhibiting over the last few months with sales growth of 7.9 percent over the same period a year ago, while Asda and Sainsbury also posted gains of 7.4 percent and 7.3 percent, respectively.
“With a record of 32 percent of all sales being goods on offer in the four weeks to May 2009, …

Tom Pirovano, Director, Industry Insights
There’s been some buzz in the news recently about Toys “R” Us acquiring FAO Schwartz. I’m confused by some of the perceived pessimism regarding toy retailers struggling to keep pace with mass merchandisers. From my “food guy” perspective, Toys “R” Us and FAO Schwartz have some very strong brand equity that has the potential to be leveraged in several creative ways. Here are a few opportunities I’d love to see Toys “R” Us pursue if they haven’t already been tested or discussed.

First, change the focus from …

Todd Hale, Senior Vice President, Shopper and Consumer Insight
The beginning of the year brought some surprising good news for retailers: retail sales (excluding automotive) rebounded in January and February.  While the figures were not earth-shattering – sales grew 1 percent and January and 0.7 percent in February – they were significant improvements on the last four months of 2008, where declines ranged from 1.2 percent to 3.1 percent.

Using data collected by the Nielsen Homescan Consumer Panel, we saw improved trip performance in the first two months of the year in …

Although the gas price rollercoaster has slowed down in recent months, and prices have returned to reasonable levels, our weakening economy is impacting how consumers are thinking about where and how they shop and buy, similar to how they claimed to be reacting when when prices were at record highs continues, according to a new survey from Nielsen.
The overall state of the economy has dropped consumer confidence to historically low levels and caused consumers to continue to reduce driving. To deal with gas prices, consumer claims in the areas of …

Even in a recession, sales of most men’s hair care products are expected to remain steady, according to data from Nielsen’s Homescan Consumer Facts report.  As male vanity continues to be all the rage, some sectors have shown solid growth: hair coloring grew 5.7 percent in 2008 over 2007, and in that year, growth was a miniscule 1.7 percent after two successive years of declining sales.   New products such as brush-in gel and liquid colorings drove last year’s growth.
Dollar sales of hair preparations such as gels, pomade and waxes slowed …

Hispanic-American households spent almost twice as much (90% more) on dried vegetables and grains than average American households during the 52 weeks ending June 28, 2008, according to Nielsen.
These households also outspent average households by 88% on purchases of ice, and by 75%, 72%, and 64%, respectively, on purchases of baby food, baby needs, and disposable diapers.
Acculturated Hispanic-American households — those that speak at least some English at home – account for 10.8% of all U.S. households.  These households represented 20.5% of dried vegetables and grains product dollar sales and 20.3% of …

Baby boomers are beginning to retire from the U.S. workforce, but according to Nielsen, their buying power remains strong.
Households with baby boomer members — born between 1946 and 1964 – account for nearly $230 billion in sales of consumer packaged goods (CPG) products and represent 55% of total CPG sales, a new study by Nielsen and Hallmark Channel reports.
The research, which examined the CPG spending power and brand loyalty of baby boomer households, found that baby boomer households’ share of sales is 5 points higher than their share of population, according to …