While beleaguered shoppers will be looking for ways to make the season bright, retailers can do their part by bringing some much needed holiday cheer to the shopping experience.

Although economic recovery finally seems to be taking root in the U.S., consumers remain cautious when it comes to spending their money. And many analysts believe that shopping behavior that has changed during the recession is permanent. One factor backing up that premise is the continued upswing in coupon use after years of declines.

There’s no place like home for penny-pinching consumers who are eating out less and spending more on perishables. It all adds up to $6 billion in potential market growth.

As American consumers get set to buy nearly 600 million pounds of candy this Halloween, they are choosing fewer store brand or private label sweets, opting instead for brand name treats.

How low will prices go? 2009 might become known as the year of the price cuts, rollbacks, coupon redemptions and strong store brand sales. This is good for shoppers, but will the value strategy backfire on retailers?

Online grocery shopping is beginning to show resurgence and is poised for substantial growth. From convenience to selection to pricing, discover what consumers want and which strategies work best to keep them engaged.

As retailers are trying to do more with less, are store brands exempt from consideration? While store brands turn a two-to-one profit (10% of assortment achieves 20% of sales), expanding in certain categories at the expense of branded products could actually hurt sales.

With consumers looking to stretch their money as far as possible, it’s no surprise that they might be attracted by promotions and sales at their local grocery store.

Back in the summer of 2008, gas prices in the U.S. hit record highs, with an average price per gallon topping $4 a gallon.  As a result, consumers changed their behavior in order to save gas when possible.  For example, 78 percent said that they combined errands and trips where before they might not have thought twice about separate trips to the grocery store and mall.  Consumers stayed home more often, choosing to entertain at home and eat out less.  These money-saving steps were taken in an effort to save …

Price cuts are providing consumers with exceptional value, but they are showing up in the form of weakening or declining department, category and same-store store sales trends for many U.S. retailers.