Skip to main content

In this Issue

  • Consumers continue to pamper their pets

    Consumers may have tightened their belts in the current economy, but they aren’t skimping when it comes to their pets. The American Pet Products Association’s annual review of spending data revealed that overall spending in the pet category grew more than 6% to more than $48 billion in 2010.

  • Before hitting the books, students hit drug stores

    Back-to-college merchandise is big business. “College students are starting to represent the most important segment of the back-to-school market,” said Perry James, an analyst with the NPD Group. The segment has grown, Perry said, since the weak job market has caused many college seniors to extend their education through graduate school.

  • Consumers make a move toward fresh breath

    Consumers’ desire for convenient, value-added solutions — not to mention their battle with more oral care issues as they age or take certain prescribed medications — likely has been the catalyst for the strong growth in 
portable oral care products.


  • Raising the bar in nutritional snacking

    
The snack is back! Judging from the amount of growth within the 
nutritional bar category in the past year, snacking is definitely en vogue. 
Incremental annual sales totaled $117.5 million across food, drug and mass retailers, with the exception of Walmart, according to SymphonyIRI Group. Out of all over-the-counter growth categories for the 52 weeks ended April 17, nutritional bars as a category took in more dollars on top of what they had generated the year before than any other category, bar none. 


  • Three’s not a crowd: Top antacids hold their own

    
Good things come in three — like the three antacids that for the 52 weeks ended April 17 collectively generated more than $118 million in sales on top of the sales base they had established in the year-ago period.


  • Who’s using coupons — and where

    Who’s clipping coupons? Ironically, coupon redemptions in the wake of the Great Recession are heaviest among higher-income, better-
educated Americans, researchers reported.


    “With the value offered by coupons, one might think that the lowest income households would be among the heaviest users,” noted The Nielsen Co. “In fact, more affluent households dominate coupon usage.”


  • Changing Channels — Fridge-to-Go, Original Singing Bird Clock, Smartdog Jerky and more

    I'm with cocoa
    Crio Brü offers a new take on hot chocolate, made with real cocoa beans, with all the health properties thereof, and brewed just like coffee.
    Price: $11.97
    CrioBru.com

  • Shampoos, conditioners a winning combo

    When it comes to hair care, consumers clearly continue to seek value as the sales of shampoo and conditioner combo packs remain on the rise, soaring triple digits during the 12 weeks ended April 17, according to data from SymphonyIRI Group.


    The continued growth in this segment comes as no surprise, as industry observers have suggested that the shift in consumer shopping behavior would impact the hair care segment in 2011.


X
This ad will auto-close in 10 seconds