Pet Product News Editorial Blog:
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
Shoppers’ Restraint
By Sherri Collins
Editor, Pet Product News International
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
How are your sales figures for the summer so far? If your customers are like me, they’re probably not spending as much as they—or you—would like. Instead, they’re watching their dollars closely while waiting for the economy to get a little bit better. As a result, your store sales may be lower than hoped for. If it’s any comfort, you’re not alone in this.
Shoppers are showing signs of pulling back on spending, courtesy of a flat-lined job market and the Gulf oil spill’s financial fallout, according to a report from Kantar Retail. For the month of June, shoppers planned to increase their spending by 1 percent, but for July, they planned to decrease expenditures by the same percentage, based on data from a ShopperScape survey.
While shoppers were feeling better off about household job security this past June in comparison to a year ago,18 percent to 14 percent, respectively, three areas of worry—credit-card debt, long-term debt and investments’ worth—lost 2 percentage points each from May to June, according to survey results. In other words, consumers were more hopeful in May 2010 compared to June of the previous year, but started to lose that optimism the next month.
As for the effect of the Gulf mess, ShopperScape’s survey found that the majority (56 percent) indicated experiencing some affect, even if they were not impacted directly. Many expected taxes and prices, especially for oil and seafood, to go up as a result of the spill; others predicted an impact on jobs due to a decline in tourism and damage to the fishing industry. Nearly all who answered in the affirmative also cited environmental devastation as a major concern.
The one bright spot from the survey was the expected resurgence of back-to-school shoppers. Retailers should see nearly a quarter of shoppers (23 percent) returning to the aisles this month and next. In addition, 21 percent of those shoppers indicated they would be spending more money this year than last. Even though most back-to-school shoppers aren’t likely to head off to their local pet store for supplies, they will be out and about. And sometimes, just getting shoppers out their doors and near to yours is half the battle.
|
Shopper Intentions to Spend More, the Same, or Less in the Coming Months |
|
|
« All Editorial Blogs
Give us your opinion on
Shoppers’ Restraint
Industry Professional Site: Comments from non-industry professionals will be removed.