Easing inflation is making headlines, but consumers remain challenged by high prices. In this Fresh Pulse episode, Jonna Parker, principal of Circana’s Fresh Center of Excellence, and Anne-Marie Roerink, president of 210 Analytics, discuss consumer behavior, macroeconomic challenges, and why plus-one purchases are undervalued.  

Highlights: 

• Consumers are on the hunt for deals and will shop across multiple stores to find them. While trips were up, baskets were down around five units per trip in June 2023. 

Consumer tech purchases for school, work, and entertainment were high during the pandemic. Tech items also have a long lifecycle, with replacements occurring on average every four years. The net result is a sluggish consumer tech industry in 2023. Circana’s Mike Crosby, executive director, industry advisor for commercial and consumer technology, and Paul Gagnon, vice president, industry advisor, consumer technology, share their outlook on the consumer tech market for the remainder of 2023 and into 2024.  

Highlights:  

• Most tech sales take place at the end of the year, from back-to-school season through the winter holidays. Retailers and manufacturers should use digital platforms to encourage consumers to shop in store, an easier place to showcase wares and adjacent products.  

Inflation is high, which might limit discretionary spending and travel for many. Still, it’s summer and consumers are making the most of pandemic investments made in outdoor spaces, grills, and smokers. Now is the time for retailers to rewrite their summer playbook and merchandise for a new generation. Learn some tips and tricks from Jonna Parker, principal of Circana’s Fresh Center of Excellence and Anne-Marie Roerink, president of 210 Analytics. 

Highlights:  

• Meat might still be king of the grill, but its increasingly sharing space with vegetables, plant-based meat alternatives and different types of protein.  

Innovation is a foundational attribute of Circana, so its sponsorship of The Sweets & Snacks Expo’s Most Innovative New Product Awards makes perfect sense. Sally Lyons Wyatt, Circana’s executive vice president and practice leader of client insights, and Anne-Marie Roerink, president of 210 Analytics, share insights on the winning trends and attributes.  

Highlights:  

• Sweets and snacks are often an impulse purchase, so innovation in this area is particularly important. Older consumers look for innovation from their trusted brands, while younger consumers are attracted to global flavors and interesting experiences.

The merger of IRI and NPD ― now Circana ― brings together data and expertise from 20 industries, including CPG, general merchandise, and foodservice. These combined resources across 30 shopping channels, hundreds of retailers, and more than 1,200 categories enable Complete Wallet™, the most complete view of what, where, how, and when consumers buy. Patty Altman and Michelle Bennett, executive vice presidents of Consumer and Shopper Insights at Circana, describe the opportunities Complete Wallet unlocks.  

Highlights:  

• Timely information — fueled by receipt panel data, consumer surveys, and myriad other data sets and technologies — identifies consumer lifestyle shifts as they happen in real time.

CPG retail is feeling the impact of tumbling consumer confidence. Ongoing inflation and anticipation of a recession have consumers pulling back on stock-up trips and instead shifting to quick trips and sticking to their shopping lists. In this Fresh Pulse episode, Jonna Parker, principal, Fresh Center of Excellence at Circana and Anne-Marie Roerink, president of 210 Analytics, share proven strategies that inspire shoppers and drive loyalty.

• 40% of shoppers report combatting inflation by stretching meals and minimizing waste. Produce benefits from quick trips, as consumers buy only what they need and consume what they have. With produce considered essential, retailers should hone their EDLP strategies.

Why, where, and when people drive changed dramatically during the pandemic. Many of those shifts are proving sticky — with big implications for the CPG and retail industries. In this podcast, Circana’s Nathan Shipley shares insights on the impacts these changes are having on the auto aftermarket. He also explores how remote work and consumer mobility trends are affecting CPG consumption and how shifts in local and distance travel could change retail.  

Highlights:  

• Working from home has meant more local trips and more demand for on-the-go products from untethered workers who are combining business with leisure travel.  

Insights that are anything but skin deep. Circana’s Larissa Jensen, vice president and beauty industry advisor, describes the power of Circana’s Complete Beauty™ capabilities,  including a full view of mass and prestige sales and consumer behavior across skincare, makeup, hair and fragrance.

Highlights:  

• A majority of beauty sales occur in brick-and-mortar stores, given the experiential nature of products like color cosmetics and fragrance. But the technical side of beauty, including key ingredients and promised performance, fare well online.  

Circana’s Don Unser, president of thought leadership and Marshal Cohen, chief industry advisor for the retail industry, share observations and insights into the nearly $3 trillion U.S. retail landscape.  Tapping into Circana’s Complete Store™ measurement of online and offline sales across CPG, general merchandise and foodservice, retailers, manufacturers and operators will learn how consumer behaviors are impacting shopping today, and how they can plan for what comes next.   

Highlights:  

Consumers view of grocery shopping is an exercise of “extreme essentials,” indicating they are grudgingly paying higher prices for fast-moving consumer goods. Consumers’ approach to general merchandise, however, is with a “discrete discretionary” mindset, where they need to replenish items that are nearing the end of their lifecycle, such as for well-worn activewear.  

Retailers and manufacturers have been focused on share growth, but by the end of 2023 and into 2024, expect a shift in outlook to be about margin growth. The pie, folks, isn’t getting any bigger.  

Learn the impact that economic indicators such as jobs, wages, online shopping, even work-from-home is having on consumer spending, particularly for “potent purchases” and “impact purchases.”