Ever since the pandemic set off a national wave of panic buying, few items have served as a better indicator of consumer fear and anxiety than toilet paper. Now, new sales numbers suggest the nation’s concerns are abating.

Baking Ingredients Continue Strong Growth; May Shoppers Stock Up on Meat 

NEW YORK, June 18, 2020 — Household consumer packaged goods (CPG) spending in May 2020 was up 21% compared to May 2019, but not quite as impressive as the year-over-year increase in April 2020 (+29%) or March (+36%). These findings are part of new data released by NCSolutions (NCS), the leading company for improving advertising effectiveness for the consumer packaged goods ecosystem.

Americans remain in what NCS has defined as the Home-Confined Buying stage of this COVID-era, even though by May 20, all 50 states had started the process to relax restrictions on a range of businesses, from restaurants to salons. NCS continues to define the current stage of CPG shopping as Home-Confined due to the elevated household spend on CPG products, indicating that Americans are eating home more often. Flour, extracts, frozen poultry and meat are among the categories that continue to have higher than usual sales.  Continue reading “AS STATES REOPEN, CONSUMER PACKAGED GOODS SPENDING IN MAY REMAINS 21% HIGHER THAN A YEAR AGO” →

May 18, 2020 – Before executives at paper-goods giant Kimberly-Clark rushed to shut their offices on Friday the 13th of March, they convened for one last emergency meeting. Commuting home that final time, Arist Mastorides, president of family care for North America, stopped at his local Walmart, on the edge of Lake Winnebago in Neenah, Wis., to see the emergency firsthand. Mastorides oversees toilet paper brands like Cottonelle and Scott, but that evening he could find none of his own products. “A long gondola shelf that’s completely empty of bathroom and facial tissue, I never in my life thought I would ever see that,” he says. “That’s a very unsettling thing.”

May 15, 2020 – Consumer packaged goods marketers are discovering that in an uncertain world, consumers are maintaining their reliance on the most established brands.

People want to stick with what they know. That’s the conclusion offered by a new NCSolutions Loyalty survey.

The report, called “Loyalty in the Time of COVID: Why Branding and Targeted Advertising Matter More Now than Ever,” looked at buying decisions in more than 51 million households for more than 50 brands spread across 16 different advertisers.

May 15, 2020 — During these turbulent times, 20% of shoppers have left their primary grocery store in favor of another, according to new survey data from McKinsey & Co.

New NCSolutions Loyalty Study Confirms Strong Return on Ad Spend for Brands Invested in Advertising and Brand Loyalty

NEW YORK, May 15, 2020 — The unprecedented 34% growth of consumer packaged goods (CPG) sales since March 22 of this year has created a significant growth opportunity for major brands to grow their market share. Consumer brands with high levels of brand equity and consumer trust, and which consistently advertised through the current marketplace disruption, have been the major beneficiaries of consumer loyalty and expanded market share. Continue reading “INCREASED DEMAND FOR CONSUMER PACKAGED GOODS CREATES ATYPICAL GROWTH OPPORTUNITY FOR BRANDS” →

The outbreak of the coronavirus has dealt a shock to the global economy with unprecedented speed. Following are developments Wednesday related to national and global response, the work place and the spread of the virus.

TRAVEL & LEISURE: Boeing said this week that it’s gone another month without a single airplane order, cruise ships are devoid of passengers and gasoline prices are plunging because few people are commuting to work or taking road trips. Global travel is close to a standstill.

May 13, 2020 — Toilet paper became a coveted item sometime in mid-March, when US cities and states saw an increase in coronavirus cases that prompted many Americans to stock up on household goods. Soon enough, grocery stores found themselves struggling to meet demand; some placed purchase limits on certain items, toilet paper chief among them, as sparsely stocked shelves became the new normal.

While many people attributed the toilet paper scarcity to panic buying, the shortage likely stemmed from supply chain disruptions, as I previously reported for The Goods. More people are staying home and therefore using more of their own TP stash.

Hand sanitizer, baking supplies, drink mixers and frozen poultry categories show the most growth compared to a year ago

NEW YORK, MAY 13, 2020 — American household consumer packaged goods (CPG) spending declined 8% in April compared with March, a month characterized by a period of extreme buying as COVID-19 concerns took root in the U.S. In March 2020, grocery sales increased by an unprecedented 36% compared with March 2019. These findings are part of new data released by NCSolutions (NCS), the leading company for improving advertising effectiveness for the consumer packaged goods ecosystem.  Continue reading “CONSUMER PACKAGED GOODS SALES DOWN 8% IN APRIL FROM MARCH PEAK, AS BUYING PATTERNS ADAPT TO HOME-CONFINED LIFESTYLES” →

April 30, 2020

ALEXANDRIA, Va.—The pandemic is dragging on and many Americans are still in self-quarantine, but pandemic panic buying is declining, reports Progressive Grocer. Consumer concerns about the availability of food and consumer packaged goods (CPG), such as household cleaners, is easing.