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Would you like to know the ideal markets with the best opportunity to grow your share and improve sales and distribution — while boosting your profits? NPD introduces market level capabilities: local market research information for manufacturers and retailers. MORE
Coming Soon - European Athletic Footwear Report for the U.S. Financial Community.
Monitor the athletic footwear industry’s performance in five major European countries and the U.S. Compare brands and styles by category across countries using our new point-of-sale tracking data for European athletic footwear. MORE
Market Views Introductory Report for the prestige beauty industry gives manufacturers their first look at the next generation of point-of-sale (POS) tracking. For the first time, gain access to five new distribution measures, along with regional views of distribution and sales. MORE
Food & Beverage Buzz Monitor.
This bimonthly service goes straight to consumers to reveal their concerns, needs, and wants. Now you can track the established and emerging trends that can make a real difference to your bottom line. MORE
NPD's Connected Home Theater report provides critical insights to companies vying for a position in the evolving home entertainment market. It examines awareness, interest, and adoption of digital content via home networks and broadband. This landmark study can help shape convergence strategies by leveraging NPD's unique sales information, an extensive consumer survey, and analyst perspective. MORE
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Back-to-School Not Over Yet
Waiting until Labor Day (or later) used to leave back-to-school shoppers rummaging through racks of picked-over, randomly-sized merchandise. Not this year. This season, millions of kids headed back to school in their summer clothes, maybe with a few new staple items. They’re waiting to see what the kid at the next desk is wearing or using.
Many parents set a specific budget for their children’s back-to-school needs, and kids are learning how to use that budget wisely. What they are doing is keeping spending power in reserve until they get the lay of the land. It's all about fitting in. Kids who spend all their money for clothes in July or August know they won't be able to go back out after school starts and buy the cool stuff.
This year's back-to-school season may be a good forecast of what we are going to see for holiday, and even more importantly, what retailers and manufacturers are going to be faced with next year, which I predict will be "2008, the year the consumer will wait." Success will come to those willing to understand the new timing of retail: more in season, and more "buy now, wear now."
