Men at the Mall: Are Shopping Patterns Really Changing?

It used to be said that the way to a man’s wallet was through his wife. And that’s probably why women have been a primary marketing focus of retailers over the years; however, lately men have become more hands-on when it comes to shopping – and not just in traditionally male-dominated categories.

Hasbro, a worldwide leader in children’s and family leisure time entertainment products and services, has long relied on NPD marketing information to help identify new product opportunities and monitor trends in the games and toys marketplace. Hasbro Senior Director of Marketing Jeff Jackson, who works in the company’s “Big Kids” division, recently shared with us the value of NPD information, from his perspective.

Each year at this time, NPD’s Industry Experts review what’s happening in their industries and try to anticipate what kids will want and what parents will buy as back-to-school season approaches. Here’s our outlook for Back-to-School 2004.

NPD Eurotoys’ new U.K. License Tracker service measures sales of licensed and other products within key children’s markets, such as clothing, publishing, footwear, accessories, cycling, stationery, DVDs and toys. The service, launched this year, measures sales of products for children aged zero to 14.

NPD Reports Large Percentage of Teenage Boys Wear Fragrance

When you think of teenage boys you usually think of cars and video games, but according to The NPD Group, a marketing information company, fragrance is indeed on the minds of teen boys today. According to results taken from the NPD Beauty FragranceTrack 2004 Men's Study, 82 percent of teen boys today (ages 13-17) wear fragrance.

NPD Debuts VideoWatch for Home-Video Retailers and Manufacturers

NPD Music & Movies, a division of The NPD Group, today announced the launch of the first comprehensive source for home video sales information and insights. Each week VideoWatch collects detailed information about the home video rental and purchase habits of America's consumers. VideoWatch tracks rentals and sales at traditional outlets as well as emerging distribution channels such as subscription, pay-per-view (PPV), and video on-demand (VOD).

NPD Reports Strong Sales of StriVectin-SD, Despite Low Awareness

Move over Botox; women are embracing StriVectin-SD, a stretch mark cream that has quickly become one of the top sellers in U.S. department stores in the prestige skincare industry. According to Beyond Botox: Understanding the StriVectin-SD Consumer , a recent study by The NPD Group, a marketing information company, StriVectin-SD achieved over $13 million in department store sales between its launch date in May 2003 and December 2003. In the first five months of 2004, sales of StriVectin-SD have already generated $30 million, compared to successful new skincare products that generally sell between $20-$30 million their first year in U.S. department stores.