The Inflation Factor

While inflation and its potential to wreak havoc in the business world has been a hot topic lately, NPD’s Industry Experts have been monitoring prices in the industries they track to find out what’s really happening. And according to what they’re seeing, it seems inflation may not – or not yet, anyway – be a real threat to manufacturers, retailers or consumers.

Buffalo Technology, the top peripheral manufacturer in Japan, entered the U.S. market with the first 802.11g wireless networking product in 2002. The company considers NPD's market intelligence critical to its growth in the U.S., using it to review adoption rates, category sales, pricing trends and more. Buffalo Technology Vice President Morikazu Sano shared with us his perspective on the value of NPD market information as it relates to his company's transition to the U.S. technology marketplace.

Whether splashed across bigger-than-life city billboards or embroidered on trendy clothing, celebrities’ names and images are critical to many top brands’ marketing efforts. NPD’s Industry Experts find celebrity marketing’s imprint in nearly every corner of the marketplace. What purpose does celebrity marketing serve, and which industries really stand to benefit?

Three major events influence the seasonality of the footwear market in Europe: back-to-school shopping season, shoes purchased as gifts in December, and sales and promotions in January and in June/July.

Average Price for Tech Products Leveling-Off: Latest Results From NPD CE Price Watch Released

Tech product prices experienced a leveling off after five months of price declines according to the latest NPD Consumer Electronics Price Watch , a monthly pricing monitor from The NPD Group that provides a top-line look into the average selling price of technology products being sold in the U.S.

NPD Reports School Supplies And Apparel Still Rule Back-To-School, While Consumer Electronics Make The Grade

Back-to-school season has arrived and consumers aren't just buying pencils, notebooks and backpacks anymore. According to a new consumer spending poll from sales and marketing information company The NPD Group, 45 percent of consumers intend to purchase consumer electronics such as computers, cell phones and calculators.

Report From The NPD Group Addresses Attitudes And Behaviors Of Online Gamers

The overwhelming majority of today's 13-to-44-year-old gamers have the ability to play games online and a good portion are taking advantage of it, but it's dominated by one platform - the PC, according to The NPD Group's recently released report,
"Online Gaming: The Consumer Perspective for PC and Video Games.”