By Lisa M. Keefe on 9/7/2010
Consumers at all income levels report that their personal financial circumstances now are worse than they were a year ago, according to a new report by Chicago-based SymphonyIRI, the “SymphonyIRI Group Special Report: Back-to-School 2010.”.
In a news release, the marketing research company said that 62 percent of shoppers with households earnings of less than $35,000 a year say they are worse off. Among shoppers with household income levels between $35,000 to $55,000, 46 percent say they are “a little” or “a lot” worse off than a year, ago, as do 37 percent of households earning $55,000 to $100,000 and 30 percent of shoppers in households earnings more than $100,000.
“The good news corporations are reporting in their [second quarter] earnings is not translating to consumer confidence,” said Susan Viamari, editor of SymphonyIRI’s Times & Trends. “Even shoppers in higher-income brackets are channel-shifting to save money. Typically, lower-income shoppers are most price sensitive and lead in economizing trends. This year, shoppers in households earning $55,000 and more are frequently as aggressive about saving money as other shoppers.”
Other findings include:
69 percent of all respondents are focused on watching spending and saving money.
46 percent of households earning more than $100,000 plan to shop more at supercenters, such as Walmart and SuperTarget, both of which are investing in expanded food centers, including fresh foods and meats.
58 and 57 percent of all respondents, respectively, are stocking up on items because they are on sale and buying what’s on sale versus their favorite brands.
Store brands continue to remain popular with shoppers of all income levels, SymphonyIRI said in its release. Three-quarters of respondents believe store brands are equal to or better than the quality of national brands. Even among households earning more than $55,000, more than two-thirds state the quality of store brands are equal to or better than national brands.
On the other hand, at least 31 percent of those earnings more than $55,000 believe store brands have inferior quality to national brands.
The picture isn’t quite so gloomy looking ahead: While just 37 percent of consumers believe their financial situation will be better a year from now versus today, that is up from 31 percent in last December’s “SymphonyIRI Economic Update Survey.” Also, the back-to-school survey revealed 19 percent of respondents expect their situation to be worse off in a year, down from 23 percent in December’s survey.
By Lisa M. Keefe
meatingplace.com
