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Consumers Cutting Back On The Little Things, Too

  • Brandweek, Thursday, November 18, 2010 10:36 AM
"Sears Loss Widens On Tepid Appliance Sales," a Reuters headline tells us this morning, but Mark Dolliver reports consumers are also staying away in droves from less hefty items.

"According to a new Harris Poll, if the people around you seem less coiffed, pressed, informed and/or entertained, their economizing accounts for it," he deftly writes.

No less than 37% say they've been "going to the hairdresser/barber/stylist less often" over the past six months, which cannot be welcome news for the folks running P&G's Art of Shaving business (see above). And 21% say they've "cut down on dry cleaning," which cannot be good news for the people running P&G's Tide dry cleaning business. Meanwhile, 62% say they've been "purchasing more generic brands," a business P&G is not likely to engage in or benefit from.

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Of course we all know that P&G will emerge from of this post-recession downturn just fine and dandy. Traditional media companies? Maybe not so fine and dandy. Consumers -- particularly those between 35 and 44 -- are canceling magazine, newspaper and cable subscriptions at alarming rates. They're also cutting cell and land-line service. There's no Harris data on WOM gossip and idle speculation, but we suspect that's holding steady as ever.

Read the whole story at Brandweek »

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