Shopper Staying Close to Home, Trading Down

Columbus, OH, Sept. 3, 2008--Shoppers are shifting their shopping patterns as gasoline and food continue to take a larger share of their income.

TNS Retail Forward says that shoppers are trading down to save money and also are seeking out one-stop shopping venues and stores closer to home to save time and gasoline. Discount and value retailers are benefiting from this trend at the expense of conventional and high-end retailers.
 
"Shoppers' strategies of spending less and migrating to lower-priced retailers are capable of shaking the retail landscape and creating seismic shifts," comments Mandy Putnam, vice president with TNS Retail Forward and author of American ShopperScape 2008.

"As a result of shopper migration, retailers' customer profiles are shifting. Some are shifting not just because they are gaining customers who are trading down, but because they are losing customers who are turning to even more value-oriented channels," she adds.

According to the report 26 percent of shoppers are turning to retailers other than where they usually shop to offset high gasoline prices. Also, power centers are gaining ground at the expense of regional malls and small strip centers. And shoppers are going online shopping to save time rather than to save money.