NPD Offers New Economic Tracker Report

By Staff -- TWICE, 1/26/2009

Port Washington, N.Y. — The NPD Group has launched a new monthly report, The Economy Tracker, to monitor how the economy is affecting consumer attitudes and shopping behavior.

The Economy Tracker delivers actionable insight into consumers’ perceptions of the U.S. economy, perceptions of their own economic situation and how they are responding at retail, NPD said.

Specific measures available in the monthly report are focused on highlighting areas of opportunity for manufacturers and retailers. They include:

degree of confidence or concern;
spending and shopping expectations overall and by category (examples below for the month of December);
key drivers of store and product selection; and
changes in use of various payment methods.

Categories covered in the report include consumer electronics, video games, music, movies, dining/eating out, apparel, footwear and others. Demographic information is also provided for analysis by age, income, census region and other variables, NPD said.

“The current economic situation is creating dramatic shifts in consumer spending, and businesses can no longer operate under the 'old rules,’” said Dee Warmath, retail insights VP at NPD. “Our goal in developing the Economy Tracker is to help our clients to identify the bright spots in an otherwise bleak retail landscape and to guide their organizations through these challenging times with greater certainty.”

In addition to 12 monthly reports, a full report subscription includes quarterly summaries and a year-end analysis with a presentation to help identify the major economic trends and effects for the year. The tracker is based on online surveys completed by 1,000 respondents each month. The sample is nationally representative.

For more information about NPD’s Economy Tracker call (866) 444-1411 or email contactus@npd.com.