Results of a new SupermarketGuru.com Quick Poll “Retailers Most Annoying Habits" reveals consumers have a love-hate relationship with supermarkets and their retailing tactics with 31% of respondents reporting disappointment with their shopping experience.
According to the survey, the top three annoyances are running out of sale items (62%), requiring companion purchases to get a sale price on an item or a free item (46%), and issuing coupons at checkout with short dates to use (32%). Exactly 33% of consumers said the store they shop in most is usually guilty, while 24% said it happens half the time.
Nearly 40% said perishables (dairy, produce) and service departments (meat, seafood, deli, bakery) were guilty of high prices, while 34% said freshness was inconsistent. Consumers also complained about lack of signage above food displays, out of stock items and short dates.
Roughly 35% complained that items on top shelves too high to reach and placement of value-priced items are usually on the bottom shelf, while 28% said promotional displays impede aisle traffic.
Despite annoyances, 59% of shoppers shopped at a store because they’re most convenient to home or work, and 28% seemed flexible enough to accept the store’s flaws because “no store is perfect."
Sources:
* Supermarket Guru: Are Supermarkets Annoying Shoppers?
Sunday, February 20, 2011
Saturday, February 19, 2011
Consumers Pick 2011 Products of the Year
Food and beverages garnered top honors Feb. 8 during the 2011 Product of the Year USA awards ceremony that recognizes innovation in consumer-packaged goods.
Hosted in 28 countries, Product of the Year is the world's largest consumer-voted program that recognizes innovation in consumer-packaged goods. Finalists for Product of the Year were judged on four key elements—appeal of innovation, usage, satisfaction and purchase intent. This marks the third year that Product of the Year was conducted in the United States, with 60,000 American shoppers voting on products in a survey conducted by custom research agency TNS. According to the 2011 Product of the Year U.S. Shoppers Survey, 68 percent of shoppers say a consumer voted award means more for a new product than an expert’s opinion.
The following products were recognized for innovation in consumer-packaged goods:
* Candy & Snacks—M&M'S® Pretzel Chocolate Candies (Mars Chocolate North America)
* Frozen Food—Lean Cuisine® Market Creations (Nestlé USA)
* Specialty Foods—BUITONI® Riserva Frozen Complete Meals for Two (Nestlé USA)
* Cooking Spices—Recipe Inspirations (McCormick & Company Inc.)
* Beverage—Lipton Brisk (Pepsi-Lipton Partnership)
* Breakfast—Jimmy Dean® Hearty Sausage Crumbles (Sara Lee)
* Cooking—Olivari Mediterranean Olive Oil (Sovena USA)
"Consumer packaged goods continue to demonstrate a need for the market to create products that enhance both consumer confidence and product loyalty," said Colleen Kelly, managing director of Product of the Year. "Product of the Year is pleased to offer consumers the ability to easily sift through and distinguish those brands that stand apart in the consumer packaged goods sector."
Hosted in 28 countries, Product of the Year is the world's largest consumer-voted program that recognizes innovation in consumer-packaged goods. Finalists for Product of the Year were judged on four key elements—appeal of innovation, usage, satisfaction and purchase intent. This marks the third year that Product of the Year was conducted in the United States, with 60,000 American shoppers voting on products in a survey conducted by custom research agency TNS. According to the 2011 Product of the Year U.S. Shoppers Survey, 68 percent of shoppers say a consumer voted award means more for a new product than an expert’s opinion.
The following products were recognized for innovation in consumer-packaged goods:
* Candy & Snacks—M&M'S® Pretzel Chocolate Candies (Mars Chocolate North America)
* Frozen Food—Lean Cuisine® Market Creations (Nestlé USA)
* Specialty Foods—BUITONI® Riserva Frozen Complete Meals for Two (Nestlé USA)
* Cooking Spices—Recipe Inspirations (McCormick & Company Inc.)
* Beverage—Lipton Brisk (Pepsi-Lipton Partnership)
* Breakfast—Jimmy Dean® Hearty Sausage Crumbles (Sara Lee)
* Cooking—Olivari Mediterranean Olive Oil (Sovena USA)
"Consumer packaged goods continue to demonstrate a need for the market to create products that enhance both consumer confidence and product loyalty," said Colleen Kelly, managing director of Product of the Year. "Product of the Year is pleased to offer consumers the ability to easily sift through and distinguish those brands that stand apart in the consumer packaged goods sector."
Friday, February 18, 2011
Tart Cherry Juice Reduces Muscle Damage
Athletes who drink tart cherry juice after a vigorous workout may reduce muscle damage and recover faster thanks to anthocyanins that reduce inflammation, according to a new study published in the journal Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise. The findings also suggest the cherries could affect inflammation related to heart disease and arthritis.
Researchers at the Sports and Exercise Science Research Center at London South Bank University gave 10 trained athletes 1 ounce of an antioxidant-packed tart cherry juice concentrate (provided by CherryActive) twice daily for seven days prior to and two days after an intense round of strength training. The athletes’ recovery after the cherry juice concentrate was significantly faster compared to when they drank juice without the same phytonutrient content of cherry juice.
After drinking cherry juice, athletes returned to 90 percent of normal muscle force at 24 hours, compared to only 85 percent of normal at the same time point without cherry juice. Researchers suggest that the powerful antioxidant compounds in cherry juice likely decreased oxidative damage to the athletes' muscles the damage that normally occurs when muscles are worked to their max allowing the muscles to recover more quickly.
Sources:
* Cherry Marketing Institute: NEW RESEARCH SUGGESTS TART CHERRIES COULD SPEED MUSCLE RECOVERY
Researchers at the Sports and Exercise Science Research Center at London South Bank University gave 10 trained athletes 1 ounce of an antioxidant-packed tart cherry juice concentrate (provided by CherryActive) twice daily for seven days prior to and two days after an intense round of strength training. The athletes’ recovery after the cherry juice concentrate was significantly faster compared to when they drank juice without the same phytonutrient content of cherry juice.
After drinking cherry juice, athletes returned to 90 percent of normal muscle force at 24 hours, compared to only 85 percent of normal at the same time point without cherry juice. Researchers suggest that the powerful antioxidant compounds in cherry juice likely decreased oxidative damage to the athletes' muscles the damage that normally occurs when muscles are worked to their max allowing the muscles to recover more quickly.
Sources:
* Cherry Marketing Institute: NEW RESEARCH SUGGESTS TART CHERRIES COULD SPEED MUSCLE RECOVERY
Thursday, February 17, 2011
Balding in 20s linked to doubled risk of prostate cancer
Men who go bald in their early 20s have a doubled risk of developing prostate cancer, but those who lose hair in their 30s and 40s apparently are not at greater risk, French researchers reported Tuesday. The findings suggest that men who lose their hair very early in life might benefit from increased screening.
Because the same male hormones that are involved in hair growth also play a role in prostate cancer, researchers have been tantalized by possible links between balding and prostate cancer. But past studies have yielded conflicting results or none at all.
Dr. Philippe Giraud, a professor of radiation oncology at Paris Descartes University, and Dr. Michael Yassa, a radiation oncologist who is now at the University of Montreal, studied 388 men being treated for prostate cancer and 281 healthy men, questioning them about their history of hair loss. They reported in the Annals of Oncology that 37 of the men with prostate cancer had some balding at the age of 20, but only 14 of the healthy men had had balding at that age. But there was no association with the type or pattern of hair loss, they reported, and no association with balding at older ages.
Androgenic alopecia, sometimes known as male pattern baldness, is common in men, affecting about half of them throughout the course of their lives. It is related to androgenic hormones, and androgens also play a role in the onset and growth of prostate tumors. The widely used drug finasteride blocks the conversion of the male hormone testosterone to an androgen called dihydrotestosterone, which is thought to play a role in hair loss, and the drug, known as Propecia, is used to treat hair loss. It also has been shown to decrease the incidence of prostate cancer and is sold as Proscar for that purpose.
PSA screening for prostate cancer is generally not begun until men are in their 40s and 50s, but Giraud and Yassa suggested that it might be useful to start it somewhat earlier for men who go bald in their 20s because of their increased risk. Experts cautioned, however, that the number of people involved in the study was small, so the results should be interpreted with care.
Other risk factors for prostate cancer include age, family history of the disease, diet, lifestyle and ethnicity.
Because the same male hormones that are involved in hair growth also play a role in prostate cancer, researchers have been tantalized by possible links between balding and prostate cancer. But past studies have yielded conflicting results or none at all.
Dr. Philippe Giraud, a professor of radiation oncology at Paris Descartes University, and Dr. Michael Yassa, a radiation oncologist who is now at the University of Montreal, studied 388 men being treated for prostate cancer and 281 healthy men, questioning them about their history of hair loss. They reported in the Annals of Oncology that 37 of the men with prostate cancer had some balding at the age of 20, but only 14 of the healthy men had had balding at that age. But there was no association with the type or pattern of hair loss, they reported, and no association with balding at older ages.
Androgenic alopecia, sometimes known as male pattern baldness, is common in men, affecting about half of them throughout the course of their lives. It is related to androgenic hormones, and androgens also play a role in the onset and growth of prostate tumors. The widely used drug finasteride blocks the conversion of the male hormone testosterone to an androgen called dihydrotestosterone, which is thought to play a role in hair loss, and the drug, known as Propecia, is used to treat hair loss. It also has been shown to decrease the incidence of prostate cancer and is sold as Proscar for that purpose.
PSA screening for prostate cancer is generally not begun until men are in their 40s and 50s, but Giraud and Yassa suggested that it might be useful to start it somewhat earlier for men who go bald in their 20s because of their increased risk. Experts cautioned, however, that the number of people involved in the study was small, so the results should be interpreted with care.
Other risk factors for prostate cancer include age, family history of the disease, diet, lifestyle and ethnicity.
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