Consumers are becoming “far more intentional about when, where and why they make purchases,” Circana’s chief industry advisor Marshal Cohen wrote in a recent blog post in the wake of big June retail promotions.
Cohen, noting a snapshot of modest year-over-year gains from the June retail sales events tracked by market research and analytics firm Circana, said the results suggested a more deliberate consumer heading into a back half primed by an elongated back-to-school season.
“For retailers and brands, the biggest takeaway may be that the true read on consumer demand has yet to come,” Cohen wrote. “The back-to-school season — once a predictable summer shopping event — has evolved into a more fluid and extended spending period that will likely shape retail performance through the fall.”
Cohen (pictured above) cited the hopeful back-half jumpstart expected from earlier-than-usual summer mega-promotions this year from the likes of Amazon, Walmart, and Target, among an ever-expanding roster of retailers presenting multi-day, mid-year sales events. He said the move produced a 6% week-over-week increase in discretionary general merchandise sales revenue and 3% non-edible consumer packaged goods dollar growth, with relatively flat unit volume, according to Circana tracking.
“However, the week-over-week lift was smaller than those achieved during comparable summer promotional periods in recent years,” Cohen wrote. “The earlier timing of the events, coupled with their placement immediately following Father’s Day, appeared to dilute their overall impact. Rather than creating incremental demand, promotions largely shifted the timing of purchases. Consumers are becoming more strategic about when they buy and how they spend.”
