Consumer Attitudes & Behavior

Post Foods, LLC, introduces new Great Grains Protein Blend cereal, which helps support a healthy metabolism.

The growth of food waste consciousness, mini-meals, gluten-free products and mainstream veganism top the consumer health trends expected to make headlines in 2013. Certainly, they will each have major implications for marketers and retailers looking to sway consumer opinion in the new year and beyond. Is your company on top of these trends?

Kraft Foods Group, Inc. has revved up its innovation pipeline to bring more than 40 exciting foods and beverages to the table. This is the first comprehensive new products launch since Kraft became an independent public company in October.

New research reveals that Wal-Mart is the brand most browsed and shopped via mobile devices, but Apple, Best Buy and Kohl's deliver the most satisfactory mobile shopping experiences. The study also found that the top 10 brick and mortar retail brands leave much to be desired when it comes to meeting consumer expectations for mobile storefronts.

New product launches continue the momentum generated by other recent new breakfast products, including Krave cereal, which was the most successful cereal launch in the category in the last 20 years.

From fresher frozen meals to food trucks for dogs, consumers can expect to see a variety of interesting trends to tickle the tummy in 2013. Nestl, the worlds leading nutrition, health and wellness company, recently issued some predictions destined to please the palates of all family members, including pets.

For more than 30 years, trade promotions have been the "currency of the realm"; the way to get new items on shelves, to encourage retailers to advertise and display existing products and to fund price reductions. Over that same period, the industry has spent millions on improving the efficiency and effectiveness of these investments. While that remains important, we dont see trade promotion optimization as the answer. What we need is a new currency.

Holiday shoppers turned Cyber Monday into the biggest spending day ever with online sales growing 30.3 percent over the same period last year. What's more, nearly one in five consumers used mobile devices to reach retailers' web sites a whopping 70 percent increase over last year. Meanwhile, m-commerce sales experienced a 96 percent jump over Cyber Monday 2011.