Consumer Attitudes & Behavior

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.

The Keurig single cup coffee brewing system was not an overnight success. Little research predicted that it would be a consumer success. But, this disruptive innovation proved to be the exception to the rule. Why? The answer lies in the entrepreneurial, risk-oriented innovation philosophies of the company behind the brand.

Last week, CGT published a report that names retailers' 10 favorite suppliers. This week, we're turning the tables to bring you a list of the the Top 10 power retailers, ranked by their manufacturing partners. Walmart still reigns, but the gap is narrowing, showing how significantly retailing is changing.

Retailers again ranked P&G Best of the Best although Unilever made up significant ground on its major rival across a number of individual measures and made the biggest gains. Find out which other suppliers are finding favor with America's top retailers.