Walmart

While a fickle economy forced many retailers into challenging periods of deep discounting, some top retail brands have stayed above the fray. In a recent survey of Americans about brands across several retail segments, Walgreens emerged as the first ever drugstore brand of the year; Target stores was top-ranked for second straight year; and Woot.com replaced Groupon as the best daily deal web site.

Despite prolonged economic difficulties, 22 percent of consumers are always looking for new products to try. Here, SymphonyIRI reveals 2011s most successful food and beverage and non-foods CPG brands. As youll soon see, both long-established manufacturers and newcomers to the game are providing innovation that is setting the stage for the CPG world of tomorrow.

Walmart is giving physical DVD/Blu-ray collections across the country a second life by turning them into digital movies.

Starting March 26, 2012 cola lovers everywhere will be invited to get a first taste of new Pepsi NEXT, the first to deliver real cola taste with 60 percent less sugar than Pepsi-Cola.

A new contest giving new products an opportunity to win virtual shelf space on Walmart.com has exceeded the retailer's wildest expectations. Consumer enthusiasm proves that @WalmartLabs, Walmart's hub for innovation at the intersection of social, mobile and retail, is on track to lead the next generation of e-commerce.

There were several big shifts, but Walmart maintains its No. 1 position on Interbrand's U.S. Most Valuable Retail Brands list for 2012 by a huge margin. Meanwhile, Amazon.com, which increased its brand value by 32 percent, is the largest riser on this year's list.