COLUMBUS, OH--(Marketwire - May 6, 2008) - Higher gas and grocery prices coupled with an
uncertain economic environment are driving more consumers to Wal-Mart for
electronics, home improvement and groceries according to the April Retail
Ratings Report from BIGresearch (
http://www.bigresearch.com).
For the Electronics category, Wal-Mart had the highest year over year
growth in share of consumers that shop there most often for electronics,
with 16% vs. 15%. This growth gives Wal-Mart a Consumer Equity Index
(CEI)* score of 107.15 in the April Ratings. Best Buy saw a slight decrease
in share from 28.6% in April 07 to 27.7% in April 2008 making their CEI
96.88. *CEI measures growth in share year over year. An index of 100 is
flat, while an index of 105 indicates 5% growth.
Home Depot continues to lead in the Home Improvement sector, but share of
preference declined from 28.6% in April 2007 to 27.6% in 08 with a CEI of
96.39. Second place Lowe's remains flat with a CEI of 100.46, while third
place Wal-Mart experienced relatively substantial share growth year over
year with a CEI of 111.97.
Wal-Mart maintains a strong lead in the Groceries category as consumer
share increased to 15.3% from 13.6% in 2007. #2 Kroger marginally weakens
with a CEI rating of 96.81 and #3 Publix experienced a steeper decline
(83.98).
Wal-Mart is also picking up grocery shoppers with higher incomes. Among
households who report an income greater than $50K, Wal-Mart's share of
preference as a grocer increased from 12.3% in 2007 to 13.5% in 2008.
Groceries (Shop at Most Often) - $50K+ Income
Share Share Share
Store Apr. 2007 Apr. 2008 +/- CEI
Wal-Mart 12.3% 13.5% 1.1 109.04
Stop 'n Shop 2.3% 2.6% 0.3 114.26
Publix 4.3% 4.4% 0.0 100.98
Shoprite 2.9% 2.9% 0.0 100.84
Giant Eagle 1.9% 1.9% 0.0 100.47
Meijer 2.5% 2.5% 0.0 99.72
Costco 2.1% 1.9% -0.1 93.73
Kroger 6.6% 6.4% -0.2 97.44
Safeway 3.6% 3.2% -0.5 87.44
Albertsons 2.7% 2.1% -0.6 78.57
BIGresearch's Retail Ratings Reports (RRR) are available monthly for 12
major merchandise categories. They are developed from BIGresearch's monthly
Consumer Intentions & Actions (CIA) Survey of over 7,500 online interviews.
For a sample of the April report for Electronics (all consumers and those
with household incomes less than $50,000), please click the following link:
http://info.bigresearch.com/.
About BIGresearch
BIGresearch is a consumer intelligence firm providing analysis of behavior
in areas of products and services, retail, financial services, automotive,
and media. They conduct the Consumer Intentions and Actions (CIA) Survey
which monitors the pulse of more than 7,500 consumers each month. The CIA
delivers fresh, demand-based information on where the retail consumer is
shopping and their changing behavior. They also conduct the Simultaneous
Media Survey (SIMM) which monitors over 15,000 consumers each month.
Contact Information: Contact:
Chrissy Wissinger
BIGresearch
450 West Wilson Bridge Road
Suite 370
Worthington, Ohio 43085
(614) 846-0146