NEW YORK: Major brand owners like Procter & Gamble and Del Monte are adapting to the "just in time" purchase behaviour now observable among many consumers.
Economic prosperity brought with it a belief in stocking up - partly in the hope that bulk shopping, often on credit, would bring greater savings.
However, recent unemployment figures, together with plummeting home values and depleted savings have, say marketers, convinced many that buying less, but more frequently, is the only way to keep afloat.
So far, the impact of "just in time" buying on the corporate bottom line is mixed.
Smaller unit sizes generally mean higher prices in-store and higher profit margins for manufacturers, but as a Kimberly-Clark spokeswoman noted, potentially higher profits on smaller packs can easily be wiped out by the higher manufacturing costs involved.
US firms are still reeling from the lower sales volumes that began in 2008 with what some commentators have called "pantry deloading."
Over the past two years, the number of items kept in American pantries has fallen about 20%, according to a recent SymphonyIRI survey, and consumers are also cutting back on the range of goods they stock.
The average household had 369 unique items in its medicine cabinets, pantries and cosmetics bags this year, compared with 404 in 2006, the survey found.
"There's going to be a pause before purchase. Consumers will ask themselves, 'Do I really need this, can I really afford this?'" Thom Blischok, president, global innovation and strategy, SymphonyIRI, said.
"If I shop on Black Friday, I'll get a helluva deal, and if I wait a couple of weeks, I'm going to get another helluva deal."
Procter & Gamble has also been tracking consumers' pantries over the past two years, discovering that around one-third of them are changing their stock levels.
Some 75% are cutting back, rather than adding extra lines. P&G expects consumers' leaner, pickier shopping habits to last.
"There's almost a confidence and pride in the ability to make tailored choices for themselves," said Joan Lewis, P&G's global consumer and market knowledge officer.
Richard Wolford, ceo of Del Monte, agrees that what he calls the 'need it now' phenomenon is in full swing.
"Consumers are saying: 'I'm going to buy what I need for a specific period of time,' rather than loading up and buying two or three extra units just because they can get a good price on it," he said.
"There is a much lower incidence of pantry stock-up shopping trips and a much increased incidence of quick trips."
The new buying behavior is expected to be very much in evidence this holiday season, which kicks into gear on "Black Friday," the day after Thanksgiving.
Shoppers are already further behind with their holiday shopping than usual.
Just 15.7% of holiday purchasing had been completed by the week ended November 14, compared with 20.5% during the same period last year and 28.3% in 2008, according to a survey by the trade group International Council of Shopping Centers.
The seismic shift in buying patterns is now affecting everyone from petfood manufacturers to cosmetics houses.
And the just in time trend is catching on fast among beauty buyers too, according to luxury skincare firm La Prairie, which has already begun selling half-sizes of moisturizers and eye creams.
"The total market waited until later in the year and seemed to shift behind a shopper desire not to make a mistake," added Mark Ketchum, ceo of Newell Rubbermaid.
The organisation's leading brands, such as Paper Mate and Sharpie markers, have recorded a strong performance, although demand started to rise around a month later than is typically the case.
Economic prosperity brought with it a belief in stocking up - partly in the hope that bulk shopping, often on credit, would bring greater savings.
However, recent unemployment figures, together with plummeting home values and depleted savings have, say marketers, convinced many that buying less, but more frequently, is the only way to keep afloat.
So far, the impact of "just in time" buying on the corporate bottom line is mixed.
Smaller unit sizes generally mean higher prices in-store and higher profit margins for manufacturers, but as a Kimberly-Clark spokeswoman noted, potentially higher profits on smaller packs can easily be wiped out by the higher manufacturing costs involved.
US firms are still reeling from the lower sales volumes that began in 2008 with what some commentators have called "pantry deloading."
Over the past two years, the number of items kept in American pantries has fallen about 20%, according to a recent SymphonyIRI survey, and consumers are also cutting back on the range of goods they stock.
The average household had 369 unique items in its medicine cabinets, pantries and cosmetics bags this year, compared with 404 in 2006, the survey found.
"There's going to be a pause before purchase. Consumers will ask themselves, 'Do I really need this, can I really afford this?'" Thom Blischok, president, global innovation and strategy, SymphonyIRI, said.
"If I shop on Black Friday, I'll get a helluva deal, and if I wait a couple of weeks, I'm going to get another helluva deal."
Procter & Gamble has also been tracking consumers' pantries over the past two years, discovering that around one-third of them are changing their stock levels.
Some 75% are cutting back, rather than adding extra lines. P&G expects consumers' leaner, pickier shopping habits to last.
"There's almost a confidence and pride in the ability to make tailored choices for themselves," said Joan Lewis, P&G's global consumer and market knowledge officer.
Richard Wolford, ceo of Del Monte, agrees that what he calls the 'need it now' phenomenon is in full swing.
"Consumers are saying: 'I'm going to buy what I need for a specific period of time,' rather than loading up and buying two or three extra units just because they can get a good price on it," he said.
"There is a much lower incidence of pantry stock-up shopping trips and a much increased incidence of quick trips."
The new buying behavior is expected to be very much in evidence this holiday season, which kicks into gear on "Black Friday," the day after Thanksgiving.
Shoppers are already further behind with their holiday shopping than usual.
Just 15.7% of holiday purchasing had been completed by the week ended November 14, compared with 20.5% during the same period last year and 28.3% in 2008, according to a survey by the trade group International Council of Shopping Centers.
The seismic shift in buying patterns is now affecting everyone from petfood manufacturers to cosmetics houses.
And the just in time trend is catching on fast among beauty buyers too, according to luxury skincare firm La Prairie, which has already begun selling half-sizes of moisturizers and eye creams.
"The total market waited until later in the year and seemed to shift behind a shopper desire not to make a mistake," added Mark Ketchum, ceo of Newell Rubbermaid.
The organisation's leading brands, such as Paper Mate and Sharpie markers, have recorded a strong performance, although demand started to rise around a month later than is typically the case.
Data sourced from Wall Street Journal; additional content by Warc staff
