Back-To-School Sales Down but Not Out, According to NPD.Hand sanitizer sanitizer a sanitizing product capable of cleaning and disinfecting; usually a formulation containing a disinfectant and a detergent. , tissues, and notebook PCs are standout categories PORT WASHINGTON Port Washington, uninc. town (1990 pop. 15,387), Nassau co., SE N.Y., a suburb of New York City, on the north shore of Long Island and Manhasset Bay. There is extensive manufacturing, much of it reflecting the region's past association with the aircraft and aerospace , N.Y. -- Like most of 2009, back-to-school sales followed a downward trend, but there were a few bright spots for the U.S. consumer technology and school and office supply industries, according to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. leading market research company, The NPD Group The NPD Group, Inc. is a leading global market research company[1] founded in 1967 and provides consumer and retail information to manufacturers and retailers. Using actual sales data from retailers and distributors as well as consumer-reported purchasing behavior, NPD . Consumer technology revenue for the 7 week back-to-school period (July 26 - September 12) declined 12.5 percent versus 2008, to $7.6 billion, according to NPD's weekly tracking service. Revenue for school and office supplies Office supplies is the generic term that refers to all supplies regularly used in offices by businesses and other organizations, from private citizens to governments, who works with the collection, refinement, and output of information (colloquially referred to as "paper work"). at the office super stores declined 3 percent during this time period to $677.2 million. Sales at the office super stores got a boost from flu fears as hand wipes, hand sanitizer, hand soap, and tissues saw the biggest year-over-year revenue boosts with triple and quadruple digit increases. Other heavily promoted must-haves, such as office paper, presentation products, folders, notebooks, appointment and planner books, and calendars all saw dollar increases as well. "Back-to-school at the office super stores was not bad, considering the economy and what we experienced during the first half of the year," said Perry James, president of NPD's office supplies business. "All-in-all, being down three percent for this time of year after being down almost 10 percent for the first half of 2009 is positive news for retailers. Significant promotions early on got consumers into the stores to buy necessities. The market actually saw year-over-year growth four weeks in a row in late July and early August, which was enough to drive an OK back-to-school season." Once again the only true must-have category for back-to-school in the consumer technology sector was notebook PCs. Notebook PCs were the largest dollar category in consumer technology and made up 21 percent of all revenue. Revenue was flat with 2008 as the average selling price The average sales price of goods or commodities. Especially used in the retail sector and technology distribution. of a notebook PC went from $804 in 2008 to $624 for the 2009 back-to-school season. Netbooks were a big draw this year accounting for 14 percent of all notebook units sold for back-to-school, up from just less than 2 percent of sales last year. "Notebooks seem to be recession proof and this back-to-school season was no exception," said Stephen Baker For other persons of the same name, see Steven Baker (disambiguation). Stephen Baker (born August 30, 1964 in San Antonio, Texas) was a former professional American football player who was selected by the New York Giants in the 3rd round of the 1987 NFL Draft. , vice president of industry analysis at NPD NPD New Product Development NPD Nouveau Parti Démocratique (Canada) NPD Narcissistic Personality Disorder NPD Norwegian Petroleum Directorate NPD Nationaldemokratische Partei Deutschlands . "We are seeing more consumers opt for netbooks and low-cost notebooks under $500 as viable options despite the changing economy. Low-cost notebooks and netbooks were heavily promoted this year as well. They accounted for almost half of all notebook PC Sunday advertising in July and August, according to NPD's retail insight service." Major declines in average prices kept nearly all consumer technology categories from making any revenue gains, as prices ranged from flat for multi-function ink jet printers to down 30 percent for flat-panel TVs. And while weak average prices kept the industry from any revenue gains, they likely helped many categories deliver solid unit volumes despite the overall weak economy. About The NPD Group, Inc. The NPD Group is the leading provider of reliable and comprehensive consumer and retail information for a wide range of industries. Today, more than 1,700 manufacturers, retailers, and service companies rely on NPD to help them drive critical business decisions at the global, national, and local market levels. Information is available for the following industry sectors: automotive, beauty, commercial technology, consumer technology, entertainment, fashion, food and beverage F&B is a common abbreviation in the United States and Commonwealth countries, including Hong Kong. F&B is typically the widely accepted abbreviation for "Food and Beverage," which is the sector/industry that specializes in the conceptualization, the making of, and delivery of foods. , foodservice, home, office supplies, software, sports, toys, and wireless. For more information, contact us or visit http://www.npd.com/ and http://www.npdgroupblog.com. Follow us on Twitter A Web site and service that lets users send short text messages from their cellphones to a group of friends. Launched in 2006, Twitter (www.twitter.com) was designed for people to broadcast their current activities and thoughts. : @npdtech and @npdgroup. |
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