Economics and social responsibility top concerns for execs
The Consumer Goods Forum has released their annual Top of Mind survey, revealing that economy and consumer demand still top the list of concerns for key decision makers in retail and consumer goods.
The second spot was taken by corporate social responsibility, followed by the competitive landscape, with food and product safety dropping from second to fourth place from last year. Retail-supplier relations took fifth place overall, but differed in importance between manufacturers (second place) and retailers (eighth place).
The survey collates the online responses of 345 CEOs and senior executives at retail and consumer goods companies across 46 countries. From a list of twelve broad subjects, respondents are asked to choose their top three priorities for the coming year, and rank them in order of importance.
Complete results:
| Issue | % choosing issue | 2010 ranking | 2009 ranking |
|---|---|---|---|
| The economy and consumer demand (energy costs, demographic change, consumer trends) | 50.4 | 1 | 1 |
| Corporate social responsibility (sustainability, social standards, corporate governance) | 38.1 | 2 | 3 |
| The competitive landscape (consolidation, discount, new channels) | 33.1 | 3 | 4 |
| Food and product safety (standards, traceability, consumer confidence) | 31.7 | 4 | 2 |
| Retailer-supplier relations (trade costs, pricing, collaboration) | 29.9 | 5 | =5 |
| The retail/brand offer (price points, assortment, format) | 26.75 | 6 | =5 |
| Consumer health & nutrition (product development, labelling, education) | 22.3 | 7 | 7 |
| Consumer marketing (advertising, loyalty programmes, promotions, customer service) |
18.2 | 8 | 8 |
| Technology and supply chain (logistics, out-of-stocks, in-store technology) | 16.1 | 9 | 9 |
| Internationalisation (international expansion, global sourcing) | 13.8 | 10 | 11 |
| Human resources (staff recruitment and retention, operational performance) | 10.3 | 11 | 10 |
| Regulations(store openings, pricing, labelling) | 6.5 | 12 | 12 |
