A RetailWire Post (http://www.retailwire.com/Discussions/Sngl_Discussion.cfm/14912) today reports that consumers are “deloading” their pantries. This is one more example of changing consumer habits during the economy. This particular change is not a surprise.

Cost savings was a major motivation for companies to re-examine and streamline their supply chains resulting in lower inventory and more turns. Given the economic pressures consumers are feeling today it is not surprising that cost savings is a major motivation to streamline costs by lowering their inventory and increasing turns.

This is just one of many changes that consumer purchasing is taking. Using historical data to predict future consumer spending is increasingly problematic because past behavior is less likely to predict future behavior in today’s marketplace.