No matter who you ask or which study you read, consensus suggests that constraint and resourcefulness are the new norms in grocery shopping. Given the still less-than-robust economy, a tight consumer credit market and sluggish consumer confidence, Americans have changed the way they shop. Moreover, many agree that these new behaviors are here to stay. The so-called new consumer — one who is slower to spend and always looking for ways to make $2 buy what $4 once did — is still out there. 

Conversion of stores to supercenters affects mass merchandise statistics.  Once featuring large stores selling primarily hardlines with a dash of grocery, leading mass merchandise retailers, including Target, Wal-Mart and Kmart, have converted so many stores to supercenters that the traditional mass merchandise channel fell more than 5 percent...