Consumer Attitudes & Behavior

MILWAUKEE - Customer satisfaction with the quality of goods and services available to American consumers in the retail, finance and e-commerce sectors rose during the final quarter of 2001, offsetting a drop that began in late 2000, according to the latest American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI).

WASHINGTON - A florist research group says husbands are likeliest to buy their Valentine's Day flowers at the supermarket, primarily because they are likely to cost less there, The Associated Press reports.

SHERMAN OAKS, Calif. - More than 600 million people worldwide will have access to the Web by the end of this year, and they will spend more than $1 trillion shopping online, according to a new study cited by the E-Commerce Times.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. - The U.S. convenience store industry grew 4.0 percent in 2001, increasing to a record 124,516 stores, according to the new NACS/Trade Dimensions Official Industry Store Count 2001.

CHICAGO - Susan D. Wellington, head of Gatorade's U.S. operations, is leaving just six months after PepsiCo Inc. acquired the brand's owner, Quaker Oats Co., the Chicago Tribune reports.

CHICAGO - Kraft Foods Inc. is once again a target of Genetically Engineered Food Alert, the Washington-based group whose research led to Kraft's recall of taco shells containing StarLink last year, Reuters reports.

LONDON - A report by Britain's Royal Society of leading scientists finds that testing of genetically modified (GM) crops needs improvement, Reuters reports.

NEW YORK - In the first few weeks of 2002, health- and comfort-related items, such as diet products, exercise equipment and board games, experienced a surge in sales at Wal-Mart, Reuters reports.