CPG Trade Rate Constant at 14.8%: Price-Trak

The overall CPG trade promotion rate remained steady at 14.8 percent in 2016, according to the latest data from Price-Trak, an Albany, N.Y.-based market research company specializing in price and trade promotion reporting of 150 standard categories.

Slight shifts were seen in many segments, with refrigerated foods and household products posting increases versus prior year. Trade allowances can vary by segment, category and item, and depend on many factors. 2015 saw an uptick in trade spending behind new products, and soft topline sales in some major CPG companies. However, Andy “Dewey” Rumpelt, president of Price-Trak, noted: "Sometimes companies need to chase the topline revenue number, and trade promotion can move significant volume. That, apparently, was the case in 2015 that was not repeated, in most segments, in 2016.”

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“Although making definitive conclusions on trends from a few years is a challenge,” Rumpelt continued, “the two areas that appear to definitely show a trend upward are the refrigerated and frozen segments. It’s quite possible that other segments may follow that path in 2017.”

Within each segment, there are categories that had significant increases or decreases in trade promotion. To obtain specific category information, contact National Promotion Reports for details.

More information can be found here.