FeedPosted Nov 18th 2009 3:00PM by Beth Gaston Moon (RSS feed)
Filed under: Consumer experience, Kellogg Co (K)

Leggo my Eggo. No, seriously! There's a shortage on the familiar brand of frozen waffles, spurred by problems at Kellogg (
K) bakeries in Atlanta and Rossville, Tennessee. The former plant saw flooding last month and had to halt production, while the Tennessee location needs extensive repairs, which has shut down several lines for the time being.
There will be a shortage of the baked good through 2010, according to reports from the cereal giant. Other Eggo-branded products, such as syrup, pancakes, and other breakfast items, will be impacted as well.
Continue reading Stop the presses: There's a waffle shortage!
Posted Nov 11th 2009 2:30PM by Beth Gaston Moon (RSS feed)
Filed under: Consumer experience, Netflix, Inc. (NFLX)

So here's the deal. Hollywood studios have been increasing unhappy about the decline in DVD sales. One might paraphrase the Oscar-winning
Network and say they are mad as heck, and can't take it anymore. In the first half of 2009, U.S. retail sales of DVDs
dropped 13.5%, while DVD rentals rose by 8.3%. People are being non-committal with their televised entertainment, preferring to watch once and ship back rather than purchase for their permanent collection.
The studios' solution? Delay their audience's gratification, making new releases available only for purchase for the first few weeks. People counting on seeing new flicks on Netflix (
NFLX) or via Coinstar's (
CSTR) Redbox service would just have to wait ... or buy the movie, which is what studios are hoping for.
Continue reading Is Netflix siding with Hollywood?
Posted Nov 10th 2009 2:20PM by Connie Madon (RSS feed)
Filed under: Consumer experience, Economic data, Personal finance, Housing, Recession

The housing market is still mired in price declines during the third quarter. Prices declined in 80% of metro areas.
Of the 153 metro areas surveyed, 123 still saw price declines, while 30 saw price increases. Overall, the national median price has fallen 11.2% from last year.
Let's look at specific towns and cities with the highest price declines and the highest price increases:
- Fort Myers, Florida tops the list with a 40% decline. Median home prices were $98,000.00
- Las Vegas, Nevada saw a 35% decline. Median home prices were $138,500.00
- On the up side, Cumberland Maryland saw a price increase of 19% Median home prices rose to $122,100.00
- Davenport, Iowa was next with a 14% increase. Median home prices were $115,600.00.
Continue reading Nationwide home prices fall in 123 of 153 metro areas
Posted Nov 10th 2009 12:00PM by Beth Gaston Moon (RSS feed)
Filed under: Consumer experience, Competitive strategy, Google (GOOG), Technology
Out of the kindness of its ginormous heart, Google (GOOG) is giving holiday travelers a bit of cheer this season, providing free Wi-Fi in 47 U.S. airports starting today and running through January 15. As a bonus to Virgin America passengers traveling within the continental U.S., Google is providing in-flight Wi-Fi as well.
Of course, the Web search giant has an ulterior motive. In a statement, a Google spokesperson said: "This is one of our holiday gifts to our users, and when you connect, we also hope you'll take the opportunity to try some of the latest Google products."
Continue reading Happy holidays! Google giving away free Wi-Fi
Posted Nov 4th 2009 6:20PM by Connie Madon (RSS feed)
Filed under: Forecasts, Bad news, Consumer experience, Money and Finance Today, Economic data, Personal finance, Housing, Financial Crisis
The National Bankruptcy Research Center reported that there were 135,914 bankruptcies in October, up 9%. One third of the bankruptcies were filed under Chapter 13. Chapter 13 requires that the court set up a five year repayment plan for debts owed.
In addition business bankruptcies were up 7% for the same period.The forecast is for 1.4 million bankruptcies in 2009, the highest since 2005. In that year Congress revamped the bankruptcy laws to make it more difficult to wipe out all of a person's debts. There was a rush of filings in the months just before the new law was enacted.
Continue reading Personal bankruptcies skyrocket 9% in October
Posted Nov 4th 2009 4:45PM by Connie Madon (RSS feed)
Filed under: Launches, Consumer experience, Internet, Entrepreneurs, Technology

Do you remember before computers churchgoers got up, got dressed and walked or drove to their local church for a live performance by Pastor XYZ, prayed as a congregation, received the Pastor's in person blessing and returned home?
With the advent of computers, the world has changed. People use computers to shop online, get their news, express their opinions and search the world for information about almost anything we can imagine.
Now churches are using the computer to provide church services with all of the components of a regular church service, expect for person to person interaction. These sites are interactive and even provide music as well as live pod casts.
Continue reading Would you 'worship' at an online church?
Posted Nov 2nd 2009 6:20PM by Joseph Lazzaro (RSS feed)
Filed under: Launches, Consumer experience, Competitive strategy
Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:
RCL) reports Q3 earnings results Tuesday, hence I'll await those results before re-evaluating the stock, but today we'll take a moment to highlight a high-profile addition to its fleet: the
Oasis of the Seas -- the world's largest oceanliner.
Five times larger than the SS Titanic -- 225,282 gross tons and 1,181 feet in length versus Titanic's 46,328 gross tons and 830 feet in length -- the $1.5 billion Oasis will perhaps represent the world's largest and elaborate floating city, in terms of creature comforts (U.S. Nimitz-class aircraft carriers can carry more people, but no, the U.S. Navy does not offer as lavish accommodations nor as much per-person space for military personnel).
Continue reading Royal Caribbean's Oasis of the Seas: A floating resort city
Posted Oct 30th 2009 2:40PM by David Schepp (RSS feed)
Filed under: Earnings reports, Forecasts, Products and services, Consumer experience, Wal-Mart (WMT), Netflix, Inc. (NFLX), Target Corp. (TGT), Hershey Co (HSY), Costco Wholesale (COST), Hormel Foods (HRL), Kraft Foods'A' (KFT), DJIA, Stocks to Buy, Recession

Halloween, though not the blockbuster holiday that Christmas is, still results in some additional spending on the part of consumers as they stock up on candy and costumes, and maybe take in a scary movie or two. With those treats in mind here are some stocks that may give investors sweet dreams -- and hopefully not nightmares.
As is well known, candy is all the rage at Halloween, and among the largest candy stocks are
Hershey Co. (NYSE:
HSY) and
Cadbury PLC (NYSE:
CBY). Last week, Hershey reported third-quarter earnings rose 30% despite weaker volumes affected by higher prices for its sweets. Last year's numbers also included special charges. Still the company said it expects full-year earnings to be
ahead of Wall Street forecasts. In 2010, the Pennsylvania company said it expects earnings excluding items to rise 6% to 8%. The stock has a forward-looking price-to-earnings ratio of 16 and a current dividend yield of 3.1%.
Continue reading Halloween stocks offer investors a chance at financial treats
Posted Oct 30th 2009 12:45PM by Brian White (RSS feed)
Filed under: Consumer experience, Competitive strategy, Microsoft (MSFT)
Although Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT) has much of the business world wrapped around at least some of its software, the largest software company in the world is mostly known for its consumer products. Names like Windows, Zune, Windows Mobile, Sidekick, and Xbox are household terms (well, in gadget households perhaps).
Still, with all those names, why hasn't Microsoft formed some kind of overall consumer ecosystem so that all these products fit, work, and play together seamlessly?
Continue reading Microsoft is not competing in the most efficient manner possible -- why?
Posted Oct 29th 2009 6:20PM by David Schepp (RSS feed)
Filed under: Earnings reports, Forecasts, Products and services, Consumer experience, Competitive strategy, Colgate-Palmolive (CL), Procter and Gamble (PG), Stocks to Buy

As with the consumers to whom it sells,
Procter & Gamble Co. (NYSE:
PG) has weathered tough times in recent months. The Cincinnati company saw revenues fall and volumes squeezed (not unlike its trademark Charmin bath tissue) as recession-weary shoppers continued to rein-in expenses and begged off buying pricier goods.
Still, following a year in which the company f
aced one of the most difficult macroeconomic environments in decades, P&G surprised analysts
Thursday by reporting fiscal first-quarter earnings of $3.31 billion, or $1.06 a share, compared with $3.35 billion, or $1.03 a share, a year earlier. Analysts polled by
Zacks.com anticipated the company would earn just 97 cents a share.
Continue reading Under new leadership, P&G begins to build a brighter future
Posted Oct 28th 2009 12:30PM by Brian White (RSS feed)
Filed under: Industry, Consumer experience, Competitive strategy
It was still a good idea for News Corp. (NASDAQ: NWS) to buy MySpace.com over fours years ago for a little more than half a billion. The social media network still brings in decent ad revenues, even though it is out of the popular fad culture of social media. That space is now owned by Facebook and Twitter. But then MySpace CEO Owen Van Natta says that his company is "fundamentally different" than Facebook -- as in a special experience providing entertainment content -- those words could come back to haunt him.
As will words like "I really don't view Facebook as a competitor." While it's true that Facebook and MySpace go after two types of online social interaction, they are both vying for many of the same customers in a large crossover audience. Teens, 20-somethings, and others are very fickle and many use both social networks. The two may have different goals, but they are competitors.
Continue reading MySpace focuses on social entertainment, says Facebook not a competitor
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