TNS Worldpanel figures released this week show that consumer spend slowed down in the 12 weeks to August 12, a statistic that TNS intriguingly suggests could be down to the intense focus on price competition among the major multiples.

Could it be that your average consumer is fed up of all this price-based advertising? Could it be that they just want to shop somewhere that guarantees them a high-quality food offer - without all the scratching around on price?

In light of this news, it will be interesting to see how the multiples react to the headlines this week that a high percentage of banana growers in the Caribbean have had their livelihoods completely wiped out by the savagery of Mother Nature, in the form of Hurricane Dean, and the potential shortage that this could incur on the European market. Will we be looking at another vicious round of banana price-cutting wars, the likes of which we have seen already several times this year - or will the retailers be throwing their full support behind the industry?

I am sure that everybody feels deeply for those banana producers, who like fruit and veg growers on this side of the Atlantic, will now be looking at 2008 before they can reclaim some semblance of normality into their lives and get production back on an even keel. But as always, it is the reaction of the multiples to the crisis that everyone is waiting for with bated breath.

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