Uncle Sam has a lump of coal for retailers and packaged-goods marketers just in time for the holidays: a $5 billion cut in food-stamp benefits.
That may seem tiny in the context of a $3.5 trillion federal budget, but that $5 billion amounts to a 5% reduction in benefits for a family of four, or $36 a month. Sanford C. Bernstein analysts projected cutbacks could slash the revenues of U.S. food and beverage companies around 1%.
And even if recipients reduce spending on things other than food, growth for packaged-goods marketers and retailers could take a hit. Kantar Retail estimates the cuts could carve 0.5 percentage points off the anticipated 2.5% annual growth rate for consumables retailing in the U.S.
via Advertising Age – Homepage http://adage.com/article/news/food-stamp-cuts-nick-cpgs/245204/?utm_source=News&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed:+AdvertisingAge/News