Consumers are spending big dollars this holiday season.
American shoppers are splurging after almost two years of quarantines, social distancing, and working from home.
“McKinsey reported that more than 50 percent of consumers plan to spend extra this year,” said Mitch Gould, founder and CEO of Nutritional Products International, a global brand management firm based in Boca Raton, Fl. “High-income millennials are excited about the gift-giving season.”
Gould said consumers are just tired of staying home, watching TV, and the feeling of isolation, which COVID-19 caused.
“They want the hustle and bustle of holiday shopping,” Gould added. “People want to be around people. They want to go back to the way it was before the pandemic.
The National Retail Federation has revised its earlier rosy projection for holidays upwards.
“The NRF is now predicting sales growth could increase as much as 11.5 percent compared to an earlier forecast of 8.5 to 10.5 percent,” he said.
Gould and Nutritional Products International keep tabs on the economy because they work closely with domestic and international wellness brands that plan to launch new products in the U.S.
“NPI monitors the economy closely because we need to give our clients the best information available on the American economy,” Gould said. “Our clients need the latest economic reports to make informed business decisions.”
Gould developed NPI’s “Evolution of Distribution” platform, which streamlines the product launch process.
“Through the ‘Evolution of Distribution’ platform, we provide sales, distribution, marketing, logistics, and regulatory compliance expertise to our health and wellness brands,” Gould said.
Consumers during the pandemic started buying almost anything online when, in the past, many of these purchases were only done in person.
Gould is no stranger to the importance of digital shopping.
“Early on, I realized how important e-commerce would be when Amazon began expanding beyond books and electronics,” Gould said. “I was part of a ‘Powerhouse Trifecta’ that placed more than 150 products onto Amazon’s new health and wellness category.
Gould led the “Powerhouse Trifecta” that included Jeff Fernandez, a buyer on the Amazon team tasked with stocking the new category, and Kenneth E. Collins, the vice president of sales for Muscle Foods.
“It was a match made in retail heaven,” Gould said. “Ken and I had the contacts for high-quality health and wellness products, and Jeff needed them for Amazon.”
The three of them worked so well together that Gould hired Fernandez, NPI’s president, and Collins, the executive vice president of NPI.
“We are still together all these years later,” Gould said. “Our clients benefit from more than 75 years of retail experience.”
For more information, visit Nutritional Products International online.
MORE ON NPI AND ITS FOUNDER
NPI is a privately-held company specializing in the retail distribution of nutraceuticals, dietary supplements, functional beverages, and skin-care products. NPI offers a unique, proven approach for product manufacturers worldwide seeking to launch or expand their products’ distribution in the U.S. retail market.
Mitch Gould, the founder of NPI, is a third-generation retail distribution and manufacturing professional. Gould developed the “Evolution of Distribution” platform, which provides domestic and international product manufacturers with the sales, marketing, and product distribution expertise required to succeed in the world’s largest market — the United States. In the early 2000s, Gould was part of a “Powerhouse Trifecta” that placed more than 150 products on Amazon’s new health and wellness category.
