Last month, we reported that one recent research study found that “consumers may finally be moving from their interest in price as the driving force in their shopping behavior to a greater emphasis on quality.”

But, many shoppers are still quite price sensitive. And this continues to drive their shopping behavior for items such as consumer packaged goods.

As Serena Ng reports for the Wall Street Journal:

“The problem for makers of household basics is that consumers are devoting a shrinking share of their wallets to packaged goods as other costs of living rise more sharply, such as health care and education.”

“Discounts are in the standard tool kit for consumer-products makers; and the current level of activity is particularly high. All told, some 33.7% of consumer packaged goods — from soda and razors to shampoo, shaving cream, and paper towels — were sold on promotion in the 12 months through February 2014, according to data from Nielsen. That’s the highest level since the U.S. recession ended in mid-2009. The numbers exclude alcohol, tobacco, fruits and vegetables.”

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