How Data Helps CPG Retailers Navigate Uncertainty

In the face of economic uncertainty and wavering consumer confidence, retail and CPG brands are confronting a market full of contradictions. On the one hand, consumer sentiment—according to the University of Michigan—plunged to its second-lowest level on record this May, signaling widespread unease about the economy. Yet on the other, U.S. retail sales climbed 0.6% in June, defying expectations and demonstrating the resilience of shoppers in key categories like health & beauty and clothing & apparel. 

What does this mean for retail and consumer goods companies? It means the old models of audience targeting—demographics, assumptions, seasonality—are no longer enough. To win in today’s environment, brands need to understand who is still spending, what they’re buying, and why—and they need to act quickly. 

That’s where Wiland delivers unique value: identifying actual consumer spending behavior at scale, helping marketers activate smarter campaigns grounded in real, purchase-based data for retailers. 

Sentiment Down, But Sales Up—For Some 

Recent Wall Street Journal reporting highlights the growing disconnect between how consumers feel and how they spend. In June, sentiment rose slightly to 60.7, but remained well below historical averages, while inflation continues to drive mixed responses. Many consumers—particularly higher earners—are accelerating purchases in durable goods and personal care to get ahead of price increases. Others are holding back in nonessential categories. 

Retailers are caught in the middle of this divergence. Core categories like health & beauty products and clothing & apparel continue to show strength, even as electronics and home furnishings soften. These data-driven marketing signals are critical for CPG brands—but they’re easy to miss without visibility into what’s happening at the household level. 

Wiland’s Marketing Data Is Creating Retail Opportunity

Wiland ingests and models $2+ trillion in annual U.S. consumer spend, representing 42% of all retail purchases. This allows retail and CPG marketers to see real-time category trends and uncover audiences actively purchasing the types of products they sell. 

Retail Use Case: Healthy & Beauty Consumer Insights Helps Target High-Spend Shoppers  

Let’s say you’re a retail marketer at a national pharmacy chain or a CPG brand selling skincare, supplements, or cosmetics. Wiland helps you: 

• Identify U.S. households that have increased recent spend in health & beauty categories—from vitamins to dermal care to organic personal products 

• Score your CRM or loyalty list to surface which customers are most likely to respond to a new product launch or bundle campaign 

• Build new prospect audiences of lookalike consumers spending in adjacent categories like wellness, fitness, and clean ingredients 

• Activate through digital, social, or direct mail, increasing ROI by focusing spend on proven buyers, not assumed demographics 

Result: Smarter outreach. Less waste. More sales. 

CPG & Apparel Use Case: Finding the New Fashion Spenders 

Clothing and apparel is another category seeing relative strength—even as economic signals wobble. Wiland enables fashion brands, DTC retailers, and department stores to: 

• Uncover households with a rising trend in fashion and apparel spend, segmented by gender, price point, style category (e.g. casualwear, outerwear, kids’) 

• Score your existing customers to prioritize those most likely to make repeat purchases or engage with seasonal sales 

• Discover new acquisition audiences who recently shifted spending into fashion after months of lower activity—ideal for back-to-school and fall campaigns 

• Deploy these insights into any channel, including Facebook, Instagram, programmatic, CTV, and email 

Whether you’re launching a new athleisure line or reactivating dormant shoppers, Wiland helps you reach people with proven purchase behavior, not just “interest” labels. 

Why Retail Marketing Data Matters Now 

In a climate where every marketing dollar counts, and every product launch has higher stakes, Wiland helps retailers answer essential questions: 

• Who’s still spending in my category? 

• How can I find more people like them? 

• Which of my current customers are likely to buy again soon? 

Unlike traditional data sources that rely on modeled intent or survey results, Wiland observes actual transactions, enabling brands to adjust in real-time based on real behavior. 

Contact Wiland to Leverage CPG and Retail Data in Health, Beauty and Apparel Campaigns 

Retail and CPG leaders can no longer afford to market based on how consumers say they feel. They must market to what consumers are actually doing. The winners in this new era of consumer unpredictability will be those who can see around the corner—and act on precise, data-backed signals. 

Wiland provides that signal. With billions of dollars in observable spend, privacy-safe modeling, and proven activation pathways, Wiland helps leading brands turn uncertainty into growth. 

Ready to identify your next high-spending audience?
Contact us and let Wiland show you where the opportunity is hiding.