To confirm some of NRG's and fusion's comments. Sam's Club is discontinuing Monster shot's and blowing them out of their store for $19.81/24.

sniff... sniff... yep just like I thought... its the smell of a fad !!!

I think the market for Monster is younger and from what I have seen the kids are not really interested in shots. Shot drinkers tend to be older from my experience while kids are happy chugging down the sugar loaded drinks. I think the Red bull shot has a better chance at lasting than the shots from other companies that have a younger market. I mean 5 hour energy is big but that is probably from a 90% adult consumer. Women also tend to be shot drinkers. I know a lot of women who use the 5 hour shots.

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My energy drink website
http://www.edjunkie.com/

I tend to agree with SCUM1 on this as I see the same things. Energy Shots (in general) seem to be more for an older demographic, using them for play and work.

Monster definitely appeals to a younger demographic, which in my opinion would rather pay $3.00 for a 16 ounce energy drink that lasts longer (time to consume) than a 2 ounce shot that they down right away. Seems more of a perception of what you are getting for your money than the actual results...

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MMM... Give Me More Caffeine!

Energy Drinks Reviewed Here

PBG is running RS shots dirt cheap, they are way less than a buck each. I do not know if they are just getting rid of them or what. Even with a 99 cent retail I do not see them selling well.

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If what you did yesterday still looks big, you haven't done much today.

Kids want to be seen drinking a cool drink. Shots don't allow you to have that cool factor. Try giving a 15 yr old a RB or Monster Clone and see what happens Image is everything for teens. On the other hand a woman or man at work is not sitting around drinking Monsters and Rockstars. I catch enough flack myself by older co workers for drinking energy drinks

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My energy drink website
http://www.edjunkie.com/

Gentlemen,
This link tells a different story about Energy Shots and their appeal to a younger crowd.

Furthermore, I have found several other stories that suggest that the Energy shot catgory is growing stronger and stronger due to the portability, convenience, and overall serving size being easier to get what you need from the product.

Today Show Video Player

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Whether you think can or think you can\'t, you\'re probably right!

Greg I don't find myself on the other side with you very often but your need to make this energy shot industry viable has now peaked my interest. We all know this segment has grown from nothing in 2004 to around 700 million in 2008. In 2009 it appears the bottom has dropped and the segments best days are behind it.

No matter how many times you suggest it is a growing market the facts on the ground simply do not support it. Nor do the huge price drops the shots have taken across the board.

I sell a hand sanitizer to a chain of stores with 164 outlets and they sell several energy shots at each location. The sales in the first 2 quarters of these drinks is down more then 50% from the sales in the first 2 quarters of 2008. A small sampling but I think it speaks volumes to what is happening across the country.

Putting on my economics 101 hat on for a moment.
Energy drinks are still considered luxury goods. As the price remains
constant or increases consumers will buy less goods that are
considered luxury,price elastic. (Check out a good website for more info.)
The classic example of the opposite is
of inelastic goods like medication and the staples of life (food).

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Don't worry, be happy. Meher Baba

I totally agree with you - it is far to early to tell if this decrease in sales is permanent or just a result of the recession. I am sure you can find much more data out there how many other items have taking a beating over the past few quarters. Let's allow the economy to turn around and then evaluate the data before you send out invitations to the Energy Shot Funeral.