The COVID-19 pandemic that upended life in 2020 shows no signs of relenting just because a new year and new vaccines have arrived. And while spring and summer are expected to move us in the direction of normal life, there remains the question of what that version of normal will look like. Two new reports
The arrival of a new year can be a time for hope, and that is especially true as the world puts 2020 in its rear view mirror. The approval of two COVID-19 vaccines, with more potentially on the way, will likely mark the beginning of the end for a pandemic that shook the U.S. economy,
Retailers have been among the essential businesses Americans have relied on to help them get through the COVID-19 pandemic, and much of the credit goes to the frontline employees working in the stores. Their efforts will be more important than ever in the coming weeks. Despite the encouraging news that vaccines are on the way,
Fixing the problem of global warming will require more than switching to electric cars and getting our electricity from solar cells and windmills. The entire food supply chain, from farms to supermarket shelves, has an important role to play in climate solutions as well. Recognizing that, FMI – The Food Industry Association has joined the
Tis the season for predictions about just how much consumers will spend on holiday gifts, food and decorations. So far the surveys mostly suggest that consumer spending will tick up, despite the COVID-19 pandemic, although how people will shop and what they will buy will be different this year. One change is that this year’s
The nightmare is that Halloween will prove scarier than usual this year, for retailers at least. Will the threat of a second wave of COVID-19 infections frighten away trick-or-treaters? If so, that could hurt sales of candy, of course, but also of costumes and home decorations. Especially if Halloween parties are another casualty of the
American shopping habits have changed in many ways during the COVID-19 pandemic. People who had not previously tried shopping for groceries online have embraced the practice, for example. And consumers worried about contracting the virus by touching things have helped drive the increased use of contactless payment methods. The big question for retailers is whether
In his 2007 book, Where’s My Jetpack?: A Guide to the Amazing Science Fiction Future That Never Arrived, robotist and author Daniel Wilson took readers on a tour of some of the revolutionary technologies that were supposed to change everything, but didn’t. Something like that has happened in the retail industry, according to a new
Retailers are understandably wondering what consumer behavior will look like as the economy opens up again. Will people venture back to stores and restaurants, or will they still be afraid that they could be exposed to the novel coronavirus? Will those who have tried online shopping for the first time during the early days of
KEASBEY, N.J. — Wakefern Food Corp. had its start in 1946, during a challenging time for independent food retailers. The problem back then was that independent operators were seeing their loyal customers lured away by the big self-service supermarkets of the day, which could offer lower prices. To compete, eight grocers in the Newark, N.J.,
GOODLETTSVILLE, Tenn. — Dollar General Corp. seems to defy the kind of gravity that is keeping much of the retail industry earthbound. At a time when some retailers are scaling back their brick-and-mortar expansion plans and may see their profits constrained by the need to invest in their omnichannel offerings, Dollar General has been growing
As online shopping becomes more frictionless and ubiquitous, retailers with brick-and-mortar outlets need to pay more attention to the kinds of products they put in them. What do people still want to buy in a store these days? Two recent studies suggest some answers. One of these is the latest Global Market Development Center (GMDC)|Retail