March 21, 2022 by Scot Meyer
Consumer Price Index, Inflation, Scot Meyer
2022, Issue 03-21-2022, Issues, Opinion
The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported earlier this month that the Consumer Price Index, which measures a basket of goods and services, indicated an inflation rate of 7.9% for the 12-month period that ended in February. That’s a number not seen since January 1982, indicating that inflation is higher than it’s been in 40 years.
February 28, 2022 by Scot Meyer
in-store shopping, NPD, Scot Meyer
2022, Issue 02-28-2022, Issues, Opinion
Shopping in physical stores may be coming back in style. NPD Group reported at the end of November that in-store retail sales had risen to pre-pandemic levels, while the growth of online sales was slowing. “Physical stores are more relevant today than they were before the pandemic,” said Marshal Cohen, chief retail industry advisor for
January 31, 2022 by Scot Meyer
retailers, Scot Meyer, sustainability
2022, Issue 01-31-2022, Issues
Consumers care more about sustainability than retailers think they do, a new report suggests. But that doesn’t mean that retailers are ignoring the issue. First Insight conducted a study, in partnership with the Baker Retailing Center at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, that polled both consumers and retail executives. It found that
January 17, 2022 by Scot Meyer
CES, Consumer Technology Association, COVID-19, Las Vegas, Scot Meyer
2022, Issue 01-17-2022, Issues
The Consumer Technology Association’s (CTA’s) big event, CES, returned to Las Vegas this month after COVID-19 forced an all-digital show last year. The embrace of the in-person event — CES 2022 drew about 2,300 exhibiting companies — in the face of a lingering pandemic may suggest that there are limits to the kinds of human
December 13, 2021 by Scot Meyer
disruptors, Scot Meyer, scott galloway
2021, Issue 12-13-2021, Issues
One challenge big companies face is the constant need to find ways to get even bigger. Scott Galloway, professor of marketing at the Stern School of Business at New York University, led off this year’s Emerson Group Industry Day event with a presentation that touched on how disruptive it can be when big companies make
November 29, 2021 by Scot Meyer
Scot Meyer, theft, Walgreens
2021, Issue 11-29-2021, Issues
Last month Walgreens said it was closing five stores in San Francisco, not because they were unpopular with consumers, but because they were too popular with thieves. The stealing was brazen — one man repeatedly raided a store astride a bicycle, exiting toting a garbage bag full of stolen goods. Walgreens said the losses made
November 15, 2021 by Scot Meyer
Scot Meyer, supply chain
2021, Issue 11-15-2021, Issues, Opinion
Will supply chain constraints be the Grinch that steals Christmas this year, and maybe Thanksgiving too? A recent survey from the NPD Group found that more than 40% of U.S. consumers said they had already purchased their holiday gifts by October. Among those early holiday shoppers, 42% said they started shopping early because they feared
October 11, 2021 by Scot Meyer
COVID, dunnhumby, Scot Meyer
2021, Issue 10-11-2021, Issues, Opinion
It’s been more than nine months since the arrival of vaccines that were supposed to put a stop to the pandemic, allow frustrated consumers to start traveling and eating in restaurants again, and spark an economic boom. But not everyone is getting vaccinated, the virus is mutating and sticking around, the economic picture is mixed,
September 13, 2021 by Scot Meyer
online food shopping, Scot Meyer
2021, Issue 9-13-2021, Issues, Opinion
COVID-19 convinced a lot of consumers to try online grocery shopping for the first time, and many plan to keep buying food that way long after the viral threat has receded and they’ve put their face masks and hand sanitizer away. Already more consumers say they are shopping online because it is easy and convenient
August 16, 2021 by Scot Meyer
retail workers, Scot Meyer
2021, Issue 08-16-2021, Issues, Opinion
Many retail workers saw big changes in their jobs during the pandemic, as stores enacted new sanitation and safety protocols while ramping up services like online shopping and curbside pickup. Now retailers need to think about what kind of employees they will need in the future, and how they will find and keep them. Deloitte
July 26, 2021 by Scot Meyer
CBD, Scot Meyer
2021, Issue 07-26-2021, Issues, Opinion
Sales of CBD products are expected to get pretty high in the next few years, even if users of the products don’t. A new forecast from the cannabis research firm BDSA predicts that U.S. sales of CBD products will hit $19.5 billion in 2025, rising at a compound annual growth rate of nearly 37%. (For
July 12, 2021 by Scot Meyer
e-commerce, Scot Meyer
2021, Issue 07-12-2021, Issues
The ways that people can shop for products and get them home are multiplying so fast that hardly anyone involved in the process can keep up. That was one of the takeaways from a virtual panel discussion on the future of same-day delivery at the National Retail Federation’s recent Retail Converge conference. Kelly Caruso, the