August U.S. Retail Spending Results Reflect Easing Inflation 

Declining prices contribute to slowing growth in food and beverage spending, and back-to-school shopping remains tardy

In August 2023, U.S. retail sales revenue, including both discretionary general merchandise and consumer packaged goods (CPG), remained unchanged compared to the same month last year, and unit sales declined 2%. Discretionary general merchandise spending declines continued with a 5% decline in dollar sales and 7% drop in unit sales compared to last August. CPG spending gains slowed slightly from last month, with 3% growth in food and beverage, a 2% increase in...

United States Online Food Delivery Market Analysis, Size, & Forecast Report 2023

Market Set to Grow by Almost $50 Billion - Growing Integration of AI and Machine Learning Gaining Momentum

The "United States Online Food Delivery Market, Size, Forecast 2023-2030, Industry Trends, Growth, Impact of Inflation, Opportunity Company Analysis" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

The United States Online Food Delivery market is anticipated to reach US$ 84.84 Billion in 2030 US$35.36 Billion in 2022, growing at a CAGR of 11.6%

With a wide range of food options from multiple restaurants available at their fingertips, online...

Festival Foods Pairs AI-Powered Price Optimization With Omnichannel Competitive Intelligence

Award-winning Wisconsin Grocery Retailer Debuts Customer Perception-Based Price Optimization with Engage3's Price Image Optimization Suite

Engage3 Powered By Dexi, which helps retailers and brands profitably grow revenue and drive store trips by tracking and optimizing their Price Image, today announced the renewal and expansion of its partnership with Festival Foods. The expanded partnership adds Engage3's Price Image Management capabilities to a successful omnichannel competitive intelligence program.

Festival Foods has been serving Wisconsin shoppers since 1946 and operates 40 locations across the state. Known for an...

The Freedonia Group Launches New Report on Consumer Insights and Trends in the US Shopping & Dining

The Freedonia Group, a leading provider of market research and business intelligence, has released US Shopping & Dining Consumer Insights 2023. The report examines consumer habits and attitudes about shopping and dining in the US, with a focus on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The pandemic accelerated a number of existing trends in the shopping and dining market, including the growth of e-commerce and foodservice delivery. The report also finds that consumers are increasingly looking for...

NRF Economist Says Growth in Consumer Spending is Slowing

U.S. consumers are still buying more than last year, but spending growth is slowing as the economy settles down amid higher interest rates intended to reduce inflation, National Retail Federation Chief Economist Jack Kleinhenz said today.

“The economy was clearly more resilient in the first half of this year than many expected, and the consumer environment has been positive as inflation has slowed,” Kleinhenz said. “Nonetheless, there are ongoing economic challenges and questions, and the pace of consumer spending growth is becoming incrementally slower.”...

US Consumer Confidence Improved Again in July

The Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index® rose again in July to 117.0 (1985=100), up from 110.1 in June. The Present Situation Index—based on consumers' assessment of current business and labor market conditions—improved to 160.0 (1985=100) from 155.3 last month. The Expectations Index—based on consumers' short-term outlook for income, business, and labor market conditions—improved to 88.3 (1985=100) from 80.0 in June. Importantly, Expectations climbed well above 80—the level that historically signals a recession within the next year. Despite rising interest...

Restaurant Brands are Turning to Subscription Models in the Next Big Loyalty Trend

The "Global Loyalty Programs Market Intelligence and Future Growth Dynamics Databook 2023" has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

The global loyalty market is expected to grow by 12.7% on annual basis to reach US$135.9 billion in 2023. In value terms, the global loyalty market has recorded a CAGR of 13.1% during 2018-2022.The global loyalty market will continue to grow over the forecast period and is expected to record a CAGR of 12.2% during 2023-2027. The global loyalty market is...

Mood Media 's Vibenomics and Stingray Advertising Create Largest US In-Store Retail Media Network

Mood Media's Vibenomics advertising division, a leading experiential technology and retail media solutions provider, and Stingray Advertising, a prominent provider of innovative retail audio advertising solutions, today announced an agreement to combine their respective networks creating the largest U.S. retail media in-store network. This groundbreaking collaboration will provide advertisers with an unmatched national presence, reaching over 800 million monthly shoppers through in-store digital audio advertising across 25,000+ brick-and-mortar locations nationwide. The expansive network encompasses major players in key retail verticals...

Food Retailers & Suppliers Continue to Innovate as Inflation, Workforce, Supply Chain Issues Persist

Food retailers and suppliers, facing formidable challenges with a changing workforce, inflation, The Food Retailing Industry Speaks 2023supply chain hurdles, intense competition and shifting consumer buying habits, are investing in more creative and proactive approaches to future-proof their businesses, according to FMI—The Food Industry Association’s annual comprehensive research analysis The Food Retailing Industry Speaks 2023.

The 74th annual report finds the food industry is prioritizing innovation to increase efficiency and foster redundancies across product supply and assortments; investing in technology for worker recruiting, training... 

US Foods Diner Dispatch Survey of American Dining Out Habits Reveals Casual Dining

US Foods Holding Corp. one of America’s leading foodservice distributors – released the results of its 2023 Diner Dispatch survey showcasing the state of America’s relationship with dining out. The findings display valuable insights into dining preferences, favorite restaurant types, ordering habits, tipping practices, and what this means for foodservice operators across the country.

“As one of the largest foodservice distributors in America, we are excited to share a variety of diner trends shaping the future of the restaurant industry today,” said Jim Osborne, senior vice president...

After COVID-era SNAP Benefits Ended in March, Impacted Households Reduced Spending

The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), historically known as food stamps, has undergone recent changes, including the end of COVID relief benefits across the U.S. in March. The final elimination of extra SNAP benefits nationwide in March reduced food and beverage aid by $23B annually. As a result, in the initial months after the benefit cutbacks, SNAP households reduced their monthly food and beverage spending, on average, by about 35% of cut benefits. For example, if SNAP benefits were cut by $200, the reduced food and...

Tattle Releases Receipt Scanning Feature Offering Restaurants an Additional Method of Engaging Guest

Tattle, the industry-leading Customer Experience Improvement (CXI) platform for restaurants to collect feedback data and generate algorithm-driven improvement recommendations, recently released a receipt scanning feature to further enhance the platform’s ability to collect menu item level feedback.

Traditionally, through Tattle’s robust integrations with 35+ ordering, POS and loyalty providers in the hospitality industry, Tattle surveys can automatically bring in order details from each transaction and ask customers to provide menu item specific feedback. With the new receipt scanning capability, even for restaurants...

Unphased by Inflation Grocery Shoppers Did Not Cut Spending for Graduation and 4th of July 

Incisiv, a next-generation industry insights firm that helps retailers and brands navigate digital disruption, and Wynshop, the leading provider of digital commerce and fulfillment solutions for local store-based retailers, today revealed the findings from their State of Digital Grocery Performance Scorecard for H1 2023. The Performance Scorecard reflects the latest analysis of shopper orders, plus a summer outlook around consumers' grocery shopping behaviors.

This month's scorecard reveals new findings from June 2023 in context of Q2 and H2. Key findings include...

Consumer Foodservice Spend Returns to Pre-COVID Levels Across Europe

Circana, the leading advisor on consumer complexity that formerly traded as IRI and The NPD Group, today launched its latest results from its CREST service analysis, revealing continued recovery for the European foodservice sector as consumers across five markets return to bars, restaurants and other foodservice establishments. Total spend for the sector is now back to pre-pandemic levels (€308 Bn in 12 months ending May 2023).

Spain is the first country to show spend growth to pre-pandemic...

Nearly all Canadians (91%) Identify Cooking from Scratch as a Way to Save on Groceries

Grocery prices remain elevated in Canada* and, according to new Mintel research, Canadians are changing habits to accommodate: 91% of Canadians with any cooking or meal planning responsibility agree that scratch cooking is a good way to save money on groceries. Meanwhile, four in five (81%) say they are adapting home-cooked meals to account for the rising cost of ingredients (eg meat, produce). For a quarter (77%) of consumers, the rise in food prices is pushing them to plan more of their meals ahead...

Outdoor Dining Sees 19% Boost in Early June vs. 2022, According to New OpenTable Data

Summer is here and with it, increased demand for al fresco dining: OpenTable data reveals outdoor dining increased 20% in May and 19% in the first half of June (June 1 – 15), compared to 2022.1

To help diners discover a new favorite patio or rooftop, OpenTable is releasing its annual list of 100 Most Popular Restaurants for Outdoor Dining in America,2 created by analyzing over 13 million OpenTable diner reviews. While the list debuts with the summer season, OpenTable data shows diners embraced outdoor... 

Rabobank: Food Inflation, Hottest Since 1978, Gives Consumers a Gut Check

Myriad macro forces—the Russia-Ukraine war, severe drought, higher wages and rising costs of farm inputs, transportation and energy—have combined to fuel broad-based inflation throughout the supply chain. Against this challenging backdrop, the consumer remains remarkably resilient.

The 2023 Rabobank BBQ Index, which measures the cost of staple ingredients for a 10-person barbecue, shows that it will cost $97 to host a cookout on Independence Day this year, up from $73 in 2018. Indeed, inflation has been running hot, particularly food prices, which...

New Data from Divert, Inc. Shows 20% Increase in Grocery Store Wasted Food During the Summer Months

The Summer Solstice - Divert, Inc., an impact technology company on a mission to Protect the Value of Food™, today announced new data showing that wasted food from grocery stores increases by an average of nearly 20% during the summer months compared to the winter months.

“Summer marks peak growing season across the U.S. While this is a time to celebrate an abundance of fresh produce and gather with our family and friends, our data indicates that the summer is also a period...

Sustainability is Trending Upward and Delivering Growth Across Retail, Reports Circana

Spending on sustainability is trending upward across several areas of discretionary general merchandise and consumer packaged goods (CPG). As of September 2022, 40% of consumers reported that environmental issues impact their decision on whether or not to shop at a specific manufacturer or retailer, according to Circana, formerly IRI and The NPD Group, surpassing social issues for the first time.

“Products that impact our energy use, reduce waste, and use recycled materials or natural ingredients are all getting attention from consumers and presenting...

Grocers Expect AI to Impact Staffing and Software but are Slow to Implement

Incisiv, a next-generation industry insights firm that helps retailers and brands navigate digital disruption, and Wynshop, the leading provider of digital commerce and fulfillment solutions for local store-based retailers, today revealed the findings from their State of Digital Grocery Performance Scorecard for May 2023. The Performance Scorecard reflects the latest analysis of shopper orders, plus interviews of grocery shoppers and executives about their current plans and expectations for AI in grocery.

After first interviewing grocers about AI in February 2023, Grocery Doppio followed up on...

Is Lunch Hour the New Happy Hour? Majority of American Workers Want to Socialize During Work Hours

Summertime is traditionally jam packed with activities, as people seek to spend more time outdoors, and companies host events for team bonding. But companies may want to hold off on adding another after-work activity to the calendar. New data released today from ezCater, the most trusted provider of corporate food solutions, revealed that 68% — over two-thirds of workers — said they’d prefer socializing with coworkers during their workday, rather than off the clock. ezCater’s survey uncovered how and when employees...

UB Consulting: Are Consumers Facing Credit Issues?

According to the Q1 NY Federal Reserve Bank’s Household Debt and Credit Report, total household debt increased by nearly 1 percent from Q4 2022 to $17.05 trillion, an all-time high. On a quarter-to-quarter basis, credit card loans remained flat, totaling $986 billion. These figures raised concerns for many analysts, mainly as outstanding consumer credit card loans typically shrink during these times as consumers try to pay off holiday shopping expenditures paid by credit cards. Despite robust retail sales data, recent credit reports have sparked...

Technomic Reports how Historically High Inflation Impacted Top 200 Canadian Chains in 2022

Technomic released one of its most highly anticipated reports, the 2023 Top 200 Canadian Chain Restaurant Report, which includes expert findings and insights into the sales performance of Canadian chain restaurants in 2022. The report—built using decades of historical data—provides a detailed analysis of the foodservice industry and overarching trends, annual sales and unit counts by chain and segment.

"Total sales for Canada's Top 200 chain restaurants hit $40 billion in 2022, improving by 15% compared to the prior year," said Kevin Schimpf, director...

Consumers Turning to Foodservice, Restaurant Deals in Early 2023

Consumers eating away from home were eyeing the best deal during the first quarter of 2023, reported Circana, formerly IRI and The NPD Group.

Unsurprisingly, consumers are looking to save a few bucks when they can amid inflationary pressures and higher food prices. During the first quarter of the year, customer visits to restaurants and foodservice outlets that took advantage of a deal rose by 8%, Circana analysis found.

The increase in visits of consumers looking to save some cash helped total commercial foodservice visits rise by...

Restaurant Loyalty Program Points and Rewards Redemption Increased by 26% 

Lingering inflation and higher food prices in the first quarter of 2023 had many foodservice consumers looking for a deal. Customer visits to restaurants and retail foodservice outlets that took advantage of a deal rose by 8% in the quarter ending March compared to a year ago, reports Circana, formerly IRI and The NPD Group. The increase in deal visits helped to grow total commercial foodservice visits by 1% over a year ago, a traffic gain after four consecutive quarters of flat or declining growth.

Although 73% of all foodservice...

Grocery Shoppers Expand Perception of Value Beyond Price

The latest survey of grocery shoppers by FMI – The Food Industry Association for its U.S. Grocery Shopping Trends 2023 series, reveals that the meaning of “good value” is becoming more complex as consumers navigate

The analysis revealed several common considerations for how shoppers think about value, both for the food and beverages they buy and the stores and channels they choose to shop, as inflation, while slowly edging downward in April, persists. Emerging dimensions of value regarding quality, relevance, experience and convenience are bucking the long-held definition of value being...

2023 IFIC Food and Health Survey Shows Americans Feel the Impact of Rising Costs

The International Food Information Council (IFIC) released its 2023 Food and Health Survey today, unveiling significant findings regarding Americans' eating habits and food choices.

The 18th edition of the annual survey reveals key consumer insights around the rising cost of food, stress and well-being, the influence of social media on food and nutrition decisions, evolving eating patterns, climate consciousness, and healthy labels as purchase drivers.

"The 2023 IFIC Food and Health Survey is a comprehensive snapshot of the complex factors that shape American food and... 

Circana: Consumers Keeping Close Eye on Food Spending, Opting for Lower Cost, Value

Consumer insights firm Circana reported that U.S. consumers are managing higher food costs by shopping at value retailers and capping their spending on non-food purchases, among other methods.

Circana’s findings follow the April Consumer Price Index (CPI), which saw inflation moderate overall, but food prices rise by 7.7% between April 2022 and April 2023. Circana noted that alongside the rise in food prices, consumers are faced with credit debt, depletion of savings built during the pandemic and cutbacks on credits and...

Home Chef Celebrates 10 Years in Business with New Insights on Home Cooking, 'Greatest Hits' Menu

Kroger-owned meal solutions company Home Chef celebrated a decade in business with new insights into how U.S. consumers feel about home cooking.

Home Chef worked with Atomik Research in a survey of over 2,000 adults in the U.S. to explore sentiments around mealtime and to get a peek into what home cooking may look like over the next decade.

Here were the key findings:

- New adventure for your tastebuds: Many US consumers (67%) are willing to try new flavors and dishes. 78% of...

Phillips Edison & Co Highlights Top Trends of 2023 for Grocery-Anchored Shopping Centers

Phillips Edison & Company, one of the nation’s largest owners and operators of grocery-anchored neighborhood shopping centers, today commented on the top shopping center trends of 2023 as part of ICSC Las Vegas.

Mike Conway, Vice President of National Accounts and Retail Partnerships at PECO, said, “We continue to see strong demand for space among growing retailers, which we believe is a reflection of their expectations for the impact – or lack thereof – that a down cycle will have on their performance. Consumer demand for necessity-based...

HungerRush Survey Shows Restaurant Loyalty and Rewards Programs Significantly Increase Sales

HungerRush, the leading cloud software provider for the restaurant industry, today announced new research that reveals how restaurant loyalty and rewards programs impact consumer behaviors. The survey indicates that rewards programs increase the frequency of visits by members, improve customer loyalty, and provide restaurant owners with the opportunity to gather valuable data to personalize and tailor future offers.

Amid ongoing economic constraints, consumers are tightening the purse strings, and this is impacting how and when they dine out. In fact, in another survey (The RushReport: The 2023 Restaurant Consumer...

National Retail Federation: Consumers Engaged as Retail Sales Jump in April

The National Retail Federation (NRF) said retail sales bounced back in April, showing month-over-month and year-over-year growth.

“Retail sales rebounded in April, reflecting consumer resilience in the face of elevated economic uncertainty,” NRF President and CEO Matthew Shay said. “Moderating price levels, continued labor market strength and wage gains have increased consumers’ ability to spend. However, they remain cautious and concerned about the current economic environment. Retailers continue to provide competitive pricing and convenience to help cost-sensitive consumers stretch their budgets...

New Insights from Gravy Analytics Reveal Consumers Are Choosing to Shop and Dine Closer to Home

Gravy Analytics, the leading provider of enterprise location intelligence, today released its Q1 Consumer Trends Report, which analyzed foot traffic data across a variety of locations from Q1 2022 to Q1 2023 to see how consumer behavior has changed across industries. The report found that foot traffic increased to businesses in categories like shopping and restaurants, but there was a significant decrease in accommodation traffic. The data indicates a modest return to discretionary spending, with consumers prioritizing shopping and dining out closer to home... 

Checking In On Meal Kit Companies After Pandemic Boom

Meal kit companies were one of the winners during the pandemic. They provided convenience and a low barrier to entry as consumers ate more meals at home.

With everyday life largely back to normal, meal kit companies are trying to find their footing as restaurants and away-from-home eating return to pre-pandemic patterns.

Recent findings from Bloomberg’s Second Measure team found that customer retention has become a key hurdle for meal kit companies. After enticing promotional periods that companies like HelloFresh and Blue Apron offer, consumers often...

Food System Stress Is Feeding Innovation and Investor Opportunities: PGIM Research

Vulnerabilities in our global food system have surfaced recently as the invasion of Ukraine, COVID-19 pandemic and climate change have disrupted the food supply — having a profound impact on food prices, monetary and fiscal policy, even political stability. However, these disturbances have also tilled the soil for much-needed innovation, and investors can play a major role in transforming the industry for the future, according to new research from PGIM, the $1.2 trillion global investment management business of Prudential Financial, Inc...

Price of Groceries in the US has Grown 50% Faster than Overall Inflation since 2020

The line outside Boston's American Red Cross Food Pantry on a recent Saturday morning stretched the length of two football fields. The number of people filing into the redbrick industrialzone warehouse on some days now exceeds the worst periods of the pandemic economic crisis and in April it had the second highest monthly traffic since it opened in 1982, according to David Andre, the director.

His organisation, like food banks across the country, has been flooded with requests for help since foodstamp recipients were hit...

Sprouts Launches New Retail Media Network Powered by Instacart's Carrot Ads Solution

Instacart, the leading grocery technology company in North America, today announced that Sprouts Farmers Market, one of the fastest-growing specialty retailers in the country, is leveraging Carrot Ads - part of the Instacart Platform - to power its new retail media network. Carrot Ads helps retailers, like Sprouts, establish and grow their retail media networks on their owned and operated websites and apps.
Brands can now combine the power of Instacart's robust advertising solutions with Sprouts' healthy approach to grocery shopping...

Inflation Continues to Drive FMCG Sales Value Growth Across Europe’s Six Largest Markets

Ahead of its latest biannual 'FMCG Demand Signals' report which covers Total Store Data, Circana (formerly IRI and The NPD Group), has today revealed softening of demand in unit sales across the six largest markets in Europe (France, Italy, Germany, Spain, UK and Netherlands) - a decline of -1.1% on an annual basis, deepening further by -1.4% in Q4 2022. This is the fifth consecutive quarter of decline and is not forecast to return to normalcy until the end of 2023.

Forensically unpacking the impact of the...

Dollar Stores Converging with Traditional Grocery and Mass Retail

Dollar stores continue to be the fastest growing retail channel today, both in terms of the number of new stores and the number of shopping visits. The deep discount sector is also the fastest growing retail channel for food purchases, with an 89.7 percent increase between 2008-2020, according to the American Public Health Association. The sector is focused on growing their grocery volume through increased store count and shopper visit frequency, with Dollar General adding more than 1,000 net new stores each of the last four years and Dollar... 

New OpenTable Data Shows Late Night Dinner on the Rise

Today, OpenTable, a global leader in restaurant technology, relaunched its State of the Industry dashboard. The site features new dining data from OpenTable's global network of 55,000 restaurants and millions of diners to shed light on dining demand and trends.

Latest intel from OpenTable's State of the Industry 2.0:

• Late-night dining gets a boost: In March 2023, dining at 8pm and 9pm saw gains nearly every day MoM, with the largest increases on Mondays (8pm up 9%, 9pm up 18%), Wednesdays (8pm up 15%, 9pm up 23%) and Thursdays...

Technomic Reports High Inflation Impacted Top 500 Chain Restaurant Performance in 2022

Technomic released one of its most highly anticipated reports, the 2023 Top 500 Chain Restaurant Report, which includes expert findings and insights into the sales performance of U.S. chain restaurants in 2022. The report—built using decades of historical data—provides a detailed analysis of the foodservice industry and overarching trends, annual sales and unit counts by chain and segment, and Top 500 sales forecasts for 2023.

"Unprecedented levels of foodservice inflation had a major effect on the industry's largest chain restaurants... 

Rise In Consumer Demand For High-Protein Snacks Bolsters Growth

The "Global Meat Snacks Market: Analysis by Type, Source, Category, Packaging, Distribution Channel, Region, Size and Trends with Impact of COVID-19 and Forecast up to 2028" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

The global meat snacks market in 2022 stood at US$10.05 billion, and is likely to reach US$15.13 billion by 2028.

The meat snacks market has been growing in recent years due to increasing consumer demand for convenient and healthy snack options, with a prominent factor being the rising popularity...

U.S. Grocery Shopper Trends Report Shows Despite Higher Prices, Consumers Not Cutting Back

FMI – The Food Industry Association shared findings from a survey of grocery shoppers’ spending habits and attitudes.

The survey highlights how consumers remain concerned about the rising prices of food but remain less likely to cut back on the number of items they purchase.

Of shoppers that shared concerns about food prices, only 32% of shoppers in February reported buying fewer items to lower their grocery bills, down from 41% in October. The survey indicated that consumers are instead looking for deals across various channels...

Hormel Foods Pizza Experts Unveil Top-5 Topping Trends for 2023 and Beyond

Hot out of the oven from the International Pizza Expo in Las Vegas, Hormel Foods Corporation, a Fortune 500 global-branded food company, the maker of the best-selling retail pepperoni in the United States and a market leader in foodservice pizza toppings, has a pulse on the latest topping trends to help pizzaiolos, aficionados and home cooks everywhere elevate their pizza games.Pizza-topping experts Kyle Flottman and Colby Strilaeff, both brand managers at Hormel Foods have spent...

Online Grocery Growth Expected to Continue but Consumers Now Weighing Cost vs. Convenience

Market intelligence provider Packaged Facts believes that the online grocery market will continue to see gains despite the struggles of some start-ups in the space.

During the pandemic, online grocery shopping witnessed a significant boom. New companies entered the landscape and all of the largest food retailers invested heavily in the space.

Convenience was a big factor in the growth of the sector and consumers were willing to shell out the extra cash to have their groceries delivered or ready for them as soon as...

NRF Forecasts 2023 Retail Sales to Grow Between 4% and 6%

The National Retail Federation today issued its annual forecast, anticipating that retail sales will grow between 4% and 6% in 2023. In total, NRF projects that retail sales will reach between $5.13 trillion and $5.23 trillion this year.

“In just the last three years, the retail industry has experienced growth that would normally take almost a decade by pre-pandemic standards,” NRF President and CEO Matthew Shay said. “While we expect growth to moderate in the year ahead, it will remain positive as retail sales stabilize to more historical levels. Retailers are prepared to serve consumers in the current economic environment by offering a range of products at affordable prices with great shopping experiences.”

NRF’s annual sales forecast was announced...

Inflation Still Top of Mind for Restaurant Operators and Consumers

According to recent research, inflation remains the number one focus for restaurant operators and their paying customers.

Findings out of TD Bank’s recent survey, which was unveiled at the 2022 Restaurant Finance and Development Conference in Las Vegas, Nevada, found that the number one challenge for restaurants in 2023 is inflation. 300 restaurant franchise operators and other finance professionals provided their takes in the survey that aimed to display restaurant franchise finance trends.

Alongside TD’s poll, Circana, the new brand that was formerly IRI and...

Easter Spending Expected to Crush Records

Consumers are expected to spend $24 billion to celebrate Easter this year, up $20.8 billion in 2022 and the previous record high of $21.7 billion in 2020, according to a survey from the National Retail Federation (NRF) and Prosper Insights & Analytics.

According to NRF, 81% of Americans will celebrate the holiday and spend an average of $192.01, the highest figure on record.

“Easter endures as an important holiday for many Americans, signifying new beginnings and a time of celebration with friends and family,” NRF President and CEO Matthew...

$2.9 Trillion U.S. Consumer Retail Market is Set for Repositioning, Reports Circana

Consumer demand is declining across nearly every U.S. discretionary general merchandise and consumer packaged goods (CPG) industry, even as elevated prices recede from peak levels. At the Growth Summit 2023, presented by Circana, formerly IRI and The NPD Group, Don Unser and Marshal Cohen look below the surface of current retail performance in this $2.9 trillion market, exploring the possibilities for repositioning retail in the year ahead.

“Consumers have developed a different way of thinking about their purchases as their spending power deteriorated,” said Don Unser...

U.S. Stocks Under Pressure Following Latest PPI, Retail Sales Reports

U.S. stocks closed higher Tuesday, boosted in part by a rebound in bank shares following the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank. Traders were also assessing yesterday's friendly inflation data, which was on target with pre-report expectations.

Tuesday's CPI report for February showed a 0.4% month-over-month rise, down slightly from January’s 0.5% month-over-month gain. On an annual basis, inflation slowed to 6.0% in February, down from 6.4% in January. 

Traders are anxiously awaiting the Federal Reserve's decision on interest rates during next week’s monetary policy...

IRI and NPD Rebrand as Circana, the Leading Advisor on the Complexity of Consumer Behavior

Following their merger in August 2022, Information Resources, Inc. ("IRI") and The NPD Group ("NPD") today unveiled a new combined company name and brand identity: Circana.

Circana™ is the leading advisor on the complexity of consumer behavior. Through unparalleled technology, advanced analytics, cross-industry data and deep expertise, Circana provides clarity that helps clients take action and unlock business growth.

“We are proud to begin this new chapter together as Circana, a name that conveys our 360-degree, full-circle...

One in Five Meals Consumed at Home in Europe in 2023 Will Come from Restaurants

For the first time since the pandemic began, consumer spending in the food service industry in Europe bounced back to pre-pandemic highs in November 2022. This was a key finding of the latest “State of the European Food Service Industry”analysis, which was announced today by The NPD Group through its CREST consumer panel.

Continued hybrid working, spending more time at home, and the ease of both online shopping and ordering food for takeout and delivery has...