Holiday Grocery Shopping Habits

Though technology has undeniably evolved the way we communicate, I’ve found that no text, call, or video chat can replace the warmth of hugging my mom. The holiday season for me is a time of strengthening familial bonds, gifting joy, and indulging in the “Superbowl” of meals. Raised by a large village of multigenerational family and friends, these moments spent together come few and far between and are deeply cherished. Whether hosting or traveling home, our U.S. Grocery Shopper Trends, Holiday Season report finds more than 90% of Americans are celebrating Thanksgiving and the December holidays...

New FMI Holiday Season Trends Survey: Grocery Shoppers Exhibit Cautious Optimism Ahead of Holiday 

Despite ongoing concerns about high prices, shoppers are optimistic about their financial situations heading into the holidays and are finding ways to feed their families and meet their needs at the grocery store, according to FMI—The Food Industry Association’s new U.S. Grocery Shopper Trends, Holiday Season report.

“While consumers are understandably concerned about their finances amidst continued inflation heading into the holidays, shoppers are proving to be just as resilient when it comes to preparing for their holiday meal celebrations,” said FMI President and CEO...

FMI: FMI: Parents’ Grocery Shopping Habits Reveal Evolving Shopper Behaviors

The most recent survey of grocery shoppers’ spending habits and attitudes by FMI – The Food Industry Association reveals surprising differences between the shopping habits of parents and those of consumers as a whole.

With summer vacation winding down and families returning to their normal routines, FMI’s 2023 U.S. Grocery Shopping Trends 2023 series “Back to School” report found that busy parents are utilizing online grocery shopping more than most consumers to help manage their busy schedules...

The Model Store: How Supply Chain Challenges and Sustainability are Driving Decisions

As the last few years have shown, it’s an ever-evolving operational climate for doing business. Food retailers building new stores or remodeling existing locations are simultaneously dealing with supply chain challenges and the drive toward sustainability.

Just as retailers have had to circumvent delays and shortages in products that they sell to consumers, they faced similar internal circumstances when designing and outfitting their stores. Sourcing materials and resources from both domestic and global suppliers is often tricky, as the pandemic, war in Ukraine, weather events, high...

Benchmarking the Food Industry Supply Chain Ecosystem

The food industry is emerging from post-pandemic supply chain disruptions; however, there is much work needed to restore supply chain equilibrium. There continue to be ongoing disruptions creating demand forecasting challenges and supply chain fulfillment volatility.

2020 was a challenging year for the food industry supply chain, with many disruptions requiring enhanced trading partner collaboration and an industry-wide coordinated response to address high inflation, volatile consumer shopping behaviors, softening demand, labor shortages, the war in Ukraine, extreme weather conditions and challenges associated with product allocations...

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... 

FMI Study Finds Grocers Poised to Jumpstart Innovation with Supplier Partners

More than 80% of respondents to a recent FMI survey of industry executives for its report, The Power of Private Brands 2023: Innovation that Drives Winning Private Brands, said they plan to increase private brand investments moderately or significantly in the next two years, which helps set the stage for more innovation opportunities. The analysis suggests, at the same time, only 10% of the executives responding said their organizations are “very far along” with innovation, indicating opportunities for progress, even after considerable successes.  

“After temporary pauses to some...

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...

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...

Familiarity is Key in the Meat Case During Inflationary Environment

Inflation continues to influence how and what consumers purchase at the meat case as shoppers look for ways to stretch the dollar. The latest CPI report for February showed inflation up 6% on the year. While inflation is slowing and has posted year-over-year declines for eight straight months, it remains well above the Federal Reserve's target rate of 2%.

Through February, the index for food-at-home index rose 10.2% over the last 12 months. Meanwhile, the food away from home rose 8.4% over the last year. Economists are awaiting the March 2023 CPI report, scheduled for release Wednesday morning at 8:30 Eastern time...

Incisiv Research: 74% of Grocers Believe Digital Shopping Has Made Shoppers Less Loyal

Recent research by Incisiv, conducted in collaboration with The Food Industry Association (FMI) and in partnership with Loyal Guru, shows that maintaining shopper loyalty in the digital grocery industry is a growing challenge. The report, “Shopper Loyalty in the Digital Age,” highlights the importance of offering a seamless omnichannel experience for shoppers to foster loyalty, including providing a well-designed digital platform, integrating with digital channels, and offering personalized experiences that meet the needs and expectations of individual shoppers.

Key take-aways from the report include...

Sales of Plant-Based Meat Alternatives Increasingly Fizzling Out at Retail

The retail craze for plant-based meat alternatives appears to be behind us.

Data from COMTELL along with Information Resources, Inc. (IRI), which together with The NPD Group (NPD) have formed Circana, demonstrates a consistent decline in retail sales volume of plant-based alternatives within the latest two years and counting.

Through the information from IRI, COMTELL now features a vastly larger database of retail items and related statistics on its overhauled retail dashboard. 

In the latest week, sales of meat alternatives ranked tenth...

The Retail Rundown: Key Findings From the 18th Annual Power of Meat Study

The 2023 Power of Meat Study was presented this week at the Annual Meat Conference in Dallas, Texas by 210 Analytics’ Anne-Marie Roerink. 

For this week’s retail rundown, we highlight the compelling findings from this annual report, which identified key trends from a retail meat perspective. 

Despite upward pricing pressure due to inflation, the study found that meat purchases are surpassing pre-pandemic levels. Meat had a 98% household penetration last year, making it the largest player within the fresh departments. Overall meat sales in 2022...

18th Power of Meat Report: Meat Purchases Rise Above Pre-Pandemic Levels, Consumers Look for Value

Americans are buying more fresh meat than before the COVID-19 pandemic and are seeking value in terms of price, convenience and better-for attributes in meat purchases, according to the 18th annual Power of Meat report released today bythe Meat Institute and FMI—The Food Industry Association.

Self-described “meat eaters” comprise 78% of Americans, compared to just 7% who describe themselves as vegan or vegetarian. Shoppers spend more than $15 in the meat department per trip and...

Study: Future of Cage-Free Egg Production Remains Uncertain, Financially Challenging

A new study released today on cage-free egg production finds vast challenges related to costs and construction, a continuing lack of consumer demand and growing concern about unintended consequences related to operations and financing. The study was conducted in 2022 by a team of researchers from Michigan State University, with collaboration from Kansas State University and Purdue University, and was funded by the FMI Foundation, United Egg Producers and United Egg Association.

Among the most relevant consumer-related insights of the research...

FMI Elects New Board Members as Industry Sees Opportunity Ahead

Today, FMI – The Food Industry Association announced its 2023 Board of Directors elected at the association’s annual Midwinter Executive Conference in Orlando. The new slate will guide the implementation of FMI’s 2023-approved strategic plan during a time of rapidly evolving industry challenges and opportunities and reflects the breadth of the product supplier and retailer/wholesaler communities. The outgoing Board officers, first elected in 2020, agreed last year to continue serving in order to provide continuity to the association amid ongoing supply chain and inflation challenges...

FMI Statement on December CPI Food Price Numbers

Today, FMI - The Food Industry Association Vice President, Tax, Trade, Sustainability and Policy Development Andy Harig issued the following statement on the December 2022 Consumer Price Index (CPI) numbers reflecting still elevated but moderating food price inflation.

“The latest CPI data serve as encouraging end cap on an otherwise turbulent year. As inflation slows, economists remain cautiously optimistic about the potential for a soft landing for the U.S. economy.

“Still, the December CPI data reflect that the global food market remains tight. In 2022, we witnessed energy prices become increasingly volatile, creating...