May / June 2013

During the past two months, I attended the IRI Summit, the National Restaurant Association Show and the National Confectioners Association Sweets & Snacks Expo.

The battle between traditional brick-and-mortar grocery and alternate channels has been heating up of late, with analysts and pundits trying their best to predict who will control the market in the future.

Faced with a mature market, lukewarm economy and a shrinking middle class, traditional supermarkets are battling for sales and market share with an ever wider number of competitors: mass merchandisers, discounters, limited-assortment formats, warehouse clubs, specialty stores, convenience stores, d

Few in the food retail industry would dispute the assertion that collaboration, or the notion that stakeholders along the value chain should work together and share information, is good for all.

Most retailers know the power of pricing in driving consumer behavior. Consistently low prices can lure shoppers away from a neighborhood location to stock up at a Walmart or Costco miles from their home.

Grocery retailers and CPG companies spend millions of dollars annually gathering, analyzing and applying consumer shopping data.

Larry Levin,

When Scarborough, Maine-based Hannaford Bros. suffered a network breach in 2008 that exposed the payment data of 4.2 million customers, industry players vowed to tighten their data security.

Many reports focus on retail and technology trends but overlook the shopper. In "Guidance for 2013: Acting on Key Shopper Trends," Barrington, Ill.-based consulting firm Willard Bishop explores the most significant changes taking place among shoppers and what they mean for retailers.

By now, retailers have heard about the importance of building relationships with shoppers, improving loyalty to stores and brands, and doing it all by customizing offerings and services for shoppers. To accomplish this, many already are customizing their offerings based on past experience, but they

Websites and mobile apps are popular means of communicating product information and promotions to today's tech-savvy consumers.

Photography by Vito Palmisano