September/October 2016

On one side, workers want more hours, and more predictable ones. On the other, demands for labor are shifting, in both the short and long term, requiring extra flexibility. Employers are being pressured to give workers more stable hours—but not too many of them.

How's private label trending? Depends on what category you examine. The average food category has seen a 5 percent increase in private label feature ad share compared to 2015.

The idea of not having any choice in your phone carrier seems preposterous today. Those of us old enough all remember the days when Ma Bell dominated the telephone market, ending with the historical breakup of the legendary telephone monopoly.

For food retailers to provide their customers with the bank of information today's shoppers seek, they must be in lockstep communication with those who raised it and produced it.

"When you look at this trend it is not unique to the United States," says Todd Hale, a consultant with Nielsen. For example, Hale notes that in Europe, where private label is more established, market share last year dipped slightly to 30.5 percent, compared to 30.6 percent in 2014.

Retailers who are interested in being paid by phone have a fundamental one: Wait for one or two systems to become dominant, or develop their own?

The retail industry has never seen anything like Amazon.