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☆ Amazon Is Everywhere. That’s What Makes It So Vulnerable.
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-19 | by ( Noam Scheiber | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Is there a more familiar sign of corporate dominance than the Amazon delivery van? Today, the Amazon vans are almost inescapable. But this seeming monument to Amazon’s strength is in some ways closer to the opposite: a symbol of its vulnerability. The vans are just the most visible piece of ‌the company’s vast delivery network. It has also made Amazon susceptible to a potent form of labor organizing — choke point organizing — in which workers threaten to hobble a company’s operations by shutting down key sites, known as choke points.

☆ Consumers are ‘retrenching.’ What that means for recession fears
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-03 | by ( Alicia Wallace | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

But for consumers, the lengthy spell in the crossfire of persistently high prices and rising interest rates has taken its toll. Inflation-adjusted consumer spending was flat in March, marking the fourth time in five months that expenditures held steady or declined. “Further deterioration in the job market — the last remaining leg propping up the consumer — is bound to accelerate the downshift in consumer spending in the coming months. Private label growth is one of six indicators that Allison tracks to determine a consumer recession. “If you ask the economists, ‘Are we in a recession?’ they’re going to say ‘No, we’re not in a recession,’” he said.

☆ Kit Kat Cereal is hitting US shelves
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-01 | by ( Ramishah Maruf | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

General Mills is betting a lot of people do, as it is launching Kit Kat Cereal nationwide beginning this month at $5.69 for a standard-size box. A limited edition Spider-Verse Cereal – red “spiderberry” puffs with blue and white marshmallows – will be selling for a less expensive $2.99 in stores. General Mills is also launching miniature Lucky Charms and Cocoa Puffs, adding to its miniature Trix, both of which are priced at $5.69. They could either be eaten dry or be mixed in with cold water to create instant milk and cereal. Cereal sales surged to over $9 billion in 2020 or up 9% from 2019, as millions worked from home, according to data from NielsenIQ.

April 24 (Reuters) - Coca-Cola Co (KO.N) on Monday topped estimates for first-quarter revenue and profit on resilient demand for its sodas and multiple price increases by the beverages maker to combat higher commodity and shipping costs. Average selling prices increased 11%, the maker of Fanta and Sprite said, while global unit case volumes rose 3%. Coca-Cola said in February it would raise soda prices further in 2023 "across the world" to combat the stubbornly high costs but at a moderating pace, while rival PepsiCo (PEP.O) hit a pause on price hikes. Still, Pepsi and Coca-Cola faced little or no pushback from consumers, thanks to their near domination of the global carbonated drinks market. Coca-Cola's first-quarter operating margin was 30.7%, compared to 32.5% a year earlier, as price hikes did not fully help offset an impact from higher operating costs, an increase in marketing spending, investments and a stronger dollar.

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailHow autonomous inventory robots could save retailers billionsOutfitted with cameras and sensors, autonomous inventory robots can verify price signs and look for out-of-stock items. Inventory is one of the biggest challenges retailers face. Missed sales from empty shelves and out-of-stock items cost U.S. retailers $82 billion in 2021, according to NielsenIQ. But an army of inventory robots is being deployed that could help retailers appease angry customers, boost sales and respond to the ongoing worker shortage.

☆ How A.I.-powered robots are changing retail
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-22 | by ( Shawn Baldwin | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Eager to boost sales, relieve workers from mundane tasks and respond to the ongoing labor shortage, retailers and supermarkets are adding robots to their store aisles. Outfitted with cameras and sensors, autonomous inventory robots that can verify price signs and look for out-of-stock items are being deployed at big box stores like BJ's Wholesale and Walmart-owned Sam's Club . Inventory is one of the biggest challenges retailers face. Missed sales from empty shelves and out-of-stock items cost U.S. retailers $82 billion in 2021, according to NielsenIQ. So what impact will inventory robots have on U.S. retailers and the livelihood of its workers?

☆ Companies are selling us more stuff by telling us it's 'sustainable'
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-21 | by ( Catherine Boudreau | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

The federal government is updating guides around how companies can prove their environmental claims. Companies are advertising what they plan to do, such as addressing the climate crisis or using more recycled materials in their products. She pointed to a case BBB National Programs' National Advertising Division brought against the American Beverage Association, which represents companies such as Coca-Cola and PepsiCo. The beverage industry appealed the finding, arguing that the ad was intended to increase awareness that plastic bottles could be recycled. The National Advertising Division's appellate body upheld the original decision.

[1/2] Tide laundry detergent is shown on display in Compton, California, U.S., January 10, 2017. Fabric and family care, which includes the paper products, are among the company's biggest businesses. P&G's margins, a key sign of profitability investors closely watch, could take a hit if the company continues with heavier discounts. “Tide is who we would benchmark, and we’re seeing more discounts with them, and the category at large among bigger players.”Whritenour added that discounts are now deeper and more competitive. Market research firm Circana is forecasting discounts will continue to grow this year across household products as consumers face a darkening economic situation.

☆ UK grocery inflation hits new high of 17.5% -Kantar
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-28 | by ( James Davey | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

SummarySummary Companies Grocery inflation in March at highest level ever recordedMilk, eggs and cheese show fastest price risesShoppers face 837 pounds rise in annual grocery billLONDON, March 28 (Reuters) - British grocery inflation rose again in March to a record 17.5%, inflicting yet more pain on consumers battling a cost-of-living crisis, industry data showed on Tuesday. Market researcher Kantar said prices were rising fastest in markets such as eggs, milk and cheese. "It’s more bad news for the British public, who are experiencing the ninth month of double-digit grocery price inflation," said Fraser McKevitt, Kantar's head of retail and consumer insight. The Kantar data for March provides the most up to date snapshot of UK grocery inflation. It said total grocery sales over the 12 weeks to March 19 rose 8.6%.

☆ Price hikes are double whammy for pet owners who are crushed by inflation
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-19 | by ( Alicia Wallace | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +11 min

Minneapolis CNN —As head of PAWS Atlanta, Joe Labriola can get a good sense of the region’s economic well-being from the day-to-day activity of the city’s oldest no-kill animal shelter. And the shelves at PAWS Atlanta’s Pet Food Pantry quickly go bare. She said her pet food costs for Lola, her Australian Shepherd mix, and for Phoebe, her Golden Retriever, have doubled to $250 per month. Josh Fiala, Animal Rescue League of Iowa's Pet Support Services Manager, helps load pet food into a vehicle during a Pet Food Pantry in January 2022. Courtesy Animal Rescue League of IowaARL gave out about 40,000 pounds of pet food in both 2020 and 2021.

☆ UK salad shortage weighs on supermarket sales -NIQ
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Britons have been grappling with a shortage of key salad staples, particularly tomatoes, cucumbers and peppers. Market researcher NIQ, previously known as NielsenIQ, said total value sales in the fresh produce category grew just 1.1% over the four weeks, with a unit or volume decline of 5.4%. It said supermarkets struggled to meet demand for tomatoes, where unit sales fell 17.6% and for peppers, with unit sales down 16.8%. However, value sales for lettuce and cucumbers increased 13.7% and 31.8% respectively despite limited availability. It said sales growth at Tesco was 8.7%, ahead of Sainsbury's (SBRY.L) at 8.1%, Asda at 7.8% and Morrisons at 0.5%.

☆ Consumers keep spending. That might not be good news for them or the Fed
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-06 | by ( Alicia Wallace | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

And by November and December, those predictions appeared to be materializing, when data showed consumers had pulled back during the holiday shopping season. During a month chock full of suprisingly strong economic data, the Commerce Department’s retail sales and consumer spending reports far surpassed expectations. “It’s not sustainable to keep spending above their means.”Eyes on the FedHearty consumer spending at a time like this is a double-edged sword, said Ted Rossman, senior industry analyst for Bankrate and CreditCards.com. “The resilience of consumer spending is probably the biggest thing that’s pushed this recession timetable out,” Rossman said. The Home Depot (HD) warned of flat sales for 2023 as consumers continue shift spending from goods to services.

European demand is deepening a shortage of agave, the prickly plant native to Mexico's Jalisco region that's used to make tequila. Tequila prices have leapt. Compounding matters, the flow to Europe of high-quality 100% agave tequila - which has to be bottled in Mexico - has also been constrained by the supply-chain chaos from COVID-19. Michael Merolli, head of Pernod Ricard's tequila business, which includes Olmeca, said there were far fewer tequila brands in Europe than the United States, where the market was more mature and competitive, with new brands emerging every week. U.S. A-listers like Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, Kendall Jenner and Kevin Hart have all launched tequila brands in recent years.

☆ Dog Spas Are Out, Kibble Is In as Pet Owners Cut Back
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-16 | by ( Rachel Wolfe | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Not even the family cats and dogs are immune from inflation-driven cutbacks. With the cost of pet food up 15% year-over-year and pets and pet products up 12%, according to the January consumer-price index, owners are making changes. Pet toy purchases are down 16% year-over-year as of February, according to a Jefferies Group analysis of NielsenIQ data, and sales of pet housing are down 21%.

☆ Pets Don’t Get Inflation, but They Are Feeling Its Effects
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-16 | by ( Rachel Wolfe | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

☆ Eggs are crazy expensive. Plant-based alternatives think you should check them out
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-09 | by ( Danielle Wiener-Bronner | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

New York CNN —Egg prices are still high at the grocery store — so plant-based egg alternatives are using this moment to make their case. Brands like Just Egg and Zero Egg, which make egg alternatives, say they’ve seen momentum in January. For them, turmoil in the traditional egg market is the perfect opportunity to try to reach potential new customers and highlight the advantages of plant-based eggs. But they’re not interested in plant-based eggs — the texture and flavor is just not there for their needs, Tim Lu said. In the grocery store, egg prices remain elevated, Rispoli noted: “Grocers are not yet passing along those savings.”

☆ Seven out of ten UK households fear cost-of-living hit -NielsenIQ
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] Scales to weigh loose fresh produce are seen in the UK supermarket Asda in Leeds, Britain, October 19, 2020. NielsenIQ said UK grocery sales on a value basis rose 7.6% in the four weeks to Jan. 28, due to an increase in food price inflation to 13.8%. However, volume sales fell 6.9% - the lowest volume growth recorded in over nine months, which reflects the concern shoppers have about cost-of-living increases, it said. It said Lidl overtook Morrisons to become the UK's fifth largest grocer with a market share of 8.9%. NielsenIQ said online's share of all FMCG (fast-moving consumer goods) sales was 11.1% - similar to its share in the latter part of 2022.

☆ This chart shows just how much faster Amazon still delivers your packages despite years of effort by other retailers
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-18 | by ( Alex Bitter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

But when it comes to speed, Amazon still has an advantage. As of July, customers received their Amazon orders 1.9 days on average after placing them online, according to data from NielsenIQ provided to Insider Intelligence. Orders from other retailers, including big box chains such as Target and Walmart, reached customers in 4.4 days. Delivery speed data from Insider Intelligence NielsenIQ, Insider IntelligenceBoth Amazon and its rivals have improved their delivery times since October 2020, according to the data. The data includes all orders shipped to customers, including deliveries to customers to both Amazon Prime members and non-members.

☆ FTC Weighs Stiff Penalties on Deceptive ‘Green’ Marketing
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-12 | by ( Dieter Holger | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +6 min

Officials are seeking public comment until Feb. 21 on nonbinding guidelines for how companies can make environmental marketing claims without breaching federal laws prohibiting deceptive advertising. “People who want to buy green products generally have to trust what it says on the box.”The agency’s so-called Green Guides, launched in 1992 and last updated in 2012, outline principles that apply to environmental marketing claims. The FTC has brought federal lawsuits against companies for making deceptive environmental claims, and the guides are cited in marketing laws in states such as California. The breadth of terms being considered reflects the significant evolution of green marketing over the past decade and companies need clearer guidance, said Caiti Zeytoonian, a lawyer at Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP who advises companies on green marketing and represents them before the FTC. Ms. Koss declined to say if the Supreme Court decision triggered the FTC’s consideration of new rules on green marketing.

☆ Consumer stocks drag FTSE 100 lower amid recessionary jitters
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-10 | by ( Shashwat Chauhan | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SummarySummary Companies FTSE 100 down 0.3%, FTSE 250 off 0.4%Robert Walters down on profit warningInvestors await Fed Chair speechJan 10 (Reuters) - Britain's FTSE 100 retreated from a three-and-a-half-year high on Tuesday, led by consumer stocks amid recession worries, after hawkish comments from two U.S. Federal Reserve officials raised worries about future rate hikes. The blue-chip FTSE 100 (.FTSE) declined 0.3%, while the domestically focussed FTSE 250 mid-cap index (.FTMC) fell 0.4%. On Monday, Fed officials said inflation data due later this week would sway the central bank's decision about rate hikes. Among individual stocks, recruiter Robert Walters (RWA.L) slumped 8.1% after the company warned that its full-year profit was expected to be slightly below market expectations. Reporting by Shashwat Chauhan in Bengaluru; Editing by Dhanya Ann Thoppil and Subhranshu SahuOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ This vodka brand actually wants to help you celebrate Dry January
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-03 | by ( Jordan Valinsky | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

New York CNN —It’s three days into Dry January for those who observe, but that doesn’t mean you can’t touch the vodka. Tito’s Handmade Vodka has enlisted Martha Stewart for a cheeky campaign that helps people who have temporarily abstained from alcohol with some ideas for what to do with their vodka — besides drinking it. To complement the campaign, Tito’s has launched an online store selling bottle-topper attachments to help people follow Stewart’s suggestions. Martha Stewart stars in a new campaign for Tito's Handmade Vodka. Tito's Handmade Vodka“We are all about consumers drinking Tito’s the way they want to drink it.

TORONTO, Dec 28 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Like dogs seeking forever homes, stray pet businesses will find new owners in 2023. After a surge in Covid-19 lockdown adoptions, some seven out of 10 U.S. households owned one, according to a recent survey by The American Pet Products Association. Nestlé (NESN.S) boss Mark Schneider, for one, said he is open to opportunities in pet food, while Colgate-Palmolive (CL.N) recently bought additional manufacturing facilities to beef up its Hill’s Pet Nutrition division. Privately held Mars, which acquired Canada-based Champion Petfoods and Nom Nom, also could be on the hunt. Separately, Mars also agreed to acquire pet food brand Nom Nom for an undisclosed price, Bloomberg reported on Jan. 14.

☆ The soda market is flat, but not for Dr Pepper
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-28 | by ( Danielle Wiener-Bronner | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

And recently, Dr Pepper has been gaining ground on its competitors, even as the overall soda market goes flat. “One of the bright spots … has been Dr Pepper.”Founded in 1885 in Waco, Texas, Dr Pepper was the first in a wave of 19th-century upstart soda companies. Courtesy Keurig Dr PepperToday, Dr Pepper advertises itself as a treat, using a pint-sized mascot called Lil’ Sweet in its commercials. After Dr Pepper established itself as an alternative to mainstream colas, it launched on a path that ultimately made it part of the country’s third-largest soft drink maker, Keurig Dr Pepper. Dr Pepper hits the sceneDuring the wave of mega-mergers in the 1980s, Coca-Cola tried to scoop up Dr Pepper.

☆ Philadelphia is launching a plant-based cream cheese
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-06 | by ( Danielle Wiener-Bronner | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

New York CNN Business —Philadelphia Cream Cheese is launching a non-dairy version of its signature spread. The plant-based cream cheese is now available at grocery stories in Atlanta, Houston, Miami and other locations in the Southeast, with a wider rollout planned for summer 2023. Philadelphia's plant-based cream cheese is available in the Southeast. According to data from IRI, only about 41% of households who buy plant-based cream cheese make a second purchase within the year. “It’s just easier to forgo cream cheese and cheese … than it is to forgo meat,” he said.

☆ Why 2022 is the year of the espresso martini
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-03 | by ( Jordan Valinsky | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

New York CNN Business —It might be 2022, but people are still ordering espresso martinis like it’s the 90s. The espresso martini has even displaced the classic Manhattan, a bourbon-based cocktail, in the top 10. “The elegance of the espresso martini elevates your cocktail experience at a bar or restaurant, and it also serves as an impressive after-dinner cocktail when entertaining guests at home.”2022 was the year of the espresso martini. Adobe StockThe espresso martini is a mix of vodka, coffee liqueur and espresso. Espresso martinis have also made the 86-year-old brand more appealing to younger drinkers, according to Rima Sawaya, Kahlúa’s brand director.

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