Retail and consumer goods industry news

The retailer has expanded its partnership with Instacart to offer 30-minute delivery of 2,000 of its most popular products.   Available from most US stores  The new instant delivery proposition will be available from 2,100 stores, which covers most of Aldi’s store network in the US. The retailer currently has just over 2,300 locations and has been aggressively expanding in the country. The ...

Spain is a price sensitive market we continue to see retailers taking action to support shoppers purchasing power. Retailers such as M&A, DIA and Uvesco are investing more to implementing initiatives to freeze or cut prices to attract more shoppers during the current economic environment.   M&A discount banner commits to freezing prices Grupo Piedro has launched its M&A discount banner, this ...

Last week, we attended PLMA’s 2023 “World of Private Label” International Trade Show held in Amsterdam. With 2,650 exhibitors in food and non-food industries from around the world, the event served as a platform for showcasing new and innovative private label products. Developments in product packaging Suppliers have faced challenges in complying with sustainable packaging legislation due to ...

Last year, LCBO (Liquor Control Board of Ontario), opened a 24,000 sq ft flagship in downtown Toronto. We recently visited it to see how the retailer is showcasing an extensive offer of local and international wine, beer and spirits in a digitally-enabled environment. Downtown mixed-use development LCBO is a government enterprise, wholesaling wine, beer and spirits in Ontario, Canada. With ...

We continue to see Spanish retailers setting up for success, with Carrefour, Caprabo and Ahorramás focusing on integrating more sustainable initiatives across their networks. Caprabo and Family Cash plan to expand across Spain. Meanwhile, Ahorramás has revealed its positive 2022 sales turnover, however reported a decline in profits compared to previous years. Carrefour launches a circular econ...

We recently visited Germany’s capital on a research trip; with almost 50 stores seen, here are our six main takeaways, as well as a shout-out to our favourite stores  The shopper journey needs improvement One of the main things that stood out to us is the fact that, in most stores, the shopper journey wasn’t great. Navigation is almost non-existent, and we often found ourselves walking arou...

Huel, the ‘nutritionally complete’ food brand was established in 2015 and today its range includes powders, bars and ready-to-drink options. In 2021/22, its revenue surged by 40% to £144m and it is now available in over 100 countries globally. Last week, I attended the IRX 2023 conference in Birmingham, where I heard from Mario Tarantino, Head of Ecommerce. He shared how Huel makes its custome...

Grocery delivery specialist Instacart has launched a new AI-powered search tool within its app, which leverages ChatGPT. The voice activated search function, called Ask Instacart, is conveniently embedded into the apps’ existing search bar and improves the search experience by offering product recommendations and personalised suggestions (more below). “At Instacart, we know that generative AI...

Our global analysts share some of the latest headlines across the globe. Here's what you need to know. Europe: Lidl has been named the cheapest UK supermarket in the Grocer’s latest ‘Super Grocer 33‘ price comparison Superdrug has cut the price of its PL sun care by 20%. There is a campaign to get sun care reclassified from a beauty product to make it VAT exempt Aldi UK has partner...

For a second successive quarter, Costco’s performance was impacted by softer sales in big ticket non-food discretionary items. This was partly due to cautious shopping in the ongoing inflationary environment, but also due to tough comparatives where these products performed better than usual in the last two years. Here we look at those results in more detail and highlight five key takeouts. Co...