Trends & External Forces

Articles on retail trends and external forces impacting retail (from weather to COVID to governmental regulations)

  1. Trends & External Forces

FaceTime with the Content Guy:  Food & Friendships

Actor/writer Andrew McCarthy had a piece in The Atlantic the other day – an excerpt from his new book, “Who Needs Friends: An Unscientific Examination of Male Friendship Across America” – that looked at the friendship deficit experienced by man American men.  Needless to say, I found a business lesson there, especially because over food […]
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  1. Trends & External Forces

Andy Jassy On Grocery, Squiggly Lines, Betting Big, & Music Lessons

Amazon CEO Andy Jassy has posted his annual letter to shareholders, following in a tradition begun by founder and then-CEO Jeff Bezos in 1997.  (As usual, Amazon also posts the original 1997 message after the new missive, which is one way to indicate that as much as the business has evolved and grown, its core […]
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  1. Trends & External Forces

French Door Refrigerator Market Share Trends: Brand Shifts Across Costco, Lowe’s and Home Depot

Download our report to learn how French door refrigerator market share, brand performance, and shopper purchasing behavior are evolving across major retailers to uncover where growth is happening in the category. French door refrigerators remain a key segment within major appliances, but shifts in retailer dynamics, brand competition, and purchasing behavior are reshaping performance across […]
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  1. Trends & External Forces

Drive-Thru Under Pressure: Why Fast Food’s Core Profit Engine Is Stalling

  The drive-thru remains the dominant revenue engine for quick-service restaurants (QSRs), generating 60%–75% of total sales at many brands. Yet today, operators are confronting a convergence of pressures: elevated labor costs, persistent food inflation, declining traffic, and slower service times according to Steven Johnson Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions® this is […]
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  1. Trends & External Forces

JD.com’s Joybuy online marketplace taps Competera pricing platform for European push

Competera is working with Joybuy, JD.com’s online retail business, to manage its footprint across Europe. The partnership moves Joybuy away from manual market monitoring by implementing a centralised system that tracks competitive shifts in real-time. Teams at Joybuy now receive processed market insights every morning. This schedule allows category managers to identify price gaps and adjust their […]
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  1. Trends & External Forces

March 2026 Retail Metrics are in!

March 2026 Retail Metrics: March gave us a tale of two floors — more opportunity, but less to show for it. In mattress, traffic and prospecting surged, but conversion fell sharply as time with customers dropped, turning more conversations into missed closes. In furniture, the opposite pattern showed up — teams are converting slightly better, […]
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  1. Trends & External Forces

The Power Of Proprietary and Defining Private Label

The New York Times reports that this week, Amazon Prime Video “becomes the first streamer to serve the patrons of the Masters, joining mainstays CBS and ESPN.”  A major deal, the Times suggests, that signifies the degree to which Amazon is delivering on its ambitions. “It was eight years ago that Amazon Prime Video completed […]
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  1. Trends & External Forces

A Public Message About Private Label 

Got this email the other via Willamette Week, and as I get ready to head to Bentonville, Arkansas, where I’ll be facilitating a session at the Private Label Manufacturers Association (PLMA) Annual Meeting & Leadership Conference, I thought it was a great way for a retailer to communicate about its own-label products and focus: KC’s […]
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  1. Trends & External Forces

OffBeat:  The Big Not-So-Easy

If you are not already watching “Shrinking,” on Apple TV, you should be. “Shrinking,” which just finished its third season and has been renewed for a fourth, is a gently comedic look at the lives and relationships of three therapists – played by Jason Segal, Jessica Williams and Harrison Ford – in the Southern California […]
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  1. Trends & External Forces

ElevenLabs is dominating voice AI — can anyone catch up?

By Jenny Liu, Director of Product @Yipitdata New Signals data on voice AI platforms shows ElevenLabs is defining the category, driving nearly all entry, usage, and spend across 900+ mid-market companies. This week our analysis showed that ElevenLabs has essentially turned voice AI into a one-vendor category. Across 900 companies in our mid-market panel, ElevenLabs […]
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  1. Trends & External Forces

Lidl GB stumps up £600m to strengthen store network with 50+ locations planned

Lidl GB has announced that it will be opening more than 50 new stores in the next 12 months as part of a £600 million investment in its British infrastructure. Upcoming store openings include key sites such as Abbots Langley near Watford, Warrington in Cheshire, and Thornbury in Gloucestershire which are all set to open […]
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  1. Trends & External Forces

The FTC Blows Up Express Scripts’ PBM Model—and Launches the Net Pricing Drug Channel (rerun)

This week, I’m rerunning some popular posts while we prepare for tomorrow’s live video webinar: PBM Industry Update 2026: Trends, Challenges, and What’s Ahead. In February, I posted a few follow-up comments reflecting on Mark Cuban’s reaction to the settlement. Click here to see the original post from February 2026. Earlier today, the Federal Trade […]
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  1. Trends & External Forces

Just Eat and Starship Technologies tie up brings food delivery robots to streets of Barnsley

Starship Technologies has partnered with Just Eat to roll-out a pilot scheme involving self-driving delivery robots in North East Barnsley. The launch will initially see a small number of the orange, talking robots serving thousands of residents, delivering food from restaurants to customers’ doors within minutes. The service starts today in Carlton, Athersley, Monk Bretton […]
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  1. Trends & External Forces

Dermatology Devices: The $25.6 Billion Market

Every day, 9,500 people in the U.S. alone are diagnosed with skin cancer. Meanwhile, global spending on aesthetic procedures continues to surge as social media amplifies appearance consciousness. This dual demand — medical necessity meeting cosmetic desire — is powering one of healthcare’s most dynamic equipment markets.
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  1. Trends & External Forces

List Price Reductions Will Deflate the Gross-to-Net Bubble–and Threaten Pharmacy and 340B Profits from IRA-Negotiated Drugs (rerun)

This week, I’m rerunning some popular posts while we prepare for Friday’s live video webinar: PBM Industry Update 2026: Trends, Challenges, and What’s Ahead. Since this article was published last December, Net Pricing Drug Channel developments have accelerated. Manufacturers reduced the list prices for 6 of the 10 products with an MFP for 2026. They […]
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  1. Trends & External Forces

When You Know, You Know

There’s a phrase people use when something moves from suspicion to certainty. When you know, you know. It usually applies to people. To moments. To that quiet click of recognition when the thing you couldn’t quite name suddenly has a name. But knowing is stranger than we give it credit for…  Twins separated at birth […]
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  1. Trends & External Forces

FaceTime with the Content Guy: Customer Service That Gets Personal

Today, a great example of personalized customer service – from an e-commerce company that shows exactly how to effectively use data to create an enduring and even intimate connection to the shopper. The post FaceTime with the Content Guy: Customer Service That Gets Personal appeared first on MNB.
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  1. Trends & External Forces

Target Adjusts Its Grocery Strategy

The Street reports that Target “plans to make a major shift in its grocery section” – it wants to be a specialty grocer. “Target’s Chief Merchandise Officer Cara Sylvester explained the chain’s grocery strategy during its fourth-quarter earnings call,” the story says. “‘We’re focused on what’s next, strengthening Target’s unique identity when it comes to […]
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  1. Trends & External Forces

Kohl’s and Tween Apparel Trends: The Growing Role of Private Label Brands

Download our latest report to better understand where market share is shifting, how private label brands are scaling, and where shoppers are spending across the girls’ apparel market. The girls’ apparel market is evolving as younger shoppers shift toward value oriented, assortment driven, and trend responsive products across retailers. As competition intensifies, changes in market […]
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  1. Trends & External Forces

Grocery Stores Race for Relevance with Time-Starved Consumers

  Today’s consumer is not just value-driven—they are time-starved, convenience-focused, and increasingly replacing restaurant visits with retail meal solutions. This behavioral shift is forcing grocery retailers to rethink their role, moving from traditional food sellers to meal solution providers competing directly for “Share of Stomach.” Stop & Shop: Repositioning Dinner Around Convenience Stop & Shop […]
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  1. Trends & External Forces

Soreen unveils £1.99 PMP Lunchbox Loaves

Soreen has launched a £1.99 price-marked pack (PMP) across its Lunchbox Loaves Malt and Banana variants to help retailers meet shopper demand for clear price transparency. The new price-marked pack also features a fresher-for-longer recipe designed to help retailers reduce wastage and sustain a stronger rate… This story continues at Soreen unveils £1.99 PMP Lunchbox Loaves […]
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  1. Trends & External Forces

DRS grant support for small independent retailers welcomed by ACS

The Association of Convenience Stores (ACS) has welcomed confirmation from Exchange for Change that grant support will be offered to small independent retailers that host reverse vending machines under the Deposit Return Scheme. In details published this week, Deposit Return Scheme administrators Exchange for Change… This story continues at DRS grant support for small independent […]
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  1. Trends & External Forces

Tropical Sun taps into purple trend with sweet potato chips

World foods brand Tropical Sun has expanded its snacking portfolio with the launch of a new 300g tub of Purple Sweet Potato Chips. Made from naturally purple-fleshed sweet potatoes, the crisps are said to offer a lightly sweet flavour profile and aim to deliver strong… This story continues at Tropical Sun taps into purple trend […]
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  1. Trends & External Forces

PayPoint launches 2026 Retailer Survey

PayPoint has launched its annual survey that provides its retailer partners with the opportunity to give direct feedback to the company on overall customer experience and satisfaction, as well as suggestions. Independently conducted by Savanta, the survey is open from 13 April to 22 May 2026. It takes approximately 15 minutes to complete and… This story continues at PayPoint launches 2026 Retailer Survey Or […]
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  1. Trends & External Forces

Walmart to Expand Digital Shelf Labels Chainwide

Walmart will deploy digital shelf labels (DSLs) chainwide this year, doubling the approximately 2,300 U.S. locations currently using the technology (Walmart U.S. operates more than 4,600 stores). With more than 120,000 items in a typical Walmart store, managing price changes manually requires significant associate hours. Additionally, these DSLs are equipped with LED lights that make […]
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