Data Visualization

  1. Data & Insights

How a Furniture Retailer Gained 5 Conversion Points in a Down Market.

Author’s Expertise: With over 15 years of experience in retail analytics and customer behavior analysis, I’ve helped more than 500 retailers optimize their follow-up strategies. At Trakwell, our team has analyzed millions of customer interactions across furniture, mattress, and high-value retail segments, giving us unique insights into what truly drives conversion and ticket size improvements. […]
4 min read
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  1. Trends & External Forces

Aldi Reality Check

Scott Moses, partner and Head of the Grocery, Pharmacy & Restaurants Investment Banking practice at Solomon Partners, has posted another in his series of infographics illustrating the market power of major retailer – in this case, Aldi.  The graphic illustrates not just the extent of Aldi’s US footprint, but its ambitions;  its value proposition may […]
2 min read
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  1. Data & Insights

Your Views:  The Meat Of The Matter

Responding to last week’s announcement of new nutrition guidelines by the US Department of Agriculture (USDA), one MNB reader wrote: What I struggle with in this “reset” is how high-level it says: “protein is good,” “fat is good,” “eat more meat,” etc. The part that’s unquestionably right is the push away from ultra-processed foods—and the […]
8 min read
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  1. Data & Insights

Mark Zuckerberg’s Enduring Lesson for Foodservice Executives in 2026

  Why Consumer Evolution Is Outpacing Restaurants, C-Stores, and Grocery Retailers When Time profiled Mark Zuckerberg in December 2010, Lev Grossman highlighted a deceptively simple but powerful leadership message. Zuckerberg left the old Sun Microsystems sign standing outside Facebook’s headquarters—turned around, but still visible—as a constant reminder of what happens when once-dominant companies lose relevance. […]
5 min read
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  1. Technology & Innovation

In 2020, I made 5 predictions about marketing and martech for this decade. Here’s how they’re going…

Happy New Year! Five years ago, Jason Baldwin and I published Martech 2030 (ungated PDF), a report predicting five major trends that would shape marketing and martech through what we christened The Decade of the Augmented Marketer. We’re now at halftime at the start of 2026. How are those predictions holding up? I asked ChatGPT, […]
7 min read
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  1. Channel: Club

Costco Reality Check

Scott Moses, partner and Head of the Grocery, Pharmacy & Restaurants Investment Banking practice at Solomon Partners, is out with another in his series of infographics illustrating the market power of major retailer. This one focuses on Costco, illustrating some basic competitive realities of which some may be unfamiliar:  it is the number two global […]
3 min read
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  1. Channel: Ecommerce & Digital

Amazon: “Supercharging” Its Grocery Business

The Information has a piece about how “Amazon is planning a new ultrafast delivery offering for groceries and other daily essentials in major urban areas in the U.S., a critical test of the e-commerce giant’s ambitions to sell more daily staples to consumers and supercharge its grocery business. “In recent months, Amazon has approached large […]
5 min read
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  1. Data & Insights

Chain-Restaurant Discontinuity — a Grocerant Guru® Viewpoint

  The last two years have been a reality check for big multi-unit casual and fast-food brands. Rising costs, changing customer expectations, aggressive fast-casual competitors and franchisee fragility have combined to shrink footprints that once felt invincible. Below I profile six recognizable chains that have fewer open restaurants today than they did two years ago, […]
5 min read
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  1. Data & Insights

Listen Now: How Google Is Redefining the Shopping Journey 

Google is not a retailer or even a marketplace, but it has played a central role in online shopping for decades. More than 1 billion shopping searches happen on the platform every day, yet Google has never been the endpoint — and it doesn’t want to be. “Google shopping is an ecosystem,” explained Lilian Rincon, […]
2 min read
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  1. Data & Insights

How Google Is Redefining the Shopping Journey

This episode is brought to you by Commerce. Google has always played a central role in the shopping journey, but it isn’t a retailer or even a marketplace. In fact, more than 1 billion shopping searches happen on the platform every day, yet Google has never been the endpoint. Now, with the rise of AI, […]
2 min read
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  1. Channel: Home Improvement

Home Depot, Lowe’s cut profit guidance as housing market remains pressured

​[[“value”:” This audio is auto-generated. Please let us know if you have feedback. A relatively weak housing market and ongoing economic uncertainty continued to challenge the home improvement sector’s biggest players in the third quarter. The Home Depot on Tuesday said its Q3 results missed its expectations due to the lack of storm activity causing […]
2 min read
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  1. Technology & Innovation

Walmart’s Sixth CEO: John Furner to Take the Helm as McMillon Steps Down

The world’s largest retailer announces a major leadership transition, marking only the sixth CEO change in its history Bentonville, AR — When Walmart announced Thursday that Doug McMillon would retire as CEO after 11 years at the helm, it wasn’t just a changing of the guard. It was a signal of how seriously the retail […]
3 min read
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  1. Channel: Restaurants

A Retrospective on Pizza Hut: The Rise, the Plateau and the Slow Slide

  Founded in 1958, Pizza Hut long symbolized the rise of national pizza chains in the U.S.—but the story is not of a perpetual trajectory upward. Over the decades, Pizza Hut achieved remarkable reach yet simultaneously made major strategic mis-steps that have, by 2025, severely eroded its dominance in the pizza space. Below I chart […]
6 min read
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  1. Trends & External Forces

FaceTime with the Content Guy: Competing Effectively In A Walmart-Driven Retail Economy

My friend Scott Moses of Solomon Partners posted an infographic on his company’s website the other day that enumerated exactly how dominant Walmart is in grocery.  (You can see it below.) One reading of the numbers would suggest that the best way to compete against Walmart in this environment is by getting bigger (M&A!), which […]
< 1 min read
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  1. Data & Insights

NOW AVAILABLE: The 2025–26 Economic Report on Pharmaceutical Wholesalers and Specialty Distributors

I am pleased to announce Drug Channels Institute’s new 2025-26 Economic Report on Pharmaceutical Wholesalers and Specialty Distributors, available for purchase and immediate download. Download a free 25-page report overview—including key industry trends, “What’s New,” Table of Contents, and List of Exhibits Review pricing/license options and download the full 2025-26 report Special launch pricing is […]
3 min read
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  1. Data & Insights

Portability Is a Key Component of Fresh Food Marketing

  Fresh Hand-Held meals are driving the growth of the Ready-2-Eat and Heat-N-Eat segments within the food sector according to Steven Johnson Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions®. Fresh food with portability is more than a trend — it is a cornerstone in the undercurrents of change reshaping the retail foodservice sector today. […]
4 min read
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  1. Data & Insights

Retail Product Launch Strategy: Key Metrics to Track for Success

Launching a new product in the retail sector is both exciting and challenging. The stakes are high, and success is determined by much more than just having a great product. It’s about how well you can introduce it to the market, captivate your audience, and ultimately, drive sales. For product manufacturers, understanding how to measure […]
4 min read
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  1. Technology & Innovation

How Google is Helping Marketers Adapt to the First AI-Powered Holiday Season

The introduction of AI into online search is precipitating a massive shift in the way users navigate the web. In fact, since Google first introduced its AI Overviews experience — which offers up a specific answer instead of a collection of links — websites of all types, from publishers to retailers, have noticed a significant […]
7 min read
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  1. Technology & Innovation

The first generation of gen AI use cases in marketing are streaking through the Hype Cycle

Ah, the Hype Cycle. No other curve is both so revered and reviled. When it comes generative AI’s Hype Cycle, especially its application in marketing, there are three things we need to acknowledge: First, “gen AI” is not a single technology moving along the Hype Cycle. Is it at the peak of inflated expectations? The […]
4 min read
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  1. Data & Insights

Preorder Now: DCI’s 2025-26 Economic Report on Pharmaceutical Wholesalers and Specialty Distributors

On October 14, 2025, Drug Channels Institute will release our 2025-26 Economic Report on Pharmaceutical Wholesalers and Specialty Distributors. This report—our sixteenth edition—is the most comprehensive, fact-based tool for understanding and analyzing the large and growing U.S. pharmaceutical distribution industry. With 9 chapters, 400+ pages, 187 exhibits, and 850+ endnotes, this report is unmatched in […]
3 min read
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  1. Data & Insights

Exclusive: Walmart Beefs up Digital Insights in its Quest to Become ‘America’s Favorite Place to Shop’

There’s been talk for some time about the collapse of the traditional “funnel.” Consumers no longer move along a linear path from awareness to consideration to purchase, and they haven’t for years. Now, with the rise of AI-powered search and discovery, that path to purchase is becoming even more fragmented and variable. But regardless of […]
5 min read
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  1. Technology & Innovation

Marketing Technology

In August 2011, Scott Brinker created the first official “Marketing Technology Landscape.” It was a supergraphic with logos of the 150 different marketing solutions in the market at the time. Scott continued mapping the landscape as the number of marketing technology solutions exploded — doubling to 350 in 2012 and blowing past 5,000 just five […]
3 min read
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  1. Shopper & Customer

5 Compelling Reasons Product Startups Should Choose Retail Over Crowdfunding

In the whirlwind world of product startups, the quest to get your innovative idea off the ground and into the hands of eager customers is a thrilling yet challenging expedition. Often, entrepreneurs find themselves at a crossroads, deciding between the vibrant allure of crowdfunding and the established avenues of direct retail. While crowdfunding has gained […]
4 min read
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  1. Data & Insights

Marketing with precision

Webinar Marketing with precision Leveraging advanced audience data for high-impact campaigns Wednesday, Aug. 20th, 2025 | 12 pm ET (9 am PT)  Register Now Webinar Marketing with precision Leveraging advanced audience data for high-impact campaigns Wednesday, Aug. 20th, 2025 | 12 pm ET (9 am PT)  Register now Reach the right audiences Do you know […]
2 min read
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  1. Media & Marketing

Marketplaces Overtake DTC as Primary Digital Growth Channel

Marketplaces drove over 40% of total ecommerce growth in 2024, officially surpassing direct-to-consumer (DTC), wholesale and other channels for the first time, according to research from Cymbio. At the same time, DTC saw its share of ecommerce growth decline for the first time in years, indicating that following its COVID surge, DTC may be hitting […]
2 min read
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  1. Media & Marketing

How New Brands Can Succeed in Retail: Tips and Secrets

Starting a product brand in the bustling world of retail is no small feat. With giants dominating the market and the fast pace of consumer trends, how do you make your mark? For startups aiming to boost brand awareness, the challenge often lies in standing out and connecting with the right audience. This blog post […]
5 min read
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  1. Data & Insights

Undervalued to unstoppable

Case study Undervalued to unstoppable Why and how women’s football is reshaping global sports Download report Case Study Undervalued to unstoppable Why and how women’s football is reshaping global sports Download report Introduction Tracking the rise of a global sport As one of the world’s biggest supporters of women’s football (soccer), PepsiCo collaborated with Nielsen […]
5 min read
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  1. Technology & Innovation

Why Apple Must Buy Perplexity

Tim Cook ought to call Perplexity CEO Aravind Srinivas and offer him $30 billion for his AI search engine. And he should do it right away. Apple buying Perplexity is such an obviously good deal for both companies that I feel silly even writing it down. Apple would get a bonafide AI service it could […]
3 min read
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  1. Data & Insights

Salesforce Bolsters AI Ambitions with $8B Informatica Acquisition

Salesforce will beef up its cloud data management capabilities with the purchase of Informatica for $8 billion in equity value, net of Salesforce’s current investment in the company. Holders of Informatica’s Class A and Class B-1 common stock will receive $25 in cash per share when the acquisition closes early in Salesforce’s 2027 fiscal year, […]
2 min read
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Editor’s Choice

  1. Channel: Ecommerce & Digital
  2. Channel: Grocery
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  19. Stores & Formats

Amazon Fresh and Amazon Go Are Gone A Historical Retrospective on Amazon’s Grocery Experiments & the Road Ahead

  On January 27, 2026, Amazon confirmed what many analysts had quietly anticipated: its Amazon Fresh and Amazon Go store banners are being shuttered across the U.S., ending a decade of experimentation in brick-and-mortar grocery retail. According to Amazon, all 57 Amazon Fresh grocery stores and 15 Amazon Go locations are slated to close imminently […]
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  1. Channel: Ecommerce & Digital
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BREAKING NEWS:  Amazon Bails Out Of Physical Stores Business, Closing Go And Fresh Stores

Amazon announced today that it is closing its 57 Amazon Fresh Stores and 15 Amazon Go stores.  With the exception of Whole Foods, which it acquired for $13.7 billion in 2017, it will now be out of the bricks-and-mortar business for the time being. The company’s food retail focus now will be on expanding its […]
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  1. Channel: Ecommerce & Digital
  2. Channel: Grocery
  3. Department: Food
  4. Data & Insights
  5. Shopper & Customer
  6. Technology & Innovation
  7. Trends & External Forces
  8. Stores & Formats

December E-Grocery Sales Hit $12.7 Billion, Up 32% YOY

The latest Brick Meets Click Grocery Shopper Survey is out, reporting that “monthly U.S. online grocery sales accelerated dramatically in December, with total sales surging 32% year-over-year (YOY) to finish the month with a record high $12.7 billion … This robust performance reflects higher order frequency, spending rates, and a larger user base than December […]
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  1. Technology & Innovation
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NRF 2026 review: AI grabs the spotlight as retail technology steps into its next chapter

By James Pepper, Vista Technology Support A Brief Introduction to NRF and How the Show Is Structured Every January, the National Retail Federation’s ‘Retail’s Big Show’ transforms New York’s Javits Centre into one of the most influential gatherings in the global retail calendar. Tens of thousands of professionals arrive to explore new technologies, exchange ideas, […]
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