Abstract
Consumer surveys show economic pressures are taking a toll on how Americans
grocery shop: 2008 and beyond promise to be challenging years for food
retailers as consumers cut back spending in the face of tightening household
budgets. At the same time, changing demographics, greater health awareness and
channel surfing are impacting where and how consumers shop for food.
Meanwhile, although supermarkets are still the dominant force in food
retailing, economic, demographic, lifestyle and technological changes are
creating a fertile environment for new concepts-from Safeway' s Lifestyle
Stores to Tesco' s 2007 launch of its Fresh & Easy convenience store chain-that
promise to entice food shoppers, capture market share and indeed re-invent the
grocery industry. In the process, many food retailers are morphing into
foodservice operators as they take back market share lost to restaurants,
whether through enhanced prepared food selections or through actual in-store
eateries.
The Future of Food Retailing in the U.S. analyzes these and other
market-altering shifts in retail food channels, identifying the following Top
10 Trends: Multi-Channel Shopping, Retailers as Restaurateurs, Lifestyle
Stores and Emerging Formats, Thinking Small (in terms of store size), Store
Brand Building, Focusing on Fresh and Natural/Organic, Health and Wellness,
Going Green, Tapping Ethnic Markets and In-Store Media. For each of these
trends, the report provides detailed analysis and case histories, pinpointing
opportunities and strategies retailers and consumer packaged goods marketers
can use to protect and grow their businesses during 2008 and beyond.
Within this analysis, the highly competitive retail marketplace for foods and
beverages is examined across all channels including Traditional Grocery
(supermarkets, ethnic supermarkets, natural food stores, limited assortment
stores such as ALDI, traditional small grocery stores and gourmet/specialty
stores), Value (supercenters, mass merchandisers, warehouse clubs and dollar
stores), Convenience (convenience stores, drugstores and vending machines) and
Emerging (including farmers' markets, online retailing, European food halls
and meal-assembly kitchens). Also covered are in-store merchandising trends,
category sales trends, and trends in new product development, as well as
trends in consumer food consumption, shopping behavior, attitudes and
demographics.
Report Methodology
The information in this report was obtained from both primary and secondary
research. Primary research entailed consultation with industry sources and
on-site examination of retail venues. Secondary research entailed
data-gathering from relevant trade and business sources. These sources include
Information Resources, Inc.' s (IRI) InfoScan Review scanner data for
mass-market outlets (supermarkets, drugstores, and mass merchandisers except
Wal-Mart); trade publications such as Progressive Grocer and Convenience Store
News; industry associations including The Food Marketing Institute and the
National Association of Convenience Stores; annual reports, 10Ks, and other
financial releases from public companies; and retailer profiles in trade and
consumer publications. Our analysis of consumer behavior and demographics
derives from the Simmons Market Research Bureau (New York, New York) Spring
2007 adult consumer survey, which is based on 25,375 respondents, and from
BIGresearch' s January 2008 Consumer Intentions and Actions Study, which is
based on 8,447 respondents.
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