83% of families purchase organic products, says a new study from the Organic Trade Association (OTA). In the sixth year of the study, this number has climbed 10 percentage points, aligning with the overall increase in consumers’ awareness and trust in the organic seal. The majority of American households have purchased organic at least once;…
Archives for March 2015
Food Industry M&A Picks Up
The Food Industry recorded 503 mergers and acquisitions in 2014, not including the recently announced Kraft and Heinz merger, a 61.7% increase from the previous year. The Heinz/Kraft deal is the biggest on record for the Food Industry, at about $49 billion. Speculation had been ripe for which food company 3G would acquire next, pushing…
Shipping from Store Adds Cost- Lessons from Apparel and Accessories
DSW, the footwear and accessories retailer, shared its experience with omni-channel retailing on a call with analysts yesterday. Discussing fourth-quarter earnings, Mike MacDonald, president and CEO, reported revenue of $640.2 million in the fourth-quarter, $100 million of which was from omni-channel. According to MacDonald, about half of those omni-channel sales are fulfilled from in-store stock….
Is Virtual Reality the Reality of the Future?
With online shopping becoming ubiquitous, US consumers are willing to take online shopping to the next level. An emerging technology poised to change the face of retail is that of Virtual Reality (VR). Originally developed for the gaming industry, retail is beginning to see the value of enabling the customer to virtually interact with their…
Walmart Launches Sustainability Leaders Shop
Walmart has unveiled its newest initiative to help consumers “live better,” a dedicated online storefront filled with more than 3,000 items produced by 100 leading sustainability companies. In order to sell via the storefront, a manufacturer must be a leader among its peers in the Walmart Sustainability Index. The store spans multiple categories, including grocery,…