The holiday we know as Halloween started as a pre-Christian Celtic festival called Samhain (a Gaelic word pronounced “sow-win”), annually held around the first of November to celebrate last day of harvest and to welcome in the dark half of the year. The Celts believe that, as we moved from the warmth of autumn to the chill of winter, the dead and the living worlds would overlap, and that goblins and ghouls would roam the earth again. So, dressing up as demons was a defense against any real demon you may encounter roaming the Earth; they would think you were one of them.

Experiential stores of the future are here, generating buzz with exciting and noteworthy components; it’s a welcome contrast from the ongoing losses of physical retail in news headlines.

Learn about trends in Experiential Retail from C+R’s Shaili Bhatt, Senior Research Director, Qualitative Research, in QRCA Views Magazine article “The Wonderment of Experiential Retail.”  
 

National Pork Board Report Calls for Pork Industry to Better Meet the Needs of Hispanic Consumers. New Research Identifies Steps for Retailers and Packers to Seize Once-in-a-Generation Opportunity.

Organic has been a popular trend in the food and beverage space since the early 2000s when organically-raised fruits and vegetables first became widely available. Consumers, recognizing a connection between the environment and their health—and finding that organic produce tasted just as good as conventionally-raised, began to demand more. Today, nearly 20 years later, organic claims can be found throughout the grocery store, including in packaged foods like cereal, chips, and macaroni and cheese.

Over the years, Amazon has expanded its business to many different facets. Not all have been successful as they’ve had some failures along the way (go here if you don't believe us). However, others have succeeded and influenced other companies to reconsider the way they do business.

Here are just a few ways that Amazon has changed (or is working to change) the game as the world’s largest e-commerce marketplace:

It seems like everywhere you look, delivery trucks are dropping off boxes of recently purchased treasures. And, why wouldn’t that be the case - given that online shopping has never been easier? According to the U.S. Census, eCommerce sales in Q1 2019 accounted for approximately 10% of total sales. With the convenience of online shopping and smart devices, you don’t even have to leave the comforts of your home to shop. Or, when you do, you can shop on the go – for example, commuting on public transportation (guilty!).

With the mass upheaval in retail, marketers are searching for any remaining growth opportunities.  This includes one of our CPG clients who came to us for guidance; specifically wanting to know, “are there other channels we could be focusing on?” Given the growth this channel has seen, online has garnered a big portion of the focus.   But, online is an obvious one so I wanted to see if there are other channels that could also provide opportunities.  So as a researcher, I did a little research – starting with the basics:  shopping trips.

Solutions to Amplify Shopper Insights: ILLUMINATOR

THE "WHY" BEHIND CONSUMER ATTITUDES. THE "WHAT" BEHIND SHOPPER BEHAVIORS.

The crossroads of attitudes and behaviors has always been a key focus to aid us in understanding the trajectory of brands and to keep pace with evolving shopper patterns. In the past, the connection between these two components was mainly accomplished in an indirect manner. Now, we can bridge this gap with our new shopper insights product, Illuminator^®.