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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