American consumers are balancing the need to save money on consumer packaged goods with the need to conserve petrol, so they are turning to major shopping centres to make fewer and larger shopping trips. Information Resources, Inc.’s (IRI) latest research, ‘Times & Trends: Channel Migration 2008′, reveals that shopping centres were the only store type to achieve sales gains across six key grocery retail department areas during the last year, while traditional grocery... ...Read more »

The retail industry has been bruised by sagging consumer sentiment and increased costs and, while this has heralded a 6-year low in quarterly retail turnover, the implications on food have so far been mixed – according to new research by Freshlogic. Martin Kneebone, a director of consultancy firm Freshlogic, says that slimming household budgets are prompting a noticeable move toward cheaper meal options. The eating-out food market may lose as much as $3b in annual consumer spending, part of... ...Read more »