CPG

Procter & Gamble is determined to push through price hikes: Despite falling sales volumes and softening demand, the CPG giant plans to continue raising prices to cover its costs.

Amazon-owned Whole Foods is in expansion mode: While its parent company looks to cut costs, the high-end grocer sees an opportunity to attract consumers as they return to in-store shopping.

Brands and retailers face threats to their pricing power: An FTC investigation into PepsiCo and Coca-Cola’s pricing practices, coupled with consumers’ cost sensitivity, could limit companies’ abilities to dictate prices.

Instacart will retain its status as grocery delivery king this year, capturing 73.0% of US digital grocery sales among third-party delivery services, per our forecast. However, competitors such as DoorDash and Uber will continue to eat away at its dominance.

It doesn’t take a CPGenius to understand that consumer packaged goods (CPG) have gone digital. “Winning at the digital shelf is more critical than ever” for CPG brands, according to our analyst Andrew Lipsman. Here are five charts on what retailers, marketers, and logistics professionals need to know about CPG.

The days of heady growth are over for rapid grocery startups: The once-frothy sector is now down to a handful of players and facing steep competition from Uber and Doordash.

Health and personal care will be the third-fastest-growing ecommerce sales category this year, growing 22.1% year over year, according to our forecast.

US consumers continue to spend: But they’re increasingly selective about their purchases, which is bad news for retailers selling pricey goods such as consumer electronics.

Ultrafast delivery app downloads exploded worldwide during the pandemic. The top 10 apps in this space were downloaded 23.1 million times collectively in Q1 2022, according to Apptopia. Getir leads by a wide margin, ahead of rivals like Gopuff and Gorillas.

Kroger Precision Marketing has added Snapchat to its retail media offerings, enabling advertisers to use Kroger’s first-party data to target consumers with Snap or Story ad campaigns.

Things are looking up for Walmart: The retailer made headway on its inventory glut and gained grocery share in Q3, but discretionary categories struggled.

Retail sales rose 1.3% in October: That suggests retailers were successful in pulling the holidays forward. However, Target’s Q3 earnings show what consumers are buying is changing.

When times get tough, people turn to sweets: That’s one reason that the makers of Twinkies, Oreos, and Hershey Kisses have boosted their guidance.

Kroger plans to acquire Albertsons, a nearly $25 billion deal that will result in a retail media network capable of reaching 85 million US households, according to the company.

Thanksgiving food costs are expected to soar 13.5% this year: Walmart, Aldi, and Lidl aim to use discounts on turkey, stuffing mix, and other holiday ingredients to attract new customers.

China’s COVID strategy continues to hurt retail sales: Estée Lauder and Canada Goose are among the high-end brands pointing to China’s policy as a reason they’re lowering their outlooks.

Few CPG brands are posting strong volume growth: But price hikes and shrinkflation are helping companies like Kraft Heinz, Coca-Cola, and Procter & Gamble generate strong earnings.

The price of groceries has reached a historic high. In August 2022, the US consumer price index found the cost of food was up 11.4% year-over-year (YoY), the largest 12-month increase since May 1979.

“Social is everything we do. It’s the connective tissue.” That was the message from Meghan Myszkowski, global head of social media for Xbox and Game Pass, at Advertising Week New York. But social media is constantly changing, making brand relevance often hard to achieve. Here’s what brands should keep in mind.

The rumors of rapid grocery’s demise are exaggerated—but not by much: While startups struggle to make the model profitable, Uber Eats and DoorDash see an opportunity.