News and Trends

  Supermarkets have flooded the market with next-generation loyalty schemes to give back to their customers – but do shoppers actually think of them as a reward? And after speculation about their value, do they trust that the prices they see are genuine?  To find out, Retail Week asked consumer research firm Walnut Unlimited to survey 2,000 shoppers about their thoughts on the schemes. What’s overwhelmingly clear from the research is that although supermarkets are hopping on the member prices/loyalty scheme bandwagon left and right, and most consumers are part of at least one, many shoppers don’t like them. The systems may be designed to reward shoppers for their loyalty but 42% of consumers say they are unsure or disagree that loyalty card prices offer good value.    This fluctuates based on age, so younger and older age groups are more likely to agree that loyalty prices offer them good value, but middle-aged groups, which include most of the UK’s family households, are significantly

  by  Felix Richter ,  Mar 6, 2024 While few industries were spared by the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic over the past three years, even fewer have been hit as hard as the  tourism sector . After Covid-19 had made 2020 " the worst year in tourism history ", international tourist arrivals increased by just 13 percent in 2021, as travel restrictions remained in place for long periods in many parts of the world. Now, nearly four years after the WHO declared Covid-19 a pandemic, optimism has finally returned to the industry. According to the  UNWTO World Tourism Barometer , global tourism continued its recovery in 2023, ending the year at 88 percent of pre-pandemic levels, with an estimated 1.3 billion international tourist arrivals. China's reopening earlier in 2023 had marked another milestone on the road to full recovery, after the region long trailed behind the rest of the world. In the first nine months of 2023, international tourist arrivals in the Asia-Pacific region

Photo from Greggs Facebook page. It’s reported total sales for 2023 reached £1.81b. British chain Greggs reported a total sales increase of 19.6% with like-for-like sales in company-managed shops going up 13.7%, compared to a year before boosted by food-to-go breakfast visits. According to the brand’s financial statement for the 52 weeks ended 30 December 2023, the total share of food-to-go visits went up 8.2% compared to 7.7% in 2022. Share of food-to-go breakfast visits also increased to 19.6%, which according to the company makes them the number one choice for breakfast options, toppling McDonald’s. Roisin Currie, Greggs’ Chief Executive said there is potential to open 3,000 outlets in the UK, as they prepare to open the chain’s 2,500th shop in the coming weeks. Aside from that, Greggs said it is also keen on expanding their share of the evening food-to-go market by keeping more shops open longer. “Our multi-channel strategy is allowing us to grow home delivery and Click + Collect o

Despite challenging economic conditions, the foodservice industry shows promising signs as we enter 2024, with many chains reporting robust sales growth. Personal experiences echo this sentiment; recent outings in central London found it difficult to secure a table without a reservation. Delving deeper into the numbers  reveals  that a significant portion of this sales growth stems from food service price inflation, surpassing both general inflation rates and those specific to the food sector. While the Office for National Statistics (ONS) notes a decrease in general price inflation to 4% in December (with a forecasted further decline to 3% in 2024), food and non-alcoholic beverage prices have doubled that rate, reaching 8% in the year leading up to December. Meaningful Vision’s analysis meticulously tracks price fluctuations across menus offered by the UK’s top 100 chains, encompassing fast food, fast casual, casual dining, and coffee shops. Notably, the fast-food sector’s price incre

Food Service Inflation Slowed by 6% in the 2nd half of 2023 but remains ahead of official food and beverage inflation. Meaningful Vision tracks the top 100 chains among fast food, coffee shops, and casual dining, and according to their latest data the major fast-food chains experienced an average 17% price increase in the second half of 2023 when compared with the previous year.  Since June 2023 foodservice price inflation has consistently decreased, with November witnessing the smallest month-on-month average price rise at 13%, intensifying the trend seen throughout this period toward a gradual reduction in month-on-month price increases. Analysis reveals the decline in the rate of price increases over the last six months amounts to an average of 6% across the industry.  However, this rate does not apply to all products across all sectors.  Meaningful Vision’s reporting reveals price increases differ markedly across various sectors: a slowdown in price growth was more visible for dine