Category: Shopping News

Frozen food sales up 21% as COVID alters shopping and eating behaviors

by Jaimee Heimer on March 3, 2021 in Shopping News

A new report from the American Frozen Food Institute and FMI—the Food Industry Association finds frozen foods were among the fastest-growing categories in the grocery store during COVID-19, with clear signs that the trend toward frozen will continue to grow beyond the pandemic.

The Power of Frozen 2021 identifies megatrends influencing the demand for frozen foods, including increased engagement in all categories, online shopping and health and well-being.

“The frozen food aisle has been a growth driver for retailers since 2016 with acceleration ahead of most other departments,” said AFFI

3 Emerging E-Commerce Growth Trends To Leverage In 2020

by Jaimee Heimer on February 28, 2021 in Shopping News

laptop, cell phone, cup of marshmallows, and winter hat on white furry blanket — Photo Courtesy of Emma Matthews via Unsplash

The COVID pandemic has shifted e-commerce in 2020, maybe more than any other time in history. Traditional retail sales have declined but e-commerce has seen a 129% year-over-year growth in U.S. and Canadian orders as of April 21st, with an impressive 146% growth in all online retail orders. Most, if not all, brick and mortar stores have taken their businesses online to survive the pandemic. As a result, U.S. e-commerce sales will hit a projected $709.78 billion in 2020, or about 14.5% of total U.S. retail sales, up from $601.65 billion,

2020 holiday shopping season dubbed most environmentally friendly

by Jaimee Heimer on February 25, 2021 in Shopping News

A stay-at-home economy helped 2020 deliver the “most environmentally friendly holiday season yet,” according to a Prologis and MIT special report released Thursday.

Based on consumer behaviors, in-person shopping was compared to e-commerce to find differences in environmental impacts. The study said that one full standard delivery van can replace over 100 individual car trips to the store.

During the holiday season each year, companies scramble to keep up with peak demands for shipping and products. E-commerce growth that was expected to take years happened in mere months in 2020. The report said carbon emissions for online shopping average about

‘Ridiculous double standard’: LA residents condemn maze of Covid restrictions | Los Angeles

by Jaimee Heimer on February 23, 2021 in Shopping News

Jeffrey Merrihue had just finished installing $80,000 worth of dining booths on the street outside his informal Italian eatery blocks away from the Pacific Ocean when word came down that Los Angeles county was instituting a three-week ban on outdoor dining.

Not only was he not amused – he thought the decision was misguided and desperately unfair.

“Are you kidding me?” Merrihue said, sitting in one of the booths that the city of Santa Monica encouraged him to build on a line of metered parking spots. “I have to close outdoor dining, while people are mobbing indoor malls? When

Coronavirus pandemic has pushed shoppers to e-commerce sites

by Jaimee Heimer on February 21, 2021 in Shopping News

Pedestrians cross a street decorated with Christmas lights in Orchard road shopping district in Singapore on December 8, 2020.

Roslan Rahman | AFP via Getty Images

SINGAPORE — The last three months of the year are typically synonymous with malls and stores teeming with customers who stand in long, snaking queues to pay for their holiday shopping hauls.

But due to the coronavirus pandemic this year, which forced countries around the world to either go into lockdowns or enforce strict social distancing rules, a lot of the holiday shopping is being done online, according to multiple research reports.

One recent