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Merchandising Insights

DSHEA at 30—Where’s our grassroots army?

U.S. independent retailers share their thoughts on the state of the industry.

June 13, 2024

Jay Jacobowitz, President & Founder, Retail Insights

Does the natural products industry still have the cohesiveness to fight the constant legislative battles to preserve access to our products? A new survey of U.S. independent retailers highlights the challenges.

Merchandising Insights

2024: Independent Retailers Peer Into Their Crystal Balls

Our year-end interviews with independent natural products retailers reveal goals, challenges, surprising innovation, and resilience.

January 17, 2024

Jay Jacobowitz, President & Founder, Retail Insights

Our year-end interviews with independent natural products retailers reveal goals, challenges, surprising innovation, and resilience.

Next Steps: Grooming Young Employees

Flexing schedules, setting pay, finding meaning.

October 30, 2023

Jay Jacobowitz, President & Founder, Retail Insights

Listen to your fellow independent natural organic retailers from around the country relate their employee recruiting and retention experiences.

Merchandising Insights

What Can Independents Learn From Other Retailers?

10 key takeaways for natural products retailers.

August 23, 2023

Jay Jacobowitz, President & Founder, Retail Insights

Independent natural retailers looking to stay in business can benefit from knowing what retailers in the other seven U.S. retail food channels are doing with natural products. Read on for 10 key insights.

Retail Theft: Symptom of Social Decay

Where has the empathy gone?

June 28, 2023

Jay Jacobowitz, President & Founder, Retail Insights

Listen to your natural colleagues as they describe retailing in 2023.

!?! Staffing. You’re not alone.

October 20, 2022

Jay Jacobowitz, President & Founder, Retail Insights

A late September survey of independent natural products retailers across the country about their workforces reveals common problems, continuing pressures, and some silver linings. Midwest Retailer: “Staffing keeps us up at night.” “Staffing is the number one thing that keeps us up at night. In the old days, you could...

Post-Pandemic, What Do Shoppers Think About Food?

August 25, 2022

Jay Jacobowitz, President & Founder, Retail Insights

Here’s a number that shows current U.S. thinking: North American air-passenger traffic in May 2022 surged 203% compared to May 2021. Most of us, it appears, have decided to live with a mutating virus and return to normal life. So how does this shift in thinking impact food shopping? Most...

What is “Mandatory Product Listing”?

June 14, 2022

Jay Jacobowitz, President & Founder, Retail Insights

Those of you who entered the natural products industry in the 2000s may not know the story of the late U.S. Senator Orrin G. Hatch (R-UT). He served six terms, and passed away on April 23, 2022. Sen. Hatch, whose home state of Utah was and is headquarters to many...

What happened Last Year….and 4 Predictions for 2022

December 28, 2021

Jay Jacobowitz, President & Founder, Retail Insights

The consumer drives all—including panic buying We must view 2021 through the eyes of the 2020 pandemic lockdowns. Many retailers—of food, clothing, electronics, and more—saw decreases in 2021 without the panic-driven hoarding that boosted 2020 sales. Because of this sales anomaly, many retailers preferred to compare their 2021 results to...

Trade Shows, Yes or No?

October 27, 2021

Jay Jacobowitz, President & Founder, Retail Insights

We'll probably never fully replace trade shows, nor should we. But the days when you send a contingent of employees on multiple overnights to hunt for new products are likely over. We won’t spend a lot of time rehearsing why, but briefly: pandemic uncertainty, increasing cost, and reduced access to...