Jay Jacobowitz

Jay Jacobowitz is president and founder of Retail Insights®, a professional consulting service for natural products retailers established in 1998, and creator of Natural Insights for Well Being®, a comprehensive consumer marketing service designed especially for independent natural products retailers. With over 40 years of wholesale and retail industry experience, Jay has assisted in developing over 1,000 successful natural products retail stores in the U.S. and abroad. Jay is a popular author, educator, and speaker, and is the merchandising editor of WholeFoods Magazine, for which he writes Merchandising Insights and Tip of the Month. Jay also serves the Natural Products Association in several capacities. Jay can be reached at (800)328-0855 or via e-mail at jay@retailinsights.com.

Retail Insights® 2023 Retail Universe

for U.S. Premium Natural Organic Food, Supplement & Personal Care Sales

March 1, 2023

Jay Jacobowitz

Industry grows 4.08%, adds $3.887 billion, reaches $99.3 billion total sales

2023 45th Annual Retailer Survey

What is the state of independent natural products retailers as we emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic? Find out, and hear from independent retailers, in their own words, on the state of business.

February 28, 2023

Maggie Jaqua and Jay Jacobowitz

What is the state of independent natural products retailers as we emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic? Find out, and hear from independent retailers, in their own words, on the state of business.

Looking Back and Ahead: 2022 Review, 2023 Outlook...

December 22, 2022

Jay Jacobowitz

Trends and Predictions What forces in 2022 will continue in 2023, and which ones will change? Here’s my best guess on a few. Staffing: The massive, late-2022 tech-industry layoffs of tens of thousands of workers will increase the size of the available U.S. workforce. At least some of these newly...

!?! Staffing. You’re not alone.

October 20, 2022

Jay Jacobowitz

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...

Attracting the Next Generation of Customers is Key

September 23, 2022

Jay Jacobowitz

Are you seeing new faces? Your historical customers are aging. Attracting the next generations is key. A shrinking generation of original natural products shoppers is a problem for independents. In its third-quarter conference call in August, Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz, returning to lead the company for the third time,...

Post-Pandemic, What Do Shoppers Think About Food?

August 25, 2022

Jay Jacobowitz

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...

Thinking of Selling Your Store?

July 21, 2022

Jay Jacobowitz

Things you’ll want to know, and some you may not. Is now a good time to sell your store? Yes, if you’ve got good profits. What are good profits? Net profits—cash that remains available to you at the end of each year after you’ve paid all your...

What is “Mandatory Product Listing”?

June 14, 2022

Jay Jacobowitz

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...

Shoppers Shift Back to Brick & Mortar

May 24, 2022

Jay Jacobowitz

When the pandemic struck two years ago, consumers went online and away from risky in-store shopping as lockdowns, social distancing, and work-from-home trends took effect. Easy, but above all safe, online commerce looked set to displace brick-and-mortar shopping forever. But it turns out, maybe not. The U.S. Census Bureau reports...

Who Are You In The Marketplace?

March 24, 2022

Jay Jacobowitz

What’s your elevator speech? You know, the simple sound bite that describes your business in a way a 10-year-old can understand? Fortunately, a few successful retailers have given us some useful examples to ponder. Dunkin’ CEO Dave Hoffmann recently remarked that his company has been working to make Dunkin’ even...

Jay Jacobowitz

ARTICLES

Retail Insights® 2023 Retail Universe

2023 45th Annual Retailer Survey

Looking Back and Ahead: 2022 Review, 2023 Outlook...

!?! Staffing. You’re not alone.

Attracting the Next Generation of Customers is Key

Post-Pandemic, What Do Shoppers Think About Food?

Thinking of Selling Your Store?

What is “Mandatory Product Listing”?

Shoppers Shift Back to Brick & Mortar

Who Are You In The Marketplace?

FDA Releases Dietary Supplement Ingredient Directory; Industry Reacts

Black Seed: 6 Reasons to Love It

Prioritizing Women's Health

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