Articles

By Deb Draper Freson Bros. is the largest family-owned independent grocery chain in Alberta with 16 thriving locations across the province. The first store opened in the fall of 1955 as a small butcher shop serving the rural community of Hinton, AB, and much of today’s success has come from …

Canadian shoppers will change habits affecting both brands and retailers By Jeff Doucette, founder, Field Agent Canada To say that our industry has been through a roller coaster over the past 18 months is an understatement. Other than airlines, the grocery industry is one of the most challenging businesses and …

Holiday merchandising ideas for the season By Carly Peters A lot of shoppers are eager to get back into holiday traditions, but at the same time the pandemic has undeniably changed the way people shop, even during the happiest season of the year. Many predict that 2020 trends — such …

By Sue Nicholls I had a planned topic for this article that was going to focus on something completely different but changed it last week because of a recent experience I had with a retail client that is very relevant for sharing.  Let’s say you’re looking at your category or …

The Association of Canadian Advertisers (ACA), the Canadian Beverage Association (CBA), Food, Health & Consumer Products of Canada (FHCP) and Restaurants Canada recently published the Code for the Responsible Advertising of Food and Beverage Products to Children (the “Code”). The Code, and its accompanying Guide for the Responsible Advertising of Food and Beverage …

Scott Langdoc, Head of Worldwide Strategy and Thought Leadership for Grocery Chain, Drug, and Convenience/Fuel Retailing, Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Joanne Joliet, Head of Worldwide Fashion & Apparel at AWS As the grocery industry tackles dramatic shifts in shopper behavior, broad changes in product assortments, and huge growth in …

The pandemic required Canadians to adopt new ways of shopping across all types of retail, and when it came to grocery, we saw no exception. During the early days of the pandemic with grocery store queues, product shortages, and safety concerns, one in four Canadians (25%) pivoted to online grocery …

By Sue Nicholls Over the past 18 months we have experienced unprecedented changes in consumer and shopper behaviour – their work and home life, their needs and their shopping behaviors have all shifted. A new shopper is emerging and at this point we are uncertain which behaviors have changed permanently …

British foods abound By Melanie Franner The market size of the specialty food stores industry in Canada is expected to increase 5.7 per cent to reach $3.2 billion in 2021, according to an August 2020 IBISWorld report. This follows a 0.4 per cent decline per year on average between 2016 …

The New Normal in Alberta’s Food Industry By Deb Draper In December 2020, there were 1,627 grocery stores in Alberta. Combined with beverage stores the food retail sector took 20 per cent of total retail sales, showing an increase of five percent in the last quarter of the year. During …