Each month we post an overview article that covers our recent company articles, announcements, and insights. Below is for the month of October.
What Does The Second Year of Inflation Tell Us?
The US economy is now in its second year of inflationary pressures and businesses need to find new ways to analyze, adapt, and forecast business performance.
The CPI first reached 5.0% in May of 2021 and exceeded 6.0% by October 2021. The PPI first reached 6.5% in April 2021. With the September CPI and PPI still at 40-year high levels, we are now looking at the second year of increasingly increasing costs.
What is the second year impact of inflation?
Should Retailers Worry About Consumer Credit Levels? The Holiday Season is Approaching!
Retailers have been through a multitude of changes since the Covid-19 pandemic shutdowns in March of 2020. In considering the future of retail, let’s use the holiday shopping season as the backdrop for the changes.
During the 2019 holiday shopping season there were increases in online shopping, but 84.2 million people went to retail stores on Black Friday. Much of the seasonal shopping occurred around Thanksgiving, with 40% of the 2019 holiday shopping purchases occurring on Black Friday and Cyber Monday.
The 2020 holiday shopping season was the first season with the impact of Covid-19. While retail stores had begun to re-open for the 2020 holiday shopping season, stores had mask requirements and sanitation protocols.
The 2021 holiday shopping season was focused on supply chain fears and constraints. Consumers worried about empty shelves and bought at higher prices.
What will the 2022 holiday shopping season look like...?
Find out here!
Industry Sectors 2.5 Years After the Pandemic Lockdowns: Food Processors and Manufacturers
Looking back over the past two and a half years, one industry that has experienced significant change and stress is food processing and manufacturing. This sector has been impacted by all the challenges experienced since March of 2020 - shutdowns, work from home, hybrid work environments, testing requirements, plant restructuring requirements, labor shortages, PPP loans, other government stimulus programs, changing consumer preferences, supply chain issues, ongoing labor issues, and inflation. Additionally, this sector is feeling the impact of commodity price fluctuations.
This article examines price fluctuations, income statement performance concerns, and trends to watch for in the food processing sector.
Food processors have been whipsawed in multiple directions during the pandemic – consumer preferences and behavior changes began impacting financial performance on day 1 of the pandemic. As consumers were returning to work, inflation began to further impact consumer purchasing dynamics. Analysis is key to developing alternative approaches to managing financial performance.
What does it look like now, 2.5 years later?
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