Chicago-based Technomic Inc. announced that its new 2016/17 U.S. Food Industry Universe analysis will provide coverage of all channels within the $1.74 trillion U.S. food industry, including retail grocery and foodservice. 

Even though consumers always will have to shop for groceries, the channels in which they visit continually change, and supermarkets now are feeling the pressures of these changes.

VideoMining Corp., State College, Pa., announced the results of two national studies that found shoppers are spending less time in supermarkets and more time in convenience stores.

When consumers shopped the aisles of different retail channels during the past couple of months as they prepared for the holidays, product assortments and even store environments probably started to seem the same after a while.

Social media channels have allowed many of us to make connections that previously weren’t possible. For instance, my Swedish penpal from when I was in third and fourth grade found me on Facebook a few years ago, allowing us to make the international connection once again.

With more than 2,500 different paths to purchase, it’s no surprise that consumers are changing how they shop, where they shop and when they shop.