November 20, 2023 • 28 mins
Ever wondered how the omnipresent smartphone is reshaping our dining traditions? Well, it's time to feast your ears on this episode of The Lempert Report LIVE! We're joined by Kathy Risch, SVP, Shopper Insights & Thought Leadership for the Acosta Group, who unveils some fascinating survey results addressing this very topic. Tune in as we chew over the generational tolerance for mobile devices at the dinner table and the surprising trend of tech-free feasts, especially during the holidays.
But don't feel too stuffed yet, we're just getting started! We're also slicing into the world of food and retail, including Chick-fil-A's drone delivery service in East Brandon, Florida, and Amazon's game-changing concept, Amazon Fresh. Will this tech-meets-tradition venture be a hit or a miss? And with Thanksgiving hovering on the horizon, we'll explore the importance of switching off from the digital world and relishing the real one. So, prepare to have your assumptions roasted, your curiosities catered to, and your perspectives spiced up with this thought-provoking episode!
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Phil (00:05):
Welcome to the Lempert Report LIVE.
On today's episode,Thanksgiving prices and trends,
a new look at meat and seafoodconsumption.
Chick-fil-a goes airborne and,on the Bulls eye, can Amazon
Fresh make it?
On a programming note, based oninput from you, our viewers,
starting next week, TLR Livewill be broadcast on Tuesdays.
(00:27):
Same time, 11:30 AM Pacific/2:30 PM Eastern, and same places
, just switching to Tuesday.
So set your calendar.
We have a special live #FoodNot Phones report just in time
for Thanksgiving.
Acosta Group, an importantpartner in our #Food Not Phones
(00:47):
initiative, conducted a consumersurvey the role of phones at
the dinner table which exposedsignificant cell phone use
during family mealtimes, butfound that cell phones are not
welcome at the holiday table.
Joining us is Kathy Rich, SVPof Shopper Insights and
Leadership at Acosta Group, totell us more.
(01:10):
Kathy, welcome to the LempertReport LIVE.
Kathy (01:14):
Great.
Thanks so much for having me,Phil.
Phil (01:16):
So tell us, what did you find out?
Kathy (01:20):
Yes.
Well, we conducted this surveyjust a couple of short weeks ago
among our shopper community ofconsumers across the US, and we
wanted to get an understandingof how people are actually
sitting down at the tabletogether for mealtime and the
(01:41):
role that phones play.
So, on this first slide, I justwanted to share with you my
favorite insight from the entiredinner study, which essentially
tells us that the familymealtime is a lot of while in
the US.
So this is great news that 64%of US households are actually
(02:02):
sitting down for mealtime, forat dinner, together to share in
the meal.
And that's even higher amonghouseholds with kids at 77%.
Phil (02:13):
So one of the things that really has happened over the
past 10 or so years is FMI, withtheir Family Meals Initiative,
really highlighted the fact thatpeople weren't eating together
and, because of their campaignand retailers throughout the
nation and folks like AcostaGroup getting behind it, it
looks like we've been able toturn people back to the dinner
(02:35):
table and family time.
I know, Sally, you guys do thatright?
Sally (02:39):
We do, and that is so great to hear that 77% with kids
are experiencing a family mealtime.
So what a great campaign thatFMI put together and it's good
news to hear that we are doingthat.
Phil (02:55):
So, Kathy, what else did you find?
Kathy (02:58):
Yes, and I do want it to mention one more quick thing,
that I do believe that thepandemic and its time together
and home the first time we hadat eating meals at home is is
responsible for a lot of the thebehavior that way, and so it's
just very encouraging to see howmuch households are still
(03:18):
sharing meal time now that we'repost pandemic.
Phil (03:22):
So even more important than ever, absolutely.
Kathy (03:24):
Yeah, yeah, definitely.
One of the other things we weasked consumers about was just
how they feel, or actually justasking about how they feel about
phones being used at the tableduring meal time.
So we're here to talk about,you know, the usage of phones
(03:45):
and how much it's done, whetherthey like it or not, and this
was just literally to find outhow do you feel about the usage
of phones.
Phil (03:55):
Kathy, let me interrupt.
I'm not going to tell you how Ifeel, but I have a feeling that
the way I feel and the wayKathy feels, and the way Tony
feels about this, we're allgoing to align with what you
found from the Acosta group.
You know, consumer panel of, Ithink you've got over 40,000
people.
So what did you find out abouthow people feel when people use
(04:17):
their phones at meal time?
Kathy (04:20):
Well, most don't like it and, interestingly, the 42% feel
that it's just downright rude,and so it's just very
interesting.
But I would like to call up thekey difference here is by age.
So it's much more accepting theyounger the consumer, versus
(04:40):
the older.
So if you look at just thenumbers on the page here, that
only 23% of gents the feel thatit's downright rude, whereas you
have a much higher number withthe older boomers.
And it's just to show you thatas the age got older, the
tolerance and appeal definitelydies down.
Phil (04:58):
So, Sally, don't you think that a lot of that has to do
with whether it's Gen Z orMillennials or Alpha.
I mean, they've grown up withphones, we didn't, so as a
result, we're probably a littleless tolerant.
What do you think?
Sally (05:17):
100% Phi, and it's not surprising to me that the
younger generations want to havethose phones.
They want to be connected.
All of the time they're tappedinto their social media profiles
.
They like to take pictures.
They like to take pictures oftheir food, so I can see why
these younger generations aretelling us that they're okay
(05:41):
with it, but the oldergenerations are 'no, let's put
them away'.
Phil (05:45):
And, Kathy, I love the fact the way you worded this,
the survey that 23% ofgeneration says it's rude and
58% of boomers say it's rude.
So you know, I love that.
You're hitting it.
You're hitting it strong for us.
Kathy (06:05):
Great.
Well, yeah, now that we knowhow people feel about the usage
of phones and kind of the mixedfeeling that I talked about, we
did also ask about just how muchour phones I'm sure that's what
everyone is wondering now ishow much our phones actually
used during the occasion, themiddle time occasion where they
(06:27):
are eating with others at thetable, and a majority of the
country has that happening, atleast some of the time.
Now it's not all of the time,as you can see from our numbers,
but good majority of the timethere is.
They'll say that on occasionphones are being used, but you
(06:50):
can see how much this does,again vary by household.
That we spoke to Gen Z andMillennial household versus the
older Gen X and then especiallythe boomers, and the actual
occasions where there's phonesused at the table is
dramatically different.
Phil (07:08):
So what did you find out specifically about Thanksgiving?
Kathy (07:13):
Yeah, this is exciting with Thanksgiving coming up,
that we knew that this was avery different meal time than
the average typical week.
So we wanted to understand howphones would be used and if
there would be any rules.
And, interestingly, almost 40%of household are actually not
(07:35):
going to allow phones at thetable at all for intent.
And so that is a veryinteresting nuance that already
ahead of Thanksgiving, they'replanning to set that policy and
that rule and not allow phonesduring that Thanksgiving meal.
Phil (07:58):
And any other insights about Thanksgiving?
Kathy (08:01):
Well, one thing, we always had a kids table.
Phil (08:09):
So we did to.
Kathy (08:11):
A large gathering.
So you also had a table.
Sally, did you have a kidstable?
Sally (08:15):
We did have a kids table.
It was in the garage.
Kathy (08:20):
So you had one.
Among households with kids, 36%will be having a separate table
for the kids.
So I think that has a lot ofimplications.
As we talk about phone usage atthe table and we talked about
four in 10 having a rule of notallowing phones at the table I
think there's a whole otherdynamic of will the kids table
(08:43):
have a different rule than theadult table?
Will there be a universal kindof understanding?
I guess I kind of envisioned alot more phones being used at
the kids table than when I wasgrowing up.
Phil (08:56):
So, athy, what comes to mind is when I was younger
obviously pre-cell phone days itwasn't an issue about cell
phones at the kids table.
The reason for the kids tablewas one that we wouldn't annoy
our parents, and number two,cause they had wine and they
didn't wanna give us wine.
(09:17):
So I think that's thedifference.
Kathy, kathy, thanks for allyour valuable insights.
Kathy's gonna stay with us, sostay tuned for our Q and A at
the end of TLR Live, and Kathywill be back to take any
questions or anything more thatyou're looking for.
Now for the complete survey,just go to FoodNotPhones.
com, scroll down and you havethe whole Acosta Group
(09:40):
presentation right there abouteverything that they learned
about cell phone usage atmealtime.
So thanks for supporting#FoodNotPhones, Kathy, this
Thanksgiving.
Speaking of Thanksgiving, ourfirst insight.
So, Sally, when I look atwhat's going on at Thanksgiving,
(10:02):
according to the Farm Bureau,thanksgiving costs are down.
This year it's down to $61.17for a meal.
We'll get to that in a second.
Last year we're $64.05.
The drop is mostly because theprice of turkeys has dropped 22%
(10:22):
.
USDA says we've got about 220million turkeys this year.
Last year, if you remember, theprice was up because a bird flu
killed about 60 million birds.
But what I don't understand isAmerican Farm Bureau has been
doing this for 38 years.
So a feast for 10 people $61.17, and what it includes turkey
(10:51):
cube stuffing, sweet potatoes,dinner rolls, frozen peas, fresh
cranberries, celery, carrots,pumpkin pie mix, pie shells,
whipping cream and whole milk.
How do you buy all that stufffor $61?
I don't get it.
Sally (11:08):
It does seem difficult to meet that price point with all
of those things on that list,and I think it varies.
They've reported that it variesfrom region to region, the
North being more expensive, theWest being the second most
expensive, and then the Southand the Midwest being the lower
cost areas.
Phil (11:30):
So when I look at what's going on in the supermarket
world ,and we predicted thisprobably a month ago, after we
saw Walmart's announcement,Costco's announcement, Aldi's
announcement of what they weredoing for Thanksgiving.
Now BJ's is offering customersa free butterball turkey if you
spend at least $150, Shop Rite,you have to spend $400, and you
(11:54):
get a free turkey.
Up to 21 pounds.
Giant supermarket you canconvert 400 membership points
for a free turkey.
I think that's really cleverand it's something different
than we've seen before as yourelate to the membership and
really ties into the loyaltyprogram, target that we've
(12:14):
talked about before.
Thanksgiving meal basket tofeed four for under $25, and
also from casino.
org.
They did a survey and foundthat 84% of Americans and I
don't believe this and later,when Kathy comes back, I'll get
her take on this too, 84% ofAmericans are turning to fast
(12:37):
food lanes to cut back onholiday costs.
On Thanksgiving they did aGoogle trend analysis.
They surveyed 2,000 Americansand they found that McDonald's
reigned as the number oneThanksgiving takeout order.
Sally, how many people do youknow go to McDonald's for
(13:00):
Thanksgiving?
Sally (13:02):
Zero and it's really sad to hear that.
I don't want anyone to eat at afast food restaurant on
Thanksgiving day and you know Iwanna tell anyone.
Considering that the Targetdeal that they've got going is
for $25, you can get enough foodto feed a family of four and
(13:26):
that's gonna include a 10 poundturkey, a five pound bag of
potatoes, it's gonna includegreen beans and cream of
mushroom soup, so you can makethat green bean casserole that
everybody loves and it's such atradition.
You also get cranberry sauceand you can get stovetop turkey
(13:46):
stuffing mix and some gravy togo with it.
So all of that you can get for$25.
If two people go to a fast foodrestaurant on Thanksgiving day,
they're going to spend $25.
Phil (13:58):
You're right, absolutely.
I will take issue with onething you said, though I happen
to love green beans, I happen tohate green bean casserole.
It has never, I'm not acasserole person, and green bean
casserole just doesn't work forme, but whatever.
So a new report has just comeout from USDA that talks about
(14:23):
meat consumption.
That US meat consumption hasincreased 24% since 1975, but
that's not the whole story.
What's the whole story here?
Sally (14:36):
Well, the whole story, Phil, is that, even though meat
production we're seeing that,though up it doesn't necessarily
reflect our meat consumption,we're seeing that a large
portion of this meat that isbeing produced is going to pet
foods, which we have more petsthan ever, so a lot of that is
(15:00):
going into pet food, and thenanother large portion of it is
being wasted.
Phil (15:08):
Yeah, and it really points out.
When we look at numbers, andwhether it's Nielsen numbers,
whether it's USDA and BLS dataand so on, we really have to dig
deeper.
So many people just log on,they pick a number and in this
case we're looking at USDAproduction.
It's not about consumption andthere's a huge difference there
(15:31):
and it's really important for usto point out that difference
and when we look at data to beable to understand what we're
really talking about.
So they're saying 24%, butthey're also saying that because
of population growth, meatconsumption has increased by 17%
between 1970 and 2022.
(15:53):
Huge difference.
And you point out the whole petfood category, which uses 5.1
million tons of meat every year.
That's about two billion farmanimals and 25% of retail meat.
39% of seafood ends up in thetrash bin.
(16:14):
That's over 15 pounds of animalproducts in restaurants or wind
up in our home garbage.
So we've really not only got tolook at these numbers, but the
other thing that's reallyimportant for us to understand
is that when people are lookingrealistically and I'm talking
(16:35):
about more marketers thananybody else at these numbers,
we tend to have a false sense ofsecurity that oh yeah, look,
meat production is up and meatconsumption is up, so we've got
to temper that with reality,which is why there are people
out there like Kathy, who canreally hone in on those numbers
(16:57):
and give us accurate information.
So understand that when we seethis data, we've got to go a
step further.
One thing that I really applaudand we had interviewed years
ago at the beginning of Afreshtheir CEO and co-founder and
they're really going full steamahead helping with the waste
(17:20):
problem and the latestannouncement comes from
Albertsons and their effort toreduce food waste has been by
2030, to have zero waste, andAfresh is helping them do that.
So tell us a little bit moreabout Afresh and what they're
doing.
Sally (17:39):
Yes, this is fantastic to hear.
They are specifically focusingon AI-powered technology to
manage ordering and inventorythroughout their chain and
they're going to use thistechnology so that they are not
wasting meat, they're notwasting seafood, and this is an
(18:01):
area where we are seeing a lotof waste.
So it'll be great to see ifthis really helps out.
Albertsons and maybe some othersupermarket chains can apply
the same technology.
Phil (18:15):
So it's really important that we all work together as an
industry to be able to reducethat waste.
And also, when we reduce thewaste, there's more people,
there's more food out there forpeople who are in need and
hungry.
So the next story that I wantto talk about, I think, is
(18:36):
absolutely absurd and, selle, Idon't know if you're gonna agree
with me or not on this, but Ihappen to admire and really like
the food from Chick-fil-A.
I think they do a really greatjob.
If you look at their numbers,they do about double the average
that a McDonald's do, andthey're not 24 hours a day.
(18:57):
They're closed on Sundays.
But they've come up with thislatest PR stunt for lack of a
better word in East Brandon,florida, where they have
Chick-fil-A delivery and they'redelivering by drones.
How stupid is this?
Sally (19:19):
Well, we here in the South I'll tell you, Phil, we
agree, we love our Chick-fil-Ahere in the South and, yeah,
there are a lot of great thingsto celebrate about Chick-fil-A.
One, they have a reputation fortreating their employees really
well.
They hire a lot of young peopleand are very motivating for
(19:40):
young people working with them.
They do a great job with theirdrive-through.
They have people outside atyour car window taking orders
and payment, so you don't haveto individually wait to pull up
to a payment window and then oneto get your food, so they do a
really good job getting peoplethrough that drive-through.
Now, drone delivery I'm not surewe need this.
(20:03):
I mean, it sounds kind of funto see it actually happen and
you can go on their Facebookpage and watch a video of this
drone hovering over a grassyfield and lowering someone's
order with a cable all the waydown.
So it's neat and it's fun, butI'm not sure we need this.
(20:26):
And I feel like Phil.
There are a lot of other thingsthat we as consumers need more
Like.
We need our food to behealthier or fresher.
We need our prices the pricesto be better.
There are things that consumersprobably need more than they do
.
Drone delivery.
Phil (20:48):
So, in all credit, Chick-fil-A has, over the past
probably three or four years,been reformulating, making their
products healthier, getting ridof a lot of preservatives and
additives that were in them.
So good for that.
But I agree with you when itcomes to the drone delivery.
This is absurd and what I seeand the video that I've watched
(21:08):
repeatedly it comes down bycable, as you say, in a field,
but I'm not sure how that reallysolves the problem that you've
got to get to the field insteadof going through the
drive-through.
But also what I see is if I was, if I was a different kind of
person and I saw a Chick-fil-Adelivery coming down on a cable
(21:31):
and I didn't see anybody elsearound, I would run over there
and like take the order, stealthe order.
Or if I was a kid I see thecable coming down I'd run over,
I'd hold on to the cable so thatthe drone pulls me up.
Kathy (21:46):
So you can take a little ride, or I just pull down the
drone.
Phil (21:48):
I don't know, but it's an interesting idea.
We've talked about drones for awhile for delivery, for food
delivery.
I just don't get it.
I never will.
I don't think it's realistic, Ithink it's dangerous.
I think that if, in fact, dronedelivery for food or fast food
(22:08):
becomes pervasive, we're goingto have more problems than
anything else.
So thanks, sally, and toeverybody else, stay tuned,
because Kathy's going to comeback with us right after the
Bullseye.
So on the Bullseye.
Amazon Fresh stores, wassupposedly an innovative concept
(22:28):
from the tech giant Amazon,representing a significant
evolution in retail grocerysector.
The journey of Amazon FreshDoors is remarkable, combining
cutting-edge technology withtraditional retails to redefine
the shopping experience.
But neither Amazon, nor theindustry, nor shoppers have been
(22:50):
bowled over by its success.
Let's take a step backward.
Amazon Fresh began as an onlinegrocery delivery service back
in 2017, initially available inSeattle.
This moved marked Amazon'sentry into the fresh grocery
segment, complementing itsexisting vast range of products.
(23:12):
In 2020, amazon opened itsfirst physical Amazon Fresh
Store here in Los Angeles.
This move was seen as a boldforay into brick-and-mortar
retail, a sector traditionallydominated by established
supermarket chains.
I was there at the store, wroteabout it then and, frankly,
(23:33):
while there were someinteresting and cool features.
Overall, I was underwhelmed andpointed out its flaws at the
time.
Today, the 44 Amazon Freshstores are distinguished by
their integration of advancedtechnologies, notably the Dash
Cart, one that I think has ahuge potential.
It's a smart shopping cardequipped with sensors and a
(23:56):
touchscreen, and allows shoppersto avoid checkout lines.
Now these cards automaticallyscan the items as customers add
them to their cards.
It enables a seamless checkoutprocess and it allows retailers
to get rid of those dreadedself-checkouts.
Then there's the Amazon Gotechnology and the Ask
(24:17):
Alexa-enabled kiosks.
Amazon Fresh has faced a lot ofchallenges the high costs
associated with technologyimplementation and concerns over
data privacy and job securityin the increasingly automated
retail environment.
All these have been points ofdebate.
No one questions theintegration of AI and machine
(24:40):
learning can further streamlineshopping experiences, and Amazon
continuous investment inlogistics and supply chain
efficiency is key to escapingthose.
But Amazon forgot one thing thehuman shopper.
So according to Claire Peters,who's the vice president of
retail and a veteran ofWoolworth's supermarkets in
(25:02):
Australia, Amazon Fresh isgetting back to supermarket
basics.
Better and warmer in-storeaesthetics, more colorful
signage, better lighting, morein-store displays, more prepared
food, more baked goods.
In fact, they've added over3000 SKUs to what he says rounds
(25:23):
out the shopping trips, addingmore snacks and more health and
beauty products.
Of note is that they'redownplaying the Amazon logo,
which, in the Woodland Hillstore here in California that I
first visited, was glaringlyprominent.
In fact, it shouted Amazon,much to the sagram of many
(25:43):
shoppers that I've spoken to.
Amazon stands for efficiency,tech, low prices not necessarily
the winning formula for a foodretailer.
Those stores that have createdan environment that underscores
your relationship between theretailer and the shopper folks
like Wegmans, publix, hivee,rayleigh's, gelsen's, schnook's
(26:06):
I could go on and on those arethe ones that the Amazon Fresh
team need to be visiting andemulating.
Amazon originally projectedthousands of Amazon Fresh stores
across the nation in a decade.
Three years in, it's doubtfulthat they can achieve that goal,
but getting back to basicsupermarket merchandising and
(26:27):
trying to understand the humanshopper needs in an era where
people are seeking arelationship with their local
stores is a good step in theright direction.
So, Sally, any Q&A for us orfor Kathy.
Sally (26:42):
We do have a comment from John Pandol that I wanted to
share about the Food Not Phonesstory.
He says any best practices onwhen and how to enforce the no
phone zone.
A phone check doorman pass thehat and everyone surrenders
their phones.
How about honor system everyoneturn off their phone, as
(27:05):
opposed to physicallysurrendering the phones or a
fine jar if your phone goes off.
Phil (27:12):
So let's bring back Kathy and Kathy, what do you think
about John's suggestions there?
Any to add?
Kathy (27:18):
Yeah, I'm more of the kind of honor system turn the
phones on mute and face down andnot in hands, versus having to
hand them over.
I think that causes sometension for some people, that
they're just uncomfortable nothaving it near them.
(27:38):
So that would be my vote.
Phil (27:42):
So, Sally, what are you guys going to do around your
Thanksgiving table?
Sally (27:48):
Well, I like the phone basket idea.
There's the counter reallyclose by our dining room table,
and I'd like to see a basket upon that counter and when
mealtime starts those phones goin that basket.
Phil (28:04):
And for me I'd like to just smash my phone.
In general, I don't need aThanksgiving or any other time.
So thanks everybody for joiningus.
Kathy, thank you so much fortaking the time sharing the
survey, producing the survey,looking at all the data and
really sharing it with the wholeindustry.
(28:25):
So thank you, thank AcostaGroup for doing it and, to all
of you, happy Thanksgiving andwe'll see you back here next
Tuesday.
Don't forget, have a greatturkey day.
Welcome to the Lempert Report LIVE.
On today's episode,Thanksgiving prices and trends,
a new look at meat and seafoodconsumption.
Chick-fil-a goes airborne and,on the Bulls eye, can Amazon
Fresh make it?
On a programming note, based oninput from you, our viewers,
starting next week, TLR Livewill be broadcast on Tuesdays.
(00:27):
Same time, 11:30 AM Pacific/2:30 PM Eastern, and same places
, just switching to Tuesday.
So set your calendar.
We have a special live #FoodNot Phones report just in time
for Thanksgiving.
Acosta Group, an importantpartner in our #Food Not Phones
(00:47):
initiative, conducted a consumersurvey the role of phones at
the dinner table which exposedsignificant cell phone use
during family mealtimes, butfound that cell phones are not
welcome at the holiday table.
Joining us is Kathy Rich, SVPof Shopper Insights and
Leadership at Acosta Group, totell us more.
(01:10):
Kathy, welcome to the LempertReport LIVE.
Kathy (01:14):
Great.
Thanks so much for having me,Phil.
Phil (01:16):
So tell us, what did you find out?
Kathy (01:20):
Yes.
Well, we conducted this surveyjust a couple of short weeks ago
among our shopper community ofconsumers across the US, and we
wanted to get an understandingof how people are actually
sitting down at the tabletogether for mealtime and the
(01:41):
role that phones play.
So, on this first slide, I justwanted to share with you my
favorite insight from the entiredinner study, which essentially
tells us that the familymealtime is a lot of while in
the US.
So this is great news that 64%of US households are actually
(02:02):
sitting down for mealtime, forat dinner, together to share in
the meal.
And that's even higher amonghouseholds with kids at 77%.
Phil (02:13):
So one of the things that really has happened over the
past 10 or so years is FMI, withtheir Family Meals Initiative,
really highlighted the fact thatpeople weren't eating together
and, because of their campaignand retailers throughout the
nation and folks like AcostaGroup getting behind it, it
looks like we've been able toturn people back to the dinner
(02:35):
table and family time.
I know, Sally, you guys do thatright?
Sally (02:39):
We do, and that is so great to hear that 77% with kids
are experiencing a family mealtime.
So what a great campaign thatFMI put together and it's good
news to hear that we are doingthat.
Phil (02:55):
So, Kathy, what else did you find?
Kathy (02:58):
Yes, and I do want it to mention one more quick thing,
that I do believe that thepandemic and its time together
and home the first time we hadat eating meals at home is is
responsible for a lot of the thebehavior that way, and so it's
just very encouraging to see howmuch households are still
(03:18):
sharing meal time now that we'repost pandemic.
Phil (03:22):
So even more important than ever, absolutely.
Kathy (03:24):
Yeah, yeah, definitely.
One of the other things we weasked consumers about was just
how they feel, or actually justasking about how they feel about
phones being used at the tableduring meal time.
So we're here to talk about,you know, the usage of phones
(03:45):
and how much it's done, whetherthey like it or not, and this
was just literally to find outhow do you feel about the usage
of phones.
Phil (03:55):
Kathy, let me interrupt.
I'm not going to tell you how Ifeel, but I have a feeling that
the way I feel and the wayKathy feels, and the way Tony
feels about this, we're allgoing to align with what you
found from the Acosta group.
You know, consumer panel of, Ithink you've got over 40,000
people.
So what did you find out abouthow people feel when people use
(04:17):
their phones at meal time?
Kathy (04:20):
Well, most don't like it and, interestingly, the 42% feel
that it's just downright rude,and so it's just very
interesting.
But I would like to call up thekey difference here is by age.
So it's much more accepting theyounger the consumer, versus
(04:40):
the older.
So if you look at just thenumbers on the page here, that
only 23% of gents the feel thatit's downright rude, whereas you
have a much higher number withthe older boomers.
And it's just to show you thatas the age got older, the
tolerance and appeal definitelydies down.
Phil (04:58):
So, Sally, don't you think that a lot of that has to do
with whether it's Gen Z orMillennials or Alpha.
I mean, they've grown up withphones, we didn't, so as a
result, we're probably a littleless tolerant.
What do you think?
Sally (05:17):
100% Phi, and it's not surprising to me that the
younger generations want to havethose phones.
They want to be connected.
All of the time they're tappedinto their social media profiles
.
They like to take pictures.
They like to take pictures oftheir food, so I can see why
these younger generations aretelling us that they're okay
(05:41):
with it, but the oldergenerations are 'no, let's put
them away'.
Phil (05:45):
And, Kathy, I love the fact the way you worded this,
the survey that 23% ofgeneration says it's rude and
58% of boomers say it's rude.
So you know, I love that.
You're hitting it.
You're hitting it strong for us.
Kathy (06:05):
Great.
Well, yeah, now that we knowhow people feel about the usage
of phones and kind of the mixedfeeling that I talked about, we
did also ask about just how muchour phones I'm sure that's what
everyone is wondering now ishow much our phones actually
used during the occasion, themiddle time occasion where they
(06:27):
are eating with others at thetable, and a majority of the
country has that happening, atleast some of the time.
Now it's not all of the time,as you can see from our numbers,
but good majority of the timethere is.
They'll say that on occasionphones are being used, but you
(06:50):
can see how much this does,again vary by household.
That we spoke to Gen Z andMillennial household versus the
older Gen X and then especiallythe boomers, and the actual
occasions where there's phonesused at the table is
dramatically different.
Phil (07:08):
So what did you find out specifically about Thanksgiving?
Kathy (07:13):
Yeah, this is exciting with Thanksgiving coming up,
that we knew that this was avery different meal time than
the average typical week.
So we wanted to understand howphones would be used and if
there would be any rules.
And, interestingly, almost 40%of household are actually not
(07:35):
going to allow phones at thetable at all for intent.
And so that is a veryinteresting nuance that already
ahead of Thanksgiving, they'replanning to set that policy and
that rule and not allow phonesduring that Thanksgiving meal.
Phil (07:58):
And any other insights about Thanksgiving?
Kathy (08:01):
Well, one thing, we always had a kids table.
Phil (08:09):
So we did to.
Kathy (08:11):
A large gathering.
So you also had a table.
Sally, did you have a kidstable?
Sally (08:15):
We did have a kids table.
It was in the garage.
Kathy (08:20):
So you had one.
Among households with kids, 36%will be having a separate table
for the kids.
So I think that has a lot ofimplications.
As we talk about phone usage atthe table and we talked about
four in 10 having a rule of notallowing phones at the table I
think there's a whole otherdynamic of will the kids table
(08:43):
have a different rule than theadult table?
Will there be a universal kindof understanding?
I guess I kind of envisioned alot more phones being used at
the kids table than when I wasgrowing up.
Phil (08:56):
So, athy, what comes to mind is when I was younger
obviously pre-cell phone days itwasn't an issue about cell
phones at the kids table.
The reason for the kids tablewas one that we wouldn't annoy
our parents, and number two,cause they had wine and they
didn't wanna give us wine.
(09:17):
So I think that's thedifference.
Kathy, kathy, thanks for allyour valuable insights.
Kathy's gonna stay with us, sostay tuned for our Q and A at
the end of TLR Live, and Kathywill be back to take any
questions or anything more thatyou're looking for.
Now for the complete survey,just go to FoodNotPhones.
com, scroll down and you havethe whole Acosta Group
(09:40):
presentation right there abouteverything that they learned
about cell phone usage atmealtime.
So thanks for supporting#FoodNotPhones, Kathy, this
Thanksgiving.
Speaking of Thanksgiving, ourfirst insight.
So, Sally, when I look atwhat's going on at Thanksgiving,
(10:02):
according to the Farm Bureau,thanksgiving costs are down.
This year it's down to $61.17for a meal.
We'll get to that in a second.
Last year we're $64.05.
The drop is mostly because theprice of turkeys has dropped 22%
(10:22):
.
USDA says we've got about 220million turkeys this year.
Last year, if you remember, theprice was up because a bird flu
killed about 60 million birds.
But what I don't understand isAmerican Farm Bureau has been
doing this for 38 years.
So a feast for 10 people $61.17, and what it includes turkey
(10:51):
cube stuffing, sweet potatoes,dinner rolls, frozen peas, fresh
cranberries, celery, carrots,pumpkin pie mix, pie shells,
whipping cream and whole milk.
How do you buy all that stufffor $61?
I don't get it.
Sally (11:08):
It does seem difficult to meet that price point with all
of those things on that list,and I think it varies.
They've reported that it variesfrom region to region, the
North being more expensive, theWest being the second most
expensive, and then the Southand the Midwest being the lower
cost areas.
Phil (11:30):
So when I look at what's going on in the supermarket
world ,and we predicted thisprobably a month ago, after we
saw Walmart's announcement,Costco's announcement, Aldi's
announcement of what they weredoing for Thanksgiving.
Now BJ's is offering customersa free butterball turkey if you
spend at least $150, Shop Rite,you have to spend $400, and you
(11:54):
get a free turkey.
Up to 21 pounds.
Giant supermarket you canconvert 400 membership points
for a free turkey.
I think that's really cleverand it's something different
than we've seen before as yourelate to the membership and
really ties into the loyaltyprogram, target that we've
(12:14):
talked about before.
Thanksgiving meal basket tofeed four for under $25, and
also from casino.
org.
They did a survey and foundthat 84% of Americans and I
don't believe this and later,when Kathy comes back, I'll get
her take on this too, 84% ofAmericans are turning to fast
(12:37):
food lanes to cut back onholiday costs.
On Thanksgiving they did aGoogle trend analysis.
They surveyed 2,000 Americansand they found that McDonald's
reigned as the number oneThanksgiving takeout order.
Sally, how many people do youknow go to McDonald's for
(13:00):
Thanksgiving?
Sally (13:02):
Zero and it's really sad to hear that.
I don't want anyone to eat at afast food restaurant on
Thanksgiving day and you know Iwanna tell anyone.
Considering that the Targetdeal that they've got going is
for $25, you can get enough foodto feed a family of four and
(13:26):
that's gonna include a 10 poundturkey, a five pound bag of
potatoes, it's gonna includegreen beans and cream of
mushroom soup, so you can makethat green bean casserole that
everybody loves and it's such atradition.
You also get cranberry sauceand you can get stovetop turkey
(13:46):
stuffing mix and some gravy togo with it.
So all of that you can get for$25.
If two people go to a fast foodrestaurant on Thanksgiving day,
they're going to spend $25.
Phil (13:58):
You're right, absolutely.
I will take issue with onething you said, though I happen
to love green beans, I happen tohate green bean casserole.
It has never, I'm not acasserole person, and green bean
casserole just doesn't work forme, but whatever.
So a new report has just comeout from USDA that talks about
(14:23):
meat consumption.
That US meat consumption hasincreased 24% since 1975, but
that's not the whole story.
What's the whole story here?
Sally (14:36):
Well, the whole story, Phil, is that, even though meat
production we're seeing that,though up it doesn't necessarily
reflect our meat consumption,we're seeing that a large
portion of this meat that isbeing produced is going to pet
foods, which we have more petsthan ever, so a lot of that is
(15:00):
going into pet food, and thenanother large portion of it is
being wasted.
Phil (15:08):
Yeah, and it really points out.
When we look at numbers, andwhether it's Nielsen numbers,
whether it's USDA and BLS dataand so on, we really have to dig
deeper.
So many people just log on,they pick a number and in this
case we're looking at USDAproduction.
It's not about consumption andthere's a huge difference there
(15:31):
and it's really important for usto point out that difference
and when we look at data to beable to understand what we're
really talking about.
So they're saying 24%, butthey're also saying that because
of population growth, meatconsumption has increased by 17%
between 1970 and 2022.
(15:53):
Huge difference.
And you point out the whole petfood category, which uses 5.1
million tons of meat every year.
That's about two billion farmanimals and 25% of retail meat.
39% of seafood ends up in thetrash bin.
(16:14):
That's over 15 pounds of animalproducts in restaurants or wind
up in our home garbage.
So we've really not only got tolook at these numbers, but the
other thing that's reallyimportant for us to understand
is that when people are lookingrealistically and I'm talking
(16:35):
about more marketers thananybody else at these numbers,
we tend to have a false sense ofsecurity that oh yeah, look,
meat production is up and meatconsumption is up, so we've got
to temper that with reality,which is why there are people
out there like Kathy, who canreally hone in on those numbers
(16:57):
and give us accurate information.
So understand that when we seethis data, we've got to go a
step further.
One thing that I really applaudand we had interviewed years
ago at the beginning of Afreshtheir CEO and co-founder and
they're really going full steamahead helping with the waste
(17:20):
problem and the latestannouncement comes from
Albertsons and their effort toreduce food waste has been by
2030, to have zero waste, andAfresh is helping them do that.
So tell us a little bit moreabout Afresh and what they're
doing.
Sally (17:39):
Yes, this is fantastic to hear.
They are specifically focusingon AI-powered technology to
manage ordering and inventorythroughout their chain and
they're going to use thistechnology so that they are not
wasting meat, they're notwasting seafood, and this is an
(18:01):
area where we are seeing a lotof waste.
So it'll be great to see ifthis really helps out.
Albertsons and maybe some othersupermarket chains can apply
the same technology.
Phil (18:15):
So it's really important that we all work together as an
industry to be able to reducethat waste.
And also, when we reduce thewaste, there's more people,
there's more food out there forpeople who are in need and
hungry.
So the next story that I wantto talk about, I think, is
(18:36):
absolutely absurd and, selle, Idon't know if you're gonna agree
with me or not on this, but Ihappen to admire and really like
the food from Chick-fil-A.
I think they do a really greatjob.
If you look at their numbers,they do about double the average
that a McDonald's do, andthey're not 24 hours a day.
(18:57):
They're closed on Sundays.
But they've come up with thislatest PR stunt for lack of a
better word in East Brandon,florida, where they have
Chick-fil-A delivery and they'redelivering by drones.
How stupid is this?
Sally (19:19):
Well, we here in the South I'll tell you, Phil, we
agree, we love our Chick-fil-Ahere in the South and, yeah,
there are a lot of great thingsto celebrate about Chick-fil-A.
One, they have a reputation fortreating their employees really
well.
They hire a lot of young peopleand are very motivating for
(19:40):
young people working with them.
They do a great job with theirdrive-through.
They have people outside atyour car window taking orders
and payment, so you don't haveto individually wait to pull up
to a payment window and then oneto get your food, so they do a
really good job getting peoplethrough that drive-through.
Now, drone delivery I'm not surewe need this.
(20:03):
I mean, it sounds kind of funto see it actually happen and
you can go on their Facebookpage and watch a video of this
drone hovering over a grassyfield and lowering someone's
order with a cable all the waydown.
So it's neat and it's fun, butI'm not sure we need this.
(20:26):
And I feel like Phil.
There are a lot of other thingsthat we as consumers need more
Like.
We need our food to behealthier or fresher.
We need our prices the pricesto be better.
There are things that consumersprobably need more than they do
.
Drone delivery.
Phil (20:48):
So, in all credit, Chick-fil-A has, over the past
probably three or four years,been reformulating, making their
products healthier, getting ridof a lot of preservatives and
additives that were in them.
So good for that.
But I agree with you when itcomes to the drone delivery.
This is absurd and what I seeand the video that I've watched
(21:08):
repeatedly it comes down bycable, as you say, in a field,
but I'm not sure how that reallysolves the problem that you've
got to get to the field insteadof going through the
drive-through.
But also what I see is if I was, if I was a different kind of
person and I saw a Chick-fil-Adelivery coming down on a cable
(21:31):
and I didn't see anybody elsearound, I would run over there
and like take the order, stealthe order.
Or if I was a kid I see thecable coming down I'd run over,
I'd hold on to the cable so thatthe drone pulls me up.
Kathy (21:46):
So you can take a little ride, or I just pull down the
drone.
Phil (21:48):
I don't know, but it's an interesting idea.
We've talked about drones for awhile for delivery, for food
delivery.
I just don't get it.
I never will.
I don't think it's realistic, Ithink it's dangerous.
I think that if, in fact, dronedelivery for food or fast food
(22:08):
becomes pervasive, we're goingto have more problems than
anything else.
So thanks, sally, and toeverybody else, stay tuned,
because Kathy's going to comeback with us right after the
Bullseye.
So on the Bullseye.
Amazon Fresh stores, wassupposedly an innovative concept
(22:28):
from the tech giant Amazon,representing a significant
evolution in retail grocerysector.
The journey of Amazon FreshDoors is remarkable, combining
cutting-edge technology withtraditional retails to redefine
the shopping experience.
But neither Amazon, nor theindustry, nor shoppers have been
(22:50):
bowled over by its success.
Let's take a step backward.
Amazon Fresh began as an onlinegrocery delivery service back
in 2017, initially available inSeattle.
This moved marked Amazon'sentry into the fresh grocery
segment, complementing itsexisting vast range of products.
(23:12):
In 2020, amazon opened itsfirst physical Amazon Fresh
Store here in Los Angeles.
This move was seen as a boldforay into brick-and-mortar
retail, a sector traditionallydominated by established
supermarket chains.
I was there at the store, wroteabout it then and, frankly,
(23:33):
while there were someinteresting and cool features.
Overall, I was underwhelmed andpointed out its flaws at the
time.
Today, the 44 Amazon Freshstores are distinguished by
their integration of advancedtechnologies, notably the Dash
Cart, one that I think has ahuge potential.
It's a smart shopping cardequipped with sensors and a
(23:56):
touchscreen, and allows shoppersto avoid checkout lines.
Now these cards automaticallyscan the items as customers add
them to their cards.
It enables a seamless checkoutprocess and it allows retailers
to get rid of those dreadedself-checkouts.
Then there's the Amazon Gotechnology and the Ask
(24:17):
Alexa-enabled kiosks.
Amazon Fresh has faced a lot ofchallenges the high costs
associated with technologyimplementation and concerns over
data privacy and job securityin the increasingly automated
retail environment.
All these have been points ofdebate.
No one questions theintegration of AI and machine
(24:40):
learning can further streamlineshopping experiences, and Amazon
continuous investment inlogistics and supply chain
efficiency is key to escapingthose.
But Amazon forgot one thing thehuman shopper.
So according to Claire Peters,who's the vice president of
retail and a veteran ofWoolworth's supermarkets in
(25:02):
Australia, Amazon Fresh isgetting back to supermarket
basics.
Better and warmer in-storeaesthetics, more colorful
signage, better lighting, morein-store displays, more prepared
food, more baked goods.
In fact, they've added over3000 SKUs to what he says rounds
(25:23):
out the shopping trips, addingmore snacks and more health and
beauty products.
Of note is that they'redownplaying the Amazon logo,
which, in the Woodland Hillstore here in California that I
first visited, was glaringlyprominent.
In fact, it shouted Amazon,much to the sagram of many
(25:43):
shoppers that I've spoken to.
Amazon stands for efficiency,tech, low prices not necessarily
the winning formula for a foodretailer.
Those stores that have createdan environment that underscores
your relationship between theretailer and the shopper folks
like Wegmans, publix, hivee,rayleigh's, gelsen's, schnook's
(26:06):
I could go on and on those arethe ones that the Amazon Fresh
team need to be visiting andemulating.
Amazon originally projectedthousands of Amazon Fresh stores
across the nation in a decade.
Three years in, it's doubtfulthat they can achieve that goal,
but getting back to basicsupermarket merchandising and
(26:27):
trying to understand the humanshopper needs in an era where
people are seeking arelationship with their local
stores is a good step in theright direction.
So, Sally, any Q&A for us orfor Kathy.
Sally (26:42):
We do have a comment from John Pandol that I wanted to
share about the Food Not Phonesstory.
He says any best practices onwhen and how to enforce the no
phone zone.
A phone check doorman pass thehat and everyone surrenders
their phones.
How about honor system everyoneturn off their phone, as
(27:05):
opposed to physicallysurrendering the phones or a
fine jar if your phone goes off.
Phil (27:12):
So let's bring back Kathy and Kathy, what do you think
about John's suggestions there?
Any to add?
Kathy (27:18):
Yeah, I'm more of the kind of honor system turn the
phones on mute and face down andnot in hands, versus having to
hand them over.
I think that causes sometension for some people, that
they're just uncomfortable nothaving it near them.
(27:38):
So that would be my vote.
Phil (27:42):
So, Sally, what are you guys going to do around your
Thanksgiving table?
Sally (27:48):
Well, I like the phone basket idea.
There's the counter reallyclose by our dining room table,
and I'd like to see a basket upon that counter and when
mealtime starts those phones goin that basket.
Phil (28:04):
And for me I'd like to just smash my phone.
In general, I don't need aThanksgiving or any other time.
So thanks everybody for joiningus.
Kathy, thank you so much fortaking the time sharing the
survey, producing the survey,looking at all the data and
really sharing it with the wholeindustry.
(28:25):
So thank you, thank AcostaGroup for doing it and, to all
of you, happy Thanksgiving andwe'll see you back here next
Tuesday.
Don't forget, have a greatturkey day.
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