December 19, 2023 • 28 mins
Prepare to have your curiosity piqued as we unravel Walmart's self-checkout conundrum and discover their innovative solution to streamline your shopping experience. We're not just talking about technology; we're also casting a light on Walmart's commendable initiative to offer a comfortable environment for shoppers with autism and sensory concerns. It's a discussion that merges the future of retail tech with social responsibility, all wrapped up in our final show of the year before we take a brief respite.
Switch gears with us to the urgent topic of food's impact on the climate, fresh from the COP28 outcomes. We lay bare the promises and the pressing need for real action in reducing emissions from agriculture. But it's not all serious talk; we're also diving into the whimsical side of social media with the surprisingly lucrative world of pet influencers. Plus on #FoodNotPhones, the movement that's inspiring families to forge stronger bonds away from the digital distraction at dinner time.
Join us as we forecast the trajectory of food prices into 2024 with Dr. Ricky Volpe Ph.D, sharing a glimmer of hope amidst economic uncertainty. We're also looking back at the #GentleMinions trend that swept through the nation and current boys' fashion signaling a stylish comeback in youth culture. It's a heartwarming note to end on as we thank our devoted listeners and set our sights on returning January 9 with more engaging content.
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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 broadcast, Lots onWalmart removing self-checkouts
or not, and in-storeacknowledgement for autism.
What happened at COP28, we'vegot the top- line.
Instagram is going to the dogs,literally and profitably.
(00:25):
On Food not Phones, a nationalpoll on children's health points
to the parents and on Lost inthe Superm arket.
A conversation with Dr RickyVolpe of Cal Poly on the 2024
prices of food.
A fun year-end bullseye on whyboys are wearing suits and what
(00:46):
that means for us all.
A programming note as we enterthe holiday season, the Lempert
Report LIVE will be on break forthe holidays.
This will be our last broadcastfor 2023 and we'll meet back
here on January 9.
In the meantime, be sure tocheck out SupermarketGuru.
com as well as our social mediachannels, as we will continue to
(01:10):
post throughout the holidays.
Let's get started.
So, Sally, some weird news.
You know, Walmart, it wasreported, that they were
removing self-checkout in Maineand Massachusetts.
Then all of a sudden, thisfollows up that they removed
self-checkout in New Mexicoearlier this year.
(01:31):
Then it comes out that Walmartis not removing self-checkouts.
That came out just yesterday.
So we have this controversygoing back and forth.
But the interesting thing iswhat Walmart is really trying to
do is they're trying to promotetheir new hosted checkouts.
(01:53):
Now what a hosted checkout is?
It's self-scan, but they havean associate or a cashier there
that can show customers how touse the self-checkout, help them
through the checkout processand answer any questions that
they might have.
So it's really a hybrid thatthey're looking at.
(02:13):
They want to keepself-checkouts, but they're
going to put employees there tohelp shoppers.
And this is very strange aboutthis controversy where they're
saying no, we're not going totake them, but yet there's
reports that they are going totake them out.
What do you think?
Do you think Walmart just getrid of these self-checkouts, or
(02:35):
does the Walmart shopper reallywant them?
Sally (02:39):
Good question.
A couple of weeks ago wediscussed self-checkout, which
was a very popular story for ushere.
We had a lot of peoplecommenting on that when we
brought up the story of Boothssupermarket chain in the UK and
how they are removing them andfor the reasons for that.
So it is a highly relevanttopic right now and on people's
(03:00):
minds Now.
Walmart did remove someself-checkout machines, to clear
up the confusion, in some NewMexico locations this year.
I don't know what thosespecific reasons were for those
locations or if they were justtrying it out to see how their
customers responded.
But yes, they are calling.
(03:20):
They have named their cashiersthat work now at the
self-checkout stands.
You said it for me it's'self-checkout hosts' and this
is a great name for them.
I'm not sure how much differentthat is from the people that
(03:40):
stand at the checkouts in Krogeror Publix or any other grocery
store I've been.
So what would be interesting tome is to see if they're going
to give them this name, which isa very positive name.
I do love it.
But are they going to go alittle bit beyond?
You know, go the extra mile,like maybe help bag your
(04:01):
groceries, help put yourgroceries in your cart.
You know, we definitely knowthat there are people that use
self-checkout sometimes thathave more challenges than others
, you know.
So are they going to step inand help those people, or are
they there to just make surethat we're not shoplifting?
Phil (04:19):
Exactly, and that's what came into my mind as well, as
we're seeing more retailersputting guards by the
self-checkout, looking at yourcash register receipt.
But the other thing that'snotable is, in a lot of
Walmart's, what they've done isthey've made their
self-checkouts with a long beltso similar to your traditional
(04:41):
checkstand, so that you couldpile more things on them.
So we'll see what happens withWalmart.
I still think thatself-checkout is dead.
I think we need a nextiteration of that technology.
But one thing I love thatWalmart is doing, and they're
really following suit on whatKohls in Australia started a
(05:02):
number of years ago, wherethey're having these sensory
friendly environments for twohours a day, 8 am to 10 am, in
all of its US and Puerto Ricostores.
It started a couple months agowith the back-to-school season
and now it's going to beindefinite for them and
(05:23):
basically, what they've done isthey've really finally
acknowledged the fact that wehave a population that has
sensory issues, whether it'sautism or ADHD, and whether it's
customers or even some storeemployees that are afflicted
(05:46):
with this.
So Walmart is doing the rightthing here to be able to tone it
down a bit and, frankly, what Ihope happens is the test
becomes so not test, but thiseffort becomes so successful
that what we start to see arestores around the nation doing
(06:07):
the same thing, and not just forpeople who are sensitive to
sensory barrages, but everybody.
I'd like to be able to go intoa store where it's quiet and,
sure, maybe have Barry Manilowmusic playing on the loudspeaker
.
But let's calm it down a littlebit, because I go into these
(06:29):
stores.
You have these people unpacking, you have things on the
loudspeaker and this quiet timeis really terrific, and we're
starting to see this happen inother environments as well.
Sally (06:44):
Yes, right now we are looking at one in 36 children in
the US that are diagnosed withautism, and I'm really glad you
brought up ADHD as well, becausethere are other conditions that
people experience and that theypresent challenges for them
when it comes to their sensesand sensory overload.
This is a wonderful effort byWalmart for diversity and
(07:09):
inclusion.
They yes, dim the lights, lessannouncements, creating a better
shopping experience for thosewho are challenged.
This is also great for parentsof children with autism.
They need to go out to thestore.
They got to take their kidswith them, and so you know this
makes their trip a little biteasier on them.
(07:31):
And the shopping hours are from8 to 10 in the morning, so you
know it's not, it hasn't beenextended throughout the day, and
you know a lot of people thinkthat maybe even people who don't
have sensory issues, likeyou're pointing out, might want
to shop in those hours too,because it's calmer.
And you know what I bet, phil,is.
(07:52):
I bet, when you are calmer andyou are feeling more positive
and comfortable in a store, that, one, you might choose
healthier foods, but, two, youmight spend more.
Phil (08:06):
And you know there is a correlation the time that you
spend in the store to how muchmoney you spend.
So if we can calm it down,people spend more time in the
store, they'll enjoy it more andthey'll buy more.
And it's not just supermarketsyeah, walt Disney World is doing
it.
Pittsburgh InternationalAirport has the first century
friendly room at a US airport.
(08:27):
Also, airports have followedthrough in Newark, new Jersey,
miami and Phoenix.
Synergy Entertainment that's anine theater chain has a
children's movie one Saturdaymorning a month where they
reduce the volume.
They brighten the lightsbecause they receive guidance
that too dark of a space can befrightening to kids.
(08:50):
So this is all great.
We finally have this awareness.
So kudos to Walmart for doingit.
Cop28.
You know we had a lot ofdiscussions about it.
Frankly, I want to do a shoutout to Erin Fitzgerald, the
former CEO of US Farmers andRanchers in Action.
(09:10):
She's the one who reallystarted agriculture going to
COP28 a couple years ago.
She brought farmers there, shestarted the dialogue and now
this year we had more farmersthere than ever before.
And it's important to note thatour food system accounts for
around 30% of global green houseemissions.
(09:33):
From farm to fork to garbagedump.
It's a major culprit inbiodiversity loss, which is why
we need farmers at the table.
And you know, davey of theWorld Resources Institute, who
works with COP28, said for thefirst time there's a broad
acknowledgement that the foodagenda is aligned with the
(09:56):
climate fight across the board.
More than two thirds of theworld's countries endorsed an
agreement to retool the globalfood system.
That's great.
Un Food Agency issued alandmark report laying out what
it would take to align theglobal food system with the goal
to limit average globaltemperature rise to manageable
(10:17):
levels.
United States and the UnitedArab Emiratis together committed
about $17 billion towards aginnovations.
So we're seeing some reallygood things coming out of COP28,
but also some controversy thatnot everybody thinks that it's
going to happen.
What's going on here?
Sally (10:40):
Yes.
Well, there is much debate and,while there are, it is very
positive to hear that food is onthe table at COP28 and that it
has become a bigger part of thediscussion so that's good news
and that 154 countries havesigned on committing to these
goals of reducing ouragricultural emissions and
(11:03):
trying to reach this next roundof climate targets.
However, what we're hearing isthat there can be a lot of talk
but less action, and that wehave a need for more governments
to step up and to create morefinances for these programs.
(11:24):
We've also heard about thedifferent challenges in
different parts of the world.
In the US here, food experts aresaying that we need to learn
how to eat less meat and dairy.
That's our way of tackling this, but then in other parts of the
world, we're hearingagricultural production needs to
(11:44):
be increased, or crop diversityneeds to be increased, or, in
some areas, we need to work ondeforestation.
So there are several differentissues here that can be unique
to different regions of thecountry.
So it will be really importantto see how the governments of
these countries step up and alsohow the food industry.
(12:06):
I was really glad to see thatfood executives were at COP28 in
getting in on the conversationand we are starting to see more
corporations come out and makecommitments to reducing waste,
make commitments to reduceemissions, and hopefully we'll
see more of that.
Phil (12:24):
Absolutely.
And back to the controversy.
There's things like the globalstock take.
That provides a guide forcountries' new climate plans.
It's supposed to be finalizedby 2025.
But some experts say it ignoresthe need to cut emissions from
food and agriculture.
So the conversation is going.
(12:45):
That's the good news.
But, to your point, we need tohave a lot more than just
conversation.
We need to have commitments,and that's from the smallest
food factories here in the USand globally to the largest ones
.
So hopefully we get them tosign on and hopefully it's a
wake up call before it's toolate and agriculture really has
(13:06):
to make some significant changesjust to feed the planet.
Instagram is going to the dogs.
I said that already, but it'sinteresting that there's a new
study by a pet nutrition expertat Pet Lab who's established
Instagram's dogs who can earnthe most money through simple
(13:28):
sponsored posts.
Never thought about this.
I thought about influencersmaking tons of money with their
posts.
Some come under controversy andcritique but I never thought
that you have all these dogsDogs plus one, and I'll get to
that in a second but here's, andyou have a couple dogs, so
(13:54):
maybe you can get your dog.
You have three dogs, right?
Sally (13:58):
I have three dogs, and I got to tell you.
I wish I knew about this,because one of my dogs was on an
Instagram account that hasmillions of followers not too
long ago doing his little Elvissmile, and so I should have just
capitalized on that.
Phil (14:13):
You should have.
I didn't know.
Your dog had an Elvis smile.
So the number one richest dogon Instagram named Jif Palm.
It's a tiny pomeranian puppywho likes to dress up.
He may owe some of his fame toKaty Perry, as he actually
(14:33):
appeared in her music video forthe song Dark Horse.
He has, I guess it's a he, had9.3 million followers and he can
make $53,200 per sponsoredInstagram post.
He's the most successful dog onInstagram.
Then there's Doug the Pug.
(14:55):
He's the second highest earningdog.
He has over half a millionfollowers no, sorry, 3.6 million
followers and he earns $26,100per post.
Then there's Juniper.
Juniper is not a dog.
(15:15):
I'm not sure why Juniper is inthis list, but Juniper is number
three and Juniper is thehappiest fox.
I actually went to Juniper'swebsite, which is a very slick,
very cool website, and she has2.9 million followers and she
(15:36):
makes $22,300 per post.
And the list goes on and on andon, and I had no idea what that
.
This was even a thing.
And Christopher Masanto, who'sthe co-founder of PetLab,
commented we love to see dogsall over social media, so we're
(15:57):
all for those sharing their pupson Instagram.
It's great, with all these hugefollowings, to see that so many
people are on the same page andincredible to see how that
converts to earning potentialfor these amazing pets what I
wish they did.
And whenever I go on TikTok Ialways have some pet thing
(16:17):
coming up on TikTok.
I wish somebody would do thison TikTok to rank them, because
some of the ones on TikTok arehilarious.
I like those Just in Instagramposts, not so exciting.
Sally (16:32):
Yes, and there are so many apps out there right now
that you can take a video or apicture of your dog and add a
voiceover and make your dog'smouth move so that it looks like
your dog is saying these things.
So there's a lot of creativethings.
And I also want to point out,Phil, that in the list you were
(16:53):
listing the top performing dogson Instagram.
There are some also that arenot even still with us, so if
you've lost your dog, you meanthey're dead?
Phil (17:03):
They're dead making money.
Yes, Sally, I've just got towonder if this is the beginning
of the end of civilization.
I just with everything that'sgoing on, the fact that we now
have dead dogs making money onInstagram.
Oh well, so to a much cheeriertopic than dead dogs today, on
(17:26):
FoodN otP hones, we're going totalk about a new survey from the
University of Michigan Health,the CS Mott Children's Hospital
National Poll on Children'sHealth, and what they found is
nearly three and four parentspolled report making resolutions
or setting personal goalsthroughout the year, with a
(17:47):
quarter of them hitting thereset button as the clock
strikes midnight for 2024.
It's interesting, and why thisis partially important to the
Food Not Phones Initiative thatcontinues and continues to grow,
is that 25% sorry, more thanhalf wish.
(18:10):
These are the parents wish tospend less time on their phone.
They feel that if they spendless time on their phone,
they're going to become betterparents.
What do you think?
Sally (18:22):
I'm really glad to see this research out and, as a
parent, one who has had children, young children, through the
shutdown, and seeing that duringthe shutdown, as parents
working parents with kids athome, going to virtual school
and socializing virtually thatwe kind of had to let some of
(18:45):
this go for a little while.
But now we're trying to dialthat back.
We're seeing the consequencesof it and we're trying to dial
that back and it is good to hear.
One of the great things I sawthat came out of the study was
that families are talking aboutlooking for opportunities for
self-reflection, emotionalhealth, connecting with their
(19:07):
community and less screen time,less time on their phones.
So remember how we've talkedabout as parents, as adults, if
we want our kids to put thosephones down, especially at
mealtime when we're all gatheredaround, then we've got to be
able to do that too and we'vegot to set that goal for
ourselves and as a parent.
Phil (19:29):
Absolutely, and just a reminder, go to FoodNotPhones.
com not only to see what thisinitiative is all about, but
check out our survey that wasdone by Acosta with their
consumer panel and a lot ofsurprises there about who is on
their phones, and parentscertainly are at risk as well.
(19:49):
Thanks, Sally.
On Lost in the Supermarket.
I spoke with Professor RickyVolpe, Ph.
D of Cal Poly, about food pricesfor 2024 and his forecast on
what comes next.
For the complete episode, justgo to supermarketgurucom.
And here's what he had to say.
As we enter in just a coupleweeks from now 2024, what's your
(20:17):
outlook?
What are we going to be lookingat?
You know the headlines continue.
Food prices are up.
We just saw a report over thepast couple of days that it
looks like egg prices are gonnago back up because of yet
another strain of bird flu.
So give us the 101, What are welooking at for 2024 as it
(20:38):
relates to food prices?
Ricky (20:41):
Yeah, I think that's a great place to start.
I think I'm optimistic thatfood price inflation is going to
continue to come down, but Ihave to be very careful and be
clear that that does not meanfood prices are going to come
down, right.
Yeah, I mean, probably most ofyour listeners are aware of this
, but food prices in a nominalsense very rarely come down.
(21:04):
In fact, we've had that happenonce on a national scale, having
nominal food prices decreaseyear over year.
We've had that happen once inthe last 60 odd years.
It happened in 2016 and I don'texpect it's gonna happen in
2024.
If you look at the current USDAforecasts the food price outlook
, which that's the first place Ilook to when I'm curious to see
(21:26):
what's the consensus.
Where are things gonna head?
Right now, USDA is forecastingthe widest range that I have
ever seen for food priceinflation, going into a calendar
year, you know ever.
It ranges from significantdeflation to very, very high,
much higher than averageinflation, and I think that
represents just a lot ofuncertainty with all the moving
(21:47):
pieces that are affecting foodprices.
But I will tell you that mostof the metrics that I follow,
that I keep an eye on, most ofthem.
There are, of course,exceptions, you mentioned eggs
but most of them are moving inthe right direction, and by
'right direction' what I mean isreturns to historical norms and
returns to relative stability.
(22:07):
So we're seeing meat pricescome down.
Most fruit and vegetable pricescome down.
We're seeing low and stableoutlook for most major US egg
commodity prices.
We're seeing a slow but steadyrecovery in energy prices,
particularly relative to thehighs we saw in the middle of
last year.
(22:27):
A lot of challenges still remain.
We can dig into that.
There's still a lot of supplychain challenges in terms of
distribution and logistics and,of course, there's a global
conflict, particularly what'sgoing on in UK and Russia.
That's continuing to affectthings like grain markets, oils,
cooking oils, preservatives,some raw materials.
There are definitely challenges.
I will tell you right now thatI am optimistic for year over
(22:51):
year grocery prices coming backdown to about that 2.5, 3% level
, which means, of course, foodprices will be going up again in
2024, but by about half whatthey're going up this year in
2023.
Phil (23:09):
On the bulls eye.
No one seems to be able topinpoint exactly when the
fashion trend started, but thefashion trend of boys wearing
suits, it's upon us.
The tradition of young boyswearing suits actually dates
back to the late 19th and early20th centuries.
During this period, children'sclothing was a direct reflection
(23:31):
of adult fashion.
It wasn't uncommon to see youngboys dressed in miniature
versions of their father's suits.
This trend was particularlyprevalent among the upper
classes, where formal attire wasa symbol of status and
respectability.
A notable shift occurred thenin the late 19th century, with
(23:53):
the introduction of the sailorsuit for boys.
Inspired by naval uniforms,these suits became immensely
popular and were considered bothstylish and suitable for
everyday wear.
The sailor suit, with itsnautical flair, marked the
beginning of age-appropriatedressing for children, offering
(24:14):
more comfort and freedom ofmovement than the traditional
suits did.
Then the roaring twenties came,and the 1920s brought
significant changes tochildren's fashion.
With the growing emphasis oncomfort and practicality, the
rigid formality of the pastbegan to wane.
Boys' suits became simpler andmore functional, reflecting the
(24:38):
casualization of dress that wassweeping through adult fashion
as well.
Following World War II, therewas a brief resurgence in
traditional dressing for boys.
The 1950s saw a return toformality, with suits for young
boys regaining popularity.
This period is marked by ablend of classic styles with new
(25:02):
, more comfortable fabrics andrelaxed tailoring accommodating
the needs of an increasinglyactive youth.
It's fast-track forward and theJuly 2022 release of Minions,
the Rise of Gru became yetanother milestone in boys'
fashion.
As teenage boys hit movietheaters in their eighth-grade
(25:25):
graduation finest, most of thetime wearing dark sunglasses, to
make their fashion statementofficial, their swagger was part
businessman, art, secretservice man with a dash of
self-awareness.
According to NPR, on TikTok,the fashion trend under the
(25:45):
#Gentle Minions and relatedhashtags reached over 100
million views.
The junior male fashionistaswere so impactful that some
movie theaters did what Iconsider a really dumb thing and
banned the wearing of fancysuits at their screenings.
Right, let's ban kids fromdressing up and having fun?
(26:07):
No comment.
The idea of dressing up becamea cult-like phenomenon and, in
my opinion, added a bit of classto an age group of pre and teen
boys that typically were knownfor well just being slobs.
Just last week, according to acolumn in the Washington Post,
(26:27):
two eight-year-oldsthird-graders in Chelsea, Maine,
came to school dressed in suits.
James Ramage and LincolnBolitho added a bit of panache
to Chelsea Elementary School.
James asked his parents for asuit for his seventh birthday
and started wearing it to schoolwhen he was in the first grade
(26:51):
and now, with his bud, lincoln,they're the dashing duo who wear
suits to school every Wednesday.
Teachers, their bus driver andnow even other students have all
joined in.
The school is encouragingstudents and staff and sent out
a notice to encourage everyoneto join in on what is now called
(27:11):
'Dapper Wednesday'.
James and Lincoln report thatthey're receiving lots of
compliments and say that whenpeople say that they look good,
it just made my heart feel realgood.
They said it's a wake-up callfor us all as we enter a new
year and put the work styles ofthe past few years behind us.
(27:32):
Wouldn't it be great to haveall of our hearts feeling good?
And if all it takes is brushingoff that student's eye, hey,
it's kind of easy.
So, Sally, let's check the Q&A.
Do we have any comments today?
Sally (27:48):
We do.
We have a comment from JohnPandol and he says, with a hot
excuse me.
He says "a minute in the store,a dollar in the drawer, yep,
calm and peaceful shopping isthe ticket.
Phil (28:02):
Well, John, as always, thanks for your insights.
Very well said.
And, John, to you and yourfamily, thank you for everything
that you do for our industry,Yours to a great 2024.
And thanks for being one of ourstrong supporters here at the
Lempert Report Live.
A reminder we'll be on breakfor the holidays and this will
(28:24):
be our last broadcast for 2023.
And we'll meet back here onJanuary 9th.
Sally (28:30):
Be sure to visit SupermarketGuru.
c om for the latest marketinganalysis issues and trends, and
don't forget to join us backhere next Tuesday at 2.30 pm
Eastern for more.
Welcome to the Lempert Report LIVE.
On today's broadcast, Lots onWalmart removing self-checkouts
or not, and in-storeacknowledgement for autism.
What happened at COP28, we'vegot the top- line.
Instagram is going to the dogs,literally and profitably.
(00:25):
On Food not Phones, a nationalpoll on children's health points
to the parents and on Lost inthe Superm arket.
A conversation with Dr RickyVolpe of Cal Poly on the 2024
prices of food.
A fun year-end bullseye on whyboys are wearing suits and what
(00:46):
that means for us all.
A programming note as we enterthe holiday season, the Lempert
Report LIVE will be on break forthe holidays.
This will be our last broadcastfor 2023 and we'll meet back
here on January 9.
In the meantime, be sure tocheck out SupermarketGuru.
com as well as our social mediachannels, as we will continue to
(01:10):
post throughout the holidays.
Let's get started.
So, Sally, some weird news.
You know, Walmart, it wasreported, that they were
removing self-checkout in Maineand Massachusetts.
Then all of a sudden, thisfollows up that they removed
self-checkout in New Mexicoearlier this year.
(01:31):
Then it comes out that Walmartis not removing self-checkouts.
That came out just yesterday.
So we have this controversygoing back and forth.
But the interesting thing iswhat Walmart is really trying to
do is they're trying to promotetheir new hosted checkouts.
(01:53):
Now what a hosted checkout is?
It's self-scan, but they havean associate or a cashier there
that can show customers how touse the self-checkout, help them
through the checkout processand answer any questions that
they might have.
So it's really a hybrid thatthey're looking at.
(02:13):
They want to keepself-checkouts, but they're
going to put employees there tohelp shoppers.
And this is very strange aboutthis controversy where they're
saying no, we're not going totake them, but yet there's
reports that they are going totake them out.
What do you think?
Do you think Walmart just getrid of these self-checkouts, or
(02:35):
does the Walmart shopper reallywant them?
Sally (02:39):
Good question.
A couple of weeks ago wediscussed self-checkout, which
was a very popular story for ushere.
We had a lot of peoplecommenting on that when we
brought up the story of Boothssupermarket chain in the UK and
how they are removing them andfor the reasons for that.
So it is a highly relevanttopic right now and on people's
(03:00):
minds Now.
Walmart did remove someself-checkout machines, to clear
up the confusion, in some NewMexico locations this year.
I don't know what thosespecific reasons were for those
locations or if they were justtrying it out to see how their
customers responded.
But yes, they are calling.
(03:20):
They have named their cashiersthat work now at the
self-checkout stands.
You said it for me it's'self-checkout hosts' and this
is a great name for them.
I'm not sure how much differentthat is from the people that
(03:40):
stand at the checkouts in Krogeror Publix or any other grocery
store I've been.
So what would be interesting tome is to see if they're going
to give them this name, which isa very positive name.
I do love it.
But are they going to go alittle bit beyond?
You know, go the extra mile,like maybe help bag your
(04:01):
groceries, help put yourgroceries in your cart.
You know, we definitely knowthat there are people that use
self-checkout sometimes thathave more challenges than others
, you know.
So are they going to step inand help those people, or are
they there to just make surethat we're not shoplifting?
Phil (04:19):
Exactly, and that's what came into my mind as well, as
we're seeing more retailersputting guards by the
self-checkout, looking at yourcash register receipt.
But the other thing that'snotable is, in a lot of
Walmart's, what they've done isthey've made their
self-checkouts with a long beltso similar to your traditional
(04:41):
checkstand, so that you couldpile more things on them.
So we'll see what happens withWalmart.
I still think thatself-checkout is dead.
I think we need a nextiteration of that technology.
But one thing I love thatWalmart is doing, and they're
really following suit on whatKohls in Australia started a
(05:02):
number of years ago, wherethey're having these sensory
friendly environments for twohours a day, 8 am to 10 am, in
all of its US and Puerto Ricostores.
It started a couple months agowith the back-to-school season
and now it's going to beindefinite for them and
(05:23):
basically, what they've done isthey've really finally
acknowledged the fact that wehave a population that has
sensory issues, whether it'sautism or ADHD, and whether it's
customers or even some storeemployees that are afflicted
(05:46):
with this.
So Walmart is doing the rightthing here to be able to tone it
down a bit and, frankly, what Ihope happens is the test
becomes so not test, but thiseffort becomes so successful
that what we start to see arestores around the nation doing
(06:07):
the same thing, and not just forpeople who are sensitive to
sensory barrages, but everybody.
I'd like to be able to go intoa store where it's quiet and,
sure, maybe have Barry Manilowmusic playing on the loudspeaker
.
But let's calm it down a littlebit, because I go into these
(06:29):
stores.
You have these people unpacking, you have things on the
loudspeaker and this quiet timeis really terrific, and we're
starting to see this happen inother environments as well.
Sally (06:44):
Yes, right now we are looking at one in 36 children in
the US that are diagnosed withautism, and I'm really glad you
brought up ADHD as well, becausethere are other conditions that
people experience and that theypresent challenges for them
when it comes to their sensesand sensory overload.
This is a wonderful effort byWalmart for diversity and
(07:09):
inclusion.
They yes, dim the lights, lessannouncements, creating a better
shopping experience for thosewho are challenged.
This is also great for parentsof children with autism.
They need to go out to thestore.
They got to take their kidswith them, and so you know this
makes their trip a little biteasier on them.
(07:31):
And the shopping hours are from8 to 10 in the morning, so you
know it's not, it hasn't beenextended throughout the day, and
you know a lot of people thinkthat maybe even people who don't
have sensory issues, likeyou're pointing out, might want
to shop in those hours too,because it's calmer.
And you know what I bet, phil,is.
(07:52):
I bet, when you are calmer andyou are feeling more positive
and comfortable in a store, that, one, you might choose
healthier foods, but, two, youmight spend more.
Phil (08:06):
And you know there is a correlation the time that you
spend in the store to how muchmoney you spend.
So if we can calm it down,people spend more time in the
store, they'll enjoy it more andthey'll buy more.
And it's not just supermarketsyeah, walt Disney World is doing
it.
Pittsburgh InternationalAirport has the first century
friendly room at a US airport.
(08:27):
Also, airports have followedthrough in Newark, new Jersey,
miami and Phoenix.
Synergy Entertainment that's anine theater chain has a
children's movie one Saturdaymorning a month where they
reduce the volume.
They brighten the lightsbecause they receive guidance
that too dark of a space can befrightening to kids.
(08:50):
So this is all great.
We finally have this awareness.
So kudos to Walmart for doingit.
Cop28.
You know we had a lot ofdiscussions about it.
Frankly, I want to do a shoutout to Erin Fitzgerald, the
former CEO of US Farmers andRanchers in Action.
(09:10):
She's the one who reallystarted agriculture going to
COP28 a couple years ago.
She brought farmers there, shestarted the dialogue and now
this year we had more farmersthere than ever before.
And it's important to note thatour food system accounts for
around 30% of global green houseemissions.
(09:33):
From farm to fork to garbagedump.
It's a major culprit inbiodiversity loss, which is why
we need farmers at the table.
And you know, davey of theWorld Resources Institute, who
works with COP28, said for thefirst time there's a broad
acknowledgement that the foodagenda is aligned with the
(09:56):
climate fight across the board.
More than two thirds of theworld's countries endorsed an
agreement to retool the globalfood system.
That's great.
Un Food Agency issued alandmark report laying out what
it would take to align theglobal food system with the goal
to limit average globaltemperature rise to manageable
(10:17):
levels.
United States and the UnitedArab Emiratis together committed
about $17 billion towards aginnovations.
So we're seeing some reallygood things coming out of COP28,
but also some controversy thatnot everybody thinks that it's
going to happen.
What's going on here?
Sally (10:40):
Yes.
Well, there is much debate and,while there are, it is very
positive to hear that food is onthe table at COP28 and that it
has become a bigger part of thediscussion so that's good news
and that 154 countries havesigned on committing to these
goals of reducing ouragricultural emissions and
(11:03):
trying to reach this next roundof climate targets.
However, what we're hearing isthat there can be a lot of talk
but less action, and that wehave a need for more governments
to step up and to create morefinances for these programs.
(11:24):
We've also heard about thedifferent challenges in
different parts of the world.
In the US here, food experts aresaying that we need to learn
how to eat less meat and dairy.
That's our way of tackling this, but then in other parts of the
world, we're hearingagricultural production needs to
(11:44):
be increased, or crop diversityneeds to be increased, or, in
some areas, we need to work ondeforestation.
So there are several differentissues here that can be unique
to different regions of thecountry.
So it will be really importantto see how the governments of
these countries step up and alsohow the food industry.
(12:06):
I was really glad to see thatfood executives were at COP28 in
getting in on the conversationand we are starting to see more
corporations come out and makecommitments to reducing waste,
make commitments to reduceemissions, and hopefully we'll
see more of that.
Phil (12:24):
Absolutely.
And back to the controversy.
There's things like the globalstock take.
That provides a guide forcountries' new climate plans.
It's supposed to be finalizedby 2025.
But some experts say it ignoresthe need to cut emissions from
food and agriculture.
So the conversation is going.
(12:45):
That's the good news.
But, to your point, we need tohave a lot more than just
conversation.
We need to have commitments,and that's from the smallest
food factories here in the USand globally to the largest ones
.
So hopefully we get them tosign on and hopefully it's a
wake up call before it's toolate and agriculture really has
(13:06):
to make some significant changesjust to feed the planet.
Instagram is going to the dogs.
I said that already, but it'sinteresting that there's a new
study by a pet nutrition expertat Pet Lab who's established
Instagram's dogs who can earnthe most money through simple
(13:28):
sponsored posts.
Never thought about this.
I thought about influencersmaking tons of money with their
posts.
Some come under controversy andcritique but I never thought
that you have all these dogsDogs plus one, and I'll get to
that in a second but here's, andyou have a couple dogs, so
(13:54):
maybe you can get your dog.
You have three dogs, right?
Sally (13:58):
I have three dogs, and I got to tell you.
I wish I knew about this,because one of my dogs was on an
Instagram account that hasmillions of followers not too
long ago doing his little Elvissmile, and so I should have just
capitalized on that.
Phil (14:13):
You should have.
I didn't know.
Your dog had an Elvis smile.
So the number one richest dogon Instagram named Jif Palm.
It's a tiny pomeranian puppywho likes to dress up.
He may owe some of his fame toKaty Perry, as he actually
(14:33):
appeared in her music video forthe song Dark Horse.
He has, I guess it's a he, had9.3 million followers and he can
make $53,200 per sponsoredInstagram post.
He's the most successful dog onInstagram.
Then there's Doug the Pug.
(14:55):
He's the second highest earningdog.
He has over half a millionfollowers no, sorry, 3.6 million
followers and he earns $26,100per post.
Then there's Juniper.
Juniper is not a dog.
(15:15):
I'm not sure why Juniper is inthis list, but Juniper is number
three and Juniper is thehappiest fox.
I actually went to Juniper'swebsite, which is a very slick,
very cool website, and she has2.9 million followers and she
(15:36):
makes $22,300 per post.
And the list goes on and on andon, and I had no idea what that
.
This was even a thing.
And Christopher Masanto, who'sthe co-founder of PetLab,
commented we love to see dogsall over social media, so we're
(15:57):
all for those sharing their pupson Instagram.
It's great, with all these hugefollowings, to see that so many
people are on the same page andincredible to see how that
converts to earning potentialfor these amazing pets what I
wish they did.
And whenever I go on TikTok Ialways have some pet thing
(16:17):
coming up on TikTok.
I wish somebody would do thison TikTok to rank them, because
some of the ones on TikTok arehilarious.
I like those Just in Instagramposts, not so exciting.
Sally (16:32):
Yes, and there are so many apps out there right now
that you can take a video or apicture of your dog and add a
voiceover and make your dog'smouth move so that it looks like
your dog is saying these things.
So there's a lot of creativethings.
And I also want to point out,Phil, that in the list you were
(16:53):
listing the top performing dogson Instagram.
There are some also that arenot even still with us, so if
you've lost your dog, you meanthey're dead?
Phil (17:03):
They're dead making money.
Yes, Sally, I've just got towonder if this is the beginning
of the end of civilization.
I just with everything that'sgoing on, the fact that we now
have dead dogs making money onInstagram.
Oh well, so to a much cheeriertopic than dead dogs today, on
(17:26):
FoodN otP hones, we're going totalk about a new survey from the
University of Michigan Health,the CS Mott Children's Hospital
National Poll on Children'sHealth, and what they found is
nearly three and four parentspolled report making resolutions
or setting personal goalsthroughout the year, with a
(17:47):
quarter of them hitting thereset button as the clock
strikes midnight for 2024.
It's interesting, and why thisis partially important to the
Food Not Phones Initiative thatcontinues and continues to grow,
is that 25% sorry, more thanhalf wish.
(18:10):
These are the parents wish tospend less time on their phone.
They feel that if they spendless time on their phone,
they're going to become betterparents.
What do you think?
Sally (18:22):
I'm really glad to see this research out and, as a
parent, one who has had children, young children, through the
shutdown, and seeing that duringthe shutdown, as parents
working parents with kids athome, going to virtual school
and socializing virtually thatwe kind of had to let some of
(18:45):
this go for a little while.
But now we're trying to dialthat back.
We're seeing the consequencesof it and we're trying to dial
that back and it is good to hear.
One of the great things I sawthat came out of the study was
that families are talking aboutlooking for opportunities for
self-reflection, emotionalhealth, connecting with their
(19:07):
community and less screen time,less time on their phones.
So remember how we've talkedabout as parents, as adults, if
we want our kids to put thosephones down, especially at
mealtime when we're all gatheredaround, then we've got to be
able to do that too and we'vegot to set that goal for
ourselves and as a parent.
Phil (19:29):
Absolutely, and just a reminder, go to FoodNotPhones.
com not only to see what thisinitiative is all about, but
check out our survey that wasdone by Acosta with their
consumer panel and a lot ofsurprises there about who is on
their phones, and parentscertainly are at risk as well.
(19:49):
Thanks, Sally.
On Lost in the Supermarket.
I spoke with Professor RickyVolpe, Ph.
D of Cal Poly, about food pricesfor 2024 and his forecast on
what comes next.
For the complete episode, justgo to supermarketgurucom.
And here's what he had to say.
As we enter in just a coupleweeks from now 2024, what's your
(20:17):
outlook?
What are we going to be lookingat?
You know the headlines continue.
Food prices are up.
We just saw a report over thepast couple of days that it
looks like egg prices are gonnago back up because of yet
another strain of bird flu.
So give us the 101, What are welooking at for 2024 as it
(20:38):
relates to food prices?
Ricky (20:41):
Yeah, I think that's a great place to start.
I think I'm optimistic thatfood price inflation is going to
continue to come down, but Ihave to be very careful and be
clear that that does not meanfood prices are going to come
down, right.
Yeah, I mean, probably most ofyour listeners are aware of this
, but food prices in a nominalsense very rarely come down.
(21:04):
In fact, we've had that happenonce on a national scale, having
nominal food prices decreaseyear over year.
We've had that happen once inthe last 60 odd years.
It happened in 2016 and I don'texpect it's gonna happen in
2024.
If you look at the current USDAforecasts the food price outlook
, which that's the first place Ilook to when I'm curious to see
(21:26):
what's the consensus.
Where are things gonna head?
Right now, USDA is forecastingthe widest range that I have
ever seen for food priceinflation, going into a calendar
year, you know ever.
It ranges from significantdeflation to very, very high,
much higher than averageinflation, and I think that
represents just a lot ofuncertainty with all the moving
(21:47):
pieces that are affecting foodprices.
But I will tell you that mostof the metrics that I follow,
that I keep an eye on, most ofthem.
There are, of course,exceptions, you mentioned eggs
but most of them are moving inthe right direction, and by
'right direction' what I mean isreturns to historical norms and
returns to relative stability.
(22:07):
So we're seeing meat pricescome down.
Most fruit and vegetable pricescome down.
We're seeing low and stableoutlook for most major US egg
commodity prices.
We're seeing a slow but steadyrecovery in energy prices,
particularly relative to thehighs we saw in the middle of
last year.
(22:27):
A lot of challenges still remain.
We can dig into that.
There's still a lot of supplychain challenges in terms of
distribution and logistics and,of course, there's a global
conflict, particularly what'sgoing on in UK and Russia.
That's continuing to affectthings like grain markets, oils,
cooking oils, preservatives,some raw materials.
There are definitely challenges.
I will tell you right now thatI am optimistic for year over
(22:51):
year grocery prices coming backdown to about that 2.5, 3% level
, which means, of course, foodprices will be going up again in
2024, but by about half whatthey're going up this year in
2023.
Phil (23:09):
On the bulls eye.
No one seems to be able topinpoint exactly when the
fashion trend started, but thefashion trend of boys wearing
suits, it's upon us.
The tradition of young boyswearing suits actually dates
back to the late 19th and early20th centuries.
During this period, children'sclothing was a direct reflection
(23:31):
of adult fashion.
It wasn't uncommon to see youngboys dressed in miniature
versions of their father's suits.
This trend was particularlyprevalent among the upper
classes, where formal attire wasa symbol of status and
respectability.
A notable shift occurred thenin the late 19th century, with
(23:53):
the introduction of the sailorsuit for boys.
Inspired by naval uniforms,these suits became immensely
popular and were considered bothstylish and suitable for
everyday wear.
The sailor suit, with itsnautical flair, marked the
beginning of age-appropriatedressing for children, offering
(24:14):
more comfort and freedom ofmovement than the traditional
suits did.
Then the roaring twenties came,and the 1920s brought
significant changes tochildren's fashion.
With the growing emphasis oncomfort and practicality, the
rigid formality of the pastbegan to wane.
Boys' suits became simpler andmore functional, reflecting the
(24:38):
casualization of dress that wassweeping through adult fashion
as well.
Following World War II, therewas a brief resurgence in
traditional dressing for boys.
The 1950s saw a return toformality, with suits for young
boys regaining popularity.
This period is marked by ablend of classic styles with new
(25:02):
, more comfortable fabrics andrelaxed tailoring accommodating
the needs of an increasinglyactive youth.
It's fast-track forward and theJuly 2022 release of Minions,
the Rise of Gru became yetanother milestone in boys'
fashion.
As teenage boys hit movietheaters in their eighth-grade
(25:25):
graduation finest, most of thetime wearing dark sunglasses, to
make their fashion statementofficial, their swagger was part
businessman, art, secretservice man with a dash of
self-awareness.
According to NPR, on TikTok,the fashion trend under the
(25:45):
#Gentle Minions and relatedhashtags reached over 100
million views.
The junior male fashionistaswere so impactful that some
movie theaters did what Iconsider a really dumb thing and
banned the wearing of fancysuits at their screenings.
Right, let's ban kids fromdressing up and having fun?
(26:07):
No comment.
The idea of dressing up becamea cult-like phenomenon and, in
my opinion, added a bit of classto an age group of pre and teen
boys that typically were knownfor well just being slobs.
Just last week, according to acolumn in the Washington Post,
(26:27):
two eight-year-oldsthird-graders in Chelsea, Maine,
came to school dressed in suits.
James Ramage and LincolnBolitho added a bit of panache
to Chelsea Elementary School.
James asked his parents for asuit for his seventh birthday
and started wearing it to schoolwhen he was in the first grade
(26:51):
and now, with his bud, lincoln,they're the dashing duo who wear
suits to school every Wednesday.
Teachers, their bus driver andnow even other students have all
joined in.
The school is encouragingstudents and staff and sent out
a notice to encourage everyoneto join in on what is now called
(27:11):
'Dapper Wednesday'.
James and Lincoln report thatthey're receiving lots of
compliments and say that whenpeople say that they look good,
it just made my heart feel realgood.
They said it's a wake-up callfor us all as we enter a new
year and put the work styles ofthe past few years behind us.
(27:32):
Wouldn't it be great to haveall of our hearts feeling good?
And if all it takes is brushingoff that student's eye, hey,
it's kind of easy.
So, Sally, let's check the Q&A.
Do we have any comments today?
Sally (27:48):
We do.
We have a comment from JohnPandol and he says, with a hot
excuse me.
He says "a minute in the store,a dollar in the drawer, yep,
calm and peaceful shopping isthe ticket.
Phil (28:02):
Well, John, as always, thanks for your insights.
Very well said.
And, John, to you and yourfamily, thank you for everything
that you do for our industry,Yours to a great 2024.
And thanks for being one of ourstrong supporters here at the
Lempert Report Live.
A reminder we'll be on breakfor the holidays and this will
(28:24):
be our last broadcast for 2023.
And we'll meet back here onJanuary 9th.
Sally (28:30):
Be sure to visit SupermarketGuru.
c om for the latest marketinganalysis issues and trends, and
don't forget to join us backhere next Tuesday at 2.30 pm
Eastern for more.
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