Retail News & Headlines
July 16, 2021
Top stories in retail news and the business headlines that interest us today.
In-Store Facial Recognition Technology
“Some of the US’s most popular stores — including Macy’s and Ace Hardware — are using facial recognition on their customers, largely without their knowledge.
Now the digital rights nonprofit Fight for the Future has helped launch a nationwide campaign to document which of the country’s biggest retailers are deploying facial recognition. Launched on Wednesday, the campaign, which has the support of more than 35 human rights groups, aims to draw attention to retail stores using facial-scanning algorithms to boost their profits, intensify security systems, and even track their employees.”
Grocery Store Shrinkflation
Business Insider — Shrinkflation is happening across grocery stores — here are 14 of the most extreme examples, from toilet paper to candy bars
“It’s not just you – some grocery products are getting smaller.
Ingredients and manufacturing are getting more expensive thanks to inflation, and if they can’t cut costs, companies have two main choices – hiking up prices or making their products smaller.
Many of these size changes are subtle, like making candy bars sold in multipacks smaller than ones being sold individually, or changing the shape of their products so you can barely notice the difference in weight.”
U.S. Consumer Sentiment
“A sub-index that measures how consumers feel about the economy right now dipped to 84.5 from 88.6 in June, as consumers worried about the current pace of job gains as the economy recovers from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Consumer optimism about the next six months fell more sharply to 78.4 in July from 83.5 in June, as Americans have increasingly become concerned about the effects of rising prices. The survey showed consumers preparing for a 4.8% increase in the cost of living this year, the highest level since 2008.”
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