CPG and Retail Insights to Manage the Impact of COVID-19

The coronavirus/COVID-19 pandemic is having a significant impact on business across the globe, including CPG and retail. IRI is closely tracking developments in our industry using our data sources (point-of-sale, loyalty, panel, e-commerce and social media) to help our clients understand the resulting changes in consumer and shopper behavior across categories, brands, channels and retailers in the areas affected by the virus. Our goal is to help companies successfully manage real-time supply/demand chain issues and determine how to best handle promotions, out-of-stocks, pricing and assortment to meet the changing needs of consumers.

This page is updated regularly with the latest data and insights from IRI. If you have specific questions related to your business, please reach out to your IRI representative or contact IRI@IRIworldwide.com.


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LATEST REPORTS & INSIGHTS

U.S. REPORT

IRI

December 6, 2021

Part 8 – CPG Market Review and 2022 Outlook

U.S. REPORT

IRI

November 18, 2021

Part 7 – Winning Strategies for Reaching SNAP Shoppers

U.S. REPORT

IRI

November 11, 2021

Home Care During a Pandemic

ARCHIVE

CPG and Retail Insights to Manage the Impact of COVID-19

View previous reports and other materials from IRI on the COVID-19 pandemic. If you have specific questions related to your business, please reach out to your IRI representative or contact IRI@IRIworldwide.com.

C-Suite Series    Blogs    Webinars    Podcasts

IRI U.S. REPORTS

IRI is regularly publishing reports to provide an overview on what's happening across key markets and guidance for CPG manufacturers and retailers to support consumers during the crises.

DISCOVERING POCKETS OF DEMAND

INTERNATIONAL REPORTS

Analyses from IRI around the world provides insights into how the pandemic is impacting consumer and shopper behavior across countries, and guidance on how to move forward.

PARTNER REPORTS

Reports brought to you by IRI in partnership with BCG.

ADVERTISING INSIGHTS

IRI's Media Center of Excellence has developed a guide on advertising during a pandemic. It includes an overview of current media buying and consumption trends, overall and category-specific recommendations and how IRI can help advertisers navigate new challenges.

C-SUITE CONVERSATIONS

Fabian Garcia, President, Unilever North America

February 23, 2021
Fabian Garcia, President, Unilever North America shares how his 40 years of business experience and Unilever’s culture of supporting social missions enabled the strategic decisions at the outset of – and throughout – the pandemic.

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Tom McGough, Executive Vice President and Co-Chief Operating Officer, Conagra Brands

January 26, 2021
Tom McGough shares how Conagra Brands’ commitment to collaboration and innovation helped the CPG giant navigate a turbulent 2020 and is also foundational for connecting with shoppers in new, meaningful ways.

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Seth Kaufman, president and CEO of Moët Hennessy, North America

December 11, 2020
During this conversation with IRI, Kaufman talks about new strategies in a virtual world, servant leadership, supply chain, pricing, the importance of data and analytics, and more.

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Scott Howe, CEO, LiveRamp

December 3, 2020
During this conversation with IRI, Scott Howe, CEO, LiveRamp talks about connecting with shoppers in an online world, new restrictions on how we collect and use data, the power of collaboration and more.

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Mark Clouse, President and CEO of Campbell Soup Company

November 10, 2020
IRI talks with Mark Clouse, President and CEO of Campbell Soup Company, about being nimble and adaptive in embracing new technologies and data to keep growth momentum going.

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Stuart Aitken, Chief Merchant and Marketing Officer, The Kroger Co.

September 3, 2020
During this conversation with IRI, Stuart talks about his journey to grocery retail, Kroger’s focus on doing good, and how data and analytics are helping speed progress at the world’s largest supermarket retailer.

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Vivek Sankaran, President and CEO, Albertsons Companies

August 25, 2020
During this conversation with IRI, Vivek talks about the pandemic trends likely to last, using technology to transform CPG retail and why nothing will replace listening to shoppers.

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Ram Krishnan, Global Chief Commercial Officer of PepsiCo

August 17, 2020
During this conversation with IRI, Ram talks about new ways of connecting with consumers, improved go-to-market strategies, and the value of agility in making quick, smart decisions.

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Brian Cornell, CEO of Target

July 16, 2020
There was no pandemic playbook at the outset of COVID-19, so Target Corp. wrote its own. Target Chairman and CEO Brian Cornell speaks with IRI Strategic Analytics President KK Davey.

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BLOGS

Past Recessions Meet Current Health Crisis to Shape New Market

In this guest blog from SPINS, we explore how three lessons from the Great Recession are relevant today, and how consumers’ focus on health will impact the market going forward.

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CPG Consumers Seeing Price Increases and Out-of-Stocks as COVID-19 Launches a Recessionary Period

So much has changed during the past few months since COVID-19 became a public health crisis and has now morphed into a financial pandemic creating havoc in the U.S. and globally.

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When Consumers Want to Stock up and Get Out: Integrated Insights Capture High-Value Shoppers on the Fly

For CPG suppliers and retailers navigating the constant evolution of consumer shopping behaviors during this unprecedented pandemic, the importance of daily data cannot be overstated.

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COVID-19 and Its Impact on CPG and Total Store Sales

Panic buying has somewhat slowed and we are seeing significant changes across much of the store.

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CPG Stockpiling: What to Expect Now and When It’s Over

Past crises provide a look at the short- and long-term effects of stockpiling behavior.

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Four Ways Larger CPGs Can Best Manage a Grocery Stockpiling Event

See recommendations on how to navigate stockpiling challenges during this time

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Five Ways Smaller Brands Can Manage a Stockpiling Event

There are unique recommendations for smaller and lower-penetration brands during this time.

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WEBINARS

Top Trends In Fresh: A Year in Review as We Look to the Future

During this webinar, which is part of the FMI and IRI ongoing "Top Trends in Fresh" series, learn how fresh-food trends have evolved throughout the pandemic, what to expect in the months ahead and how to start seeing food and beverage categories in a way that has never been done.

Watch Replay

COVID-19 and Top Trends in Fresh

During this webinar, part of the FMI and IRI ongoing "Top Trends in Fresh" series, find out what's now happening in fresh, and all across the store, and what you need to know to be ready for future shifts as the virus continues to impact consumers and businesses across the country.

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Growth Leaders and COVID-19

During this session, we will discuss the key trends that drove the 2019 results and how those trends have now evolved due to COVID-19. View this webinar to learn what aspects to harness to help catapult your company into this exclusive group of top performers.

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Capturing CPG and Retail Growth in 2020 and 2021 Amid a COVID-Altered World

IRI and RBC Capital Markets share the scenarios we are most likely to see through the latter half of 2020 and into 2021, and the expected consumer demand by channel, so that CPG brands and retailers can better plan and prepare for the changes that are still ahead.

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Advertising Through a Pandemic

During this webinar, PlaceIQ and IRI provide a combined view on what consumers are doing now, including impacts to their food buying and consumption. We'll discuss how to measure and plan in a market facing new economic challenges.

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Meat and Poultry During the Pandemic

This webinar will provide a robust review of the total meat department performance, including an in-depth look at claims-based meat and regional differences, as well as a look at competition from frozen meat, meat alternatives and seafood.

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Continued Center Store Growth

There's no doubt that COVID-19 has accelerated some of the changes that were already taking place in CPG, from retail's transformation to the adoption of online grocery shopping. But the impact that center store, in particular, is having during this time is creating ripple effects throughout the entire store and with consumers' shopping behaviors and experiences.

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Natural Products During COVID-19

The COVID-19 pandemic continues to reshape consumer demand, product supply and more. While traditional brands got big boosts during the initial stock-up period, the natural products industry continues to outperform as consumers make conscious decisions to focus on the wellness aspects of the products they consume and use for personal and household care.

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Meat During COVID-19

The pandemic has also led to a considerable amount of actionable key learnings about foods across the grocery store, especially within the fresh perimeter. As we go forward into a new reality, what can we learn about the pandemic's impact on fresh foods in the current landscape and the role they will play in the future?

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Produce During COVID-19

The pandemic has also led to a considerable amount of actionable key learnings about foods across the grocery store, especially within the fresh perimeter. As we go forward into a new reality, what can we learn about the pandemic's impact on fresh foods in the current landscape and the role they will play in the future?

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E-commerce During COVID-19

This installment of the "Retail This Week" series by Forrester recaps the latest developments and new insights in how COVID-19 is impacting retail, particularly the grocery industry which has seen the biggest positive impact.

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Solutions for Managing Your Business During Turbulent Times

Built specifically to address clients' questions on how to best navigate the pandemic, IRI's new COVID-19 crisis solutions portfolio provides the fastest answers to the most pressing supply chain, shopping, purchase and consumption behavior, and demand planning questions.

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Key Learnings in Fresh Foods in the Era of COVID-19

The pandemic has also led to a considerable amount of actionable key learnings about foods within the fresh perimeter. As we go forward into a new reality, what can we learn about the pandemic's impact on fresh foods in the current landscape and the role they will play in the future?

Watch Replay

Learning from Past Crises and Countries That Came First: Anticipate Consumer Behavior During and After COVID-19

IRI and Consumer Brands Association will also share insights on anticipated shopper behavior and opportunities for brands to better connect with consumers now and in the future.

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How America Snacks During and Despite COVID-19

During this webinar, we discuss the trends we were seeing in 2019 that are still set to impact 2020 and beyond. We also share a benchmark for pre-COVID-19 snacking behavior, what trends are continuing and what will evolve.

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Lessons From Italy: How Covid-19 Might Continue to Affect the Retail Landscape During Lockdown

Hear insights into how the Italian market and shoppers have responded to COVID-19, including guidance for clients across other markets for the weeks and months to come.

Watch Replay

Consumers Face the Reality of COVID-19

Get a real-time look at what's happening across the industry and how CPG manufacturers and retailers can best support consumers during this time.

Watch Replay

 

PODCASTS

Cooking Confidently

The pandemic propagated a new generation of confident cooks as well as 33 million new at-home meal occasions. Larry Levin, EVP of Market and Shopper Intelligence and Chris DuBois, SVP of the Protein Practice at IRI talk about the value of this new audience, how to continually reach and inspire them, and the behaviors they're likely to maintain post-pandemic.

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Anticipating the 2021 In-store Experience

Technology is helping to ease the pain of on-shelf availability, but don't look for shelves to be fully stocked until the end of 2021, according to guests Danielle Fand, director of analytics and insights and Beth Faught, director of retail from sales and marketing services company CROSSMARK. On the upside, trade promotions will resume and some category gains will remain. Listen to learn about more winners "in-store."

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COVID-19's Impact on Retail Media Networks

Like e-commerce, retail media platforms experienced growth during the pandemic, as more consumers searched and shopped online. Special guest Abishake Subramanian, senior director and head of advertising and partnerships at Sam's Club, joins IRI's Mike Ellgass, executive vice president marketing solutions, to talk about this intersection of marketing and technology and how CPGs can realize a high return on ad spend with targeted, measurable media.

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Measuring Retail KPIs and Performance Post-COVID

Market share was traditionally viewed within retail brick & mortar, but in the post-pandemic world, it's expanded to include omnichannel and even share of stomach. IRI's Kurian Thomas, COO of Retail and Retail Executive John Holtzapfel talk about metrics that can help CPGs and retailers measure their success in 2021 and beyond.

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Strategies for Succeeding in the Age of Permissible Marketing

Scott Howe, CEO, LiveRamp, talks with Nishat Mehta, chief product officer and president of the IRI Media Center of Excellence, about connecting with shoppers in an online world, new restrictions on how we collect and use data, the power of collaboration and more.

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The Love of Pets is Good Business

COVID-19 is having a positive impact on the pet market, including both food and products purchased by pet parents. Hannah Polk, a registered dietitian and associate data product manager at SPINS, shares trends that are emerging in the natural channel.

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Kroger's Blueprint for Caring

This session features Stuart Aitken, chief merchant and marketing officer, The Kroger Company. Here, Stuart speaks with Andrew Appel, president and chief executive officer, IRI, about his journey globally and to grocery retail, and how keeping the well-being of both Kroger associates and customers.

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Foot Traffic on the Road to Recovery

The degree of mobility varies market to market throughout the U.S. Holly Carlson, IRI's Media Center of Excellence and Diane Perlman, chief marketing officer of Blis, a location-based data and analytics firm, and a partner of IRI's, describe the connection between consumer sentiment and their actual behavior, and how brands are connecting with shoppers wherever they are.

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Recipes: A Peek into the Pandemic

Learn how the recipes consumers search are a spring board to insights and offer meaningful ways of connecting with shoppers. Guests Holly Carlson of IRI and Yuni Sameshima of Chicory.

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The Big Game - Private Brands vs. National Brands at CPG Retail

Kurian Thomas, IRI's chief operating offer of retail, finds that current recession and health crisis is upending what we'd expect to see from store brands. This episode provides insight into pandemic behavior and what we can anticipate from private brands in the months to come.

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The Future of Brands

CPG brands have been gaining new buyers as most of the food dollar has remained in the home during the COVID-19 pandemic. IRI's Jennifer Pelino, EVP Omni Channel Media and Nishat Mehta, president of IRI Media, explain why advertising and innovating during the current crisis is critical to the future success of brands.

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Sustainability in the CPG Industry

Did COVID-19 pantry stockpiling undo the good of doing good? Research conducted by NYU's Stern Center for Sustainable Business and IRI finds that sustainably marketed products have grown share during the pandemic.

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COVID-19's Impact on CPG Retail Transformation

Stay-at-home directives and outright fear of COVID-19 will have a lasting impact on CPG retail. Learn about the changes occurring in both how and where consumers shop. Guests include IRI's Sally Lyons Wyatt, EVP and Practice Leader, and Kurian Thomas, Retail COO, North America.

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Charting a Healthy Course in Center Store

Learn about the health and wellness opportunities grounded in center store with IRI's Sally Lyons Wyatt, Executive Vice President and Practice Leader, and Label Insight's Thea Bourianne, Senior Solutions Consultant and Registered Dietitian.

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COVID-19 Through the Consumer Lens

Consumer sentiment toward COVID-19, both health and economic perspectives, has changed significantly in the past few months. Join Larry Levin, EVP for IRI's Market and Shopper Intelligence Center of Excellence, to hear how consumers are feeling and what it means for CPG and retail.

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How Brands Can Win in Economic Upheaval

Consumers are forming new buying patterns similar to those made in past crises. IRI's Jennifer Pelino, SVP Omni Channel Media is back to talk about five considerations brands can be making for the COVID-19 Economy: Tiered Offerings; Stay Top of Mind; Develop a Private Label Mitigation Strategy; Drive Personalization at Scale; and Innovate to Prepare for the Future.

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America is Cooking and Meat Sales are Up

Move over toilet paper, meat is the new darling of the grocery store. Join Chris Dubois, SVP of the Protein Practice at IRI to learn about what's trending in meat, a level set on reported shortages, and some inspiration on what to cook for dinner.

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Reimagining Service Retail Post-COVID-19

Join Jonna Parker, Principal of IRI's Fresh Center of Excellence and special guest Anne-Marie Roerink President of food retailing research company 210 Analytics for visionary insights into grocery delis and bakeries of the future.

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Dairy in a Stay-at-Home World

Dairy sales are up considerably as consumers continue to adhere to stay-at-home directives during the COVID-19 pandemic. Is it an even win across the dairy case? Will is last? John Crawford, VP of Client Insights-Dairy at IRI has the answers.

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Abundantly Cautious About Measurement During a Pandemic

We're back with Jennifer Pelino, Senior Vice President of Omni Channel Media at IRI to talk through advertisers' measurement concerns and how important artificial intelligence and machine learning are, right now.

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How Italians Are Spending Their Time During COVID-19 Lockdown

From an explosion in WhatsApp usage to DIY projects, learn how Italians are spending their time in lockdown from Vice President of Analytics and Shopper Behavior Insights at IRI, Livio Martucci from his home office in Milan.

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Advertising Lessons from Past Crises

This podcast delves into key advertising learnings from the 1990's Oil Price Shock, SARS, in 2002-2003 and the recent recession from 2008. We talk about the Flanker Strategy and the importance of marketing agility during these unprecedented times.

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CPG Retail Lessons from Italy

Italy is just weeks ahead of the U.S. in its exposure and adjustments to COVID-19. Join IRI Italy's VP of Analytics and Shopper Behavior Insights Livio Martucci to learn what consuming and shopping behaviors are likely to last and gain a glimpse of the new normal.

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Fresh Perspectives: COVID-19 Impact on Fresh

Because of COVID-19, the approach consumers are taking to fresh foods is changing dramatically, including how they decide what to buy and how they're making purchases. Join the IRI Fresh Perspectives team of Sally Lyons Wyatt and Jonna Parker to learn more.

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COVID-19's Impact on CPG and Retail

IRI has been publishing weekly COVID-19 Thought Leadership reports and also recently hosted a webinar with FMI: Consumers Face the Reality of COVID-19: Observations and Implications for CPG and Retail. IRI Growth Insights host Joan Driggs was recently invited to participate in Joe Tarnowski's ECRM podcast, based on IRI's COVID-19 Thought Leadership.

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How to Advertise During a Pandemic

Unprecedented times call for changes to marketing and optimization. It's critical for CPG manufacturers to show their support and what they stand for to consumers in order to win their loyalty. IRI's Senior Vice President of Omni Channel Media, Jennifer Pelino gives an update on the state of the industry and tips on how to advertise during a pandemic.

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Understanding CPG and Retail Supply Chain in a COVID-19 World

Just about every shopper has an out-of-stock story to share, and the upheaval of COVID-19 still hasn't run its course. Join IRI's Theresa Scheingraber and Scott Love, Principals, Retail Client Solutions to learn the supply chain realities and opportunities presented by the pandemic – now, as the virus recedes, and what life will look like as we emerge from COVID-19.

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COVID-19's Impact on CPG Retail

Hear IRI's KK Davey, President, Strategic Analytics, discuss this fast-moving pandemic including what we can learn from other hard-hit areas, lessons from past recessions, shifting shopper behaviors and how retailers are responding.

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