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.
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.
Welcome to the Lempert Report LIVE. On today's broadcast, Lots on Walmart removing self-checkouts or not, and in-store acknowledgement for autism. What happened at COP28, we've got the top- line. Instagram is going to the dogs, literally and profitably. On Food not Phones, a national poll on children's health points to the parents and on Lost in the Superm arket. A conversation with Dr Ricky Volpe of Cal Poly on the 2024 prices of food. A fun year-end bullseye on why boys are wearing suits and what that means for us all. A programming note as we enter the holiday season, the Lempert Report LIVE will be on break for the holidays. This will be our last broadcast for 2023 and we'll meet back here on January 9. In the meantime, be sure to check out SupermarketGuru. com as well as our social media channels, as we will continue to post throughout the holidays. Let's get started.
Phil:So, Sally, some weird news. You know, Walmart, it was reported, that they were removing self-checkout in Maine and Massachusetts. Then all of a sudden, this follows up that they removed self-checkout in New Mexico earlier this year. Then it comes out that Walmart is not removing self-checkouts. That came out just yesterday. So we have this controversy going back and forth. But the interesting thing is what Walmart is really trying to do is they're trying to promote their new hosted checkouts. Now what a hosted checkout is? It's self-scan, but they have an associate or a cashier there that can show customers how to use the self-checkout, help them through the checkout process and answer any questions that they might have. So it's really a hybrid that they're looking at. They want to keep self-checkouts, but they're going to put employees there to help shoppers. And this is very strange about this controversy where they're saying no, we're not going to take them, but yet there's reports that they are going to take them out. What do you think? Do you think Walmart just get rid of these self-checkouts, or does the Walmart shopper really want them?
Sally:Good question. A couple of weeks ago we discussed self-checkout, which was a very popular story for us here. We had a lot of people commenting on that when we brought up the story of Booths supermarket chain in the UK and how they are removing them and for the reasons for that. So it is a highly relevant topic right now and on people's minds Now. Walmart did remove some self-checkout machines, to clear up the confusion, in some New Mexico locations this year. I don't know what those specific reasons were for those locations or if they were just trying it out to see how their customers responded.
Sally:But yes, they are calling. They have named their cashiers that 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 different that is from the people that stand at the checkouts in Kroger or Publix or any other grocery store I've been. So what would be interesting to me is to see if they're going to give them this name, which is a very positive name. I do love it. But are they going to go a little bit beyond? You know, go the extra mile, like maybe help bag your groceries, help put your groceries in your cart. You know, we definitely know that there are people that use self-checkout sometimes that have more challenges than others, you know. So are they going to step in and help those people, or are they there to just make sure that we're not shoplifting?
Phil:Exactly, and that's what came into my mind as well, as we're seeing more retailers putting guards by the self-checkout, looking at your cash register receipt. But the other thing that's notable is, in a lot of Walmart's, what they've done is they've made their self-checkouts with a long belt so similar to your traditional checkstand, so that you could pile more things on them. So we'll see what happens with Walmart. I still think that self-checkout is dead. I think we need a next iteration of that technology.
Phil:But one thing I love that Walmart is doing, and they're really following suit on what Kohls in Australia started a number of years ago, where they're having these sensory friendly environments for two hours a day, 8 am to 10 am, in all of its US and Puerto Rico stores.
Phil:It started a couple months ago with the back-to-school season and now it's going to be indefinite for them and basically, what they've done is they've really finally acknowledged the fact that we have a population that has sensory issues, whether it's autism or ADHD, and whether it's customers or even some store employees that are afflicted with this. So Walmart is doing the right thing here to be able to tone it down a bit and, frankly, what I hope happens is the test becomes so not test, but this effort becomes so successful that what we start to see are stores around the nation doing the same thing, and not just for people who are sensitive to sensory barrages, but everybody. I'd like to be able to go into a store where it's quiet and, sure, maybe have Barry Manilow music playing on the loudspeaker. But let's calm it down a little bit, because I go into these stores. You have these people unpacking, you have things on the loudspeaker and this quiet time is really terrific, and we're starting to see this happen in other environments as well.
Sally:Yes, right now we are looking at one in 36 children in the US that are diagnosed with autism, and I'm really glad you brought up ADHD as well, because there are other conditions that people experience and that they present challenges for them when it comes to their senses and sensory overload. This is a wonderful effort by Walmart for diversity and inclusion. They yes, dim the lights, less announcements, creating a better shopping experience for those who are challenged. This is also great for parents of children with autism. They need to go out to the store. They got to take their kids with them, and so you know this makes their trip a little bit easier on them.
Sally:And the shopping hours are from 8 to 10 in the morning, so you know it's not, it hasn't been extended throughout the day, and you know a lot of people think that maybe even people who don't have sensory issues, like you're pointing out, might want to shop in those hours too, because it's calmer. And you know what I bet, phil, is. I bet, when you are calmer and you are feeling more positive and comfortable in a store, that, one, you might choose healthier foods, but, two, you might spend more.
Phil:And you know there is a correlation the time that you spend in the store to how much money you spend. So if we can calm it down, people spend more time in the store, they'll enjoy it more and they'll buy more. And it's not just supermarkets yeah, walt Disney World is doing it. Pittsburgh International Airport has the first century friendly room at a US airport. Also, airports have followed through in Newark, new Jersey, miami and Phoenix. Synergy Entertainment that's a nine theater chain has a children's movie one Saturday morning a month where they reduce the volume. They brighten the lights because they receive guidance that too dark of a space can be frightening to kids. So this is all great. We finally have this awareness. So kudos to Walmart for doing it.
Phil:Cop28. You know we had a lot of discussions about it. Frankly, I want to do a shout out to Erin Fitzgerald, the former CEO of US Farmers and Ranchers in Action. She's the one who really started agriculture going to COP28 a couple years ago. She brought farmers there, she started the dialogue and now this year we had more farmers there than ever before.
Phil:And it's important to note that our food system accounts for around 30% of global green house emissions. From farm to fork to garbage dump. It's a major culprit in biodiversity loss, which is why we need farmers at the table. And you know, davey of the World Resources Institute, who works with COP28, said for the first time there's a broad acknowledgement that the food agenda is aligned with the climate fight across the board. More than two thirds of the world's countries endorsed an agreement to retool the global food system. That's great. Un Food Agency issued a landmark report laying out what it would take to align the global food system with the goal to limit average global temperature rise to manageable levels. United States and the United Arab Emiratis together committed about $17 billion towards ag innovations. So we're seeing some really good things coming out of COP28, but also some controversy that not everybody thinks that it's going to happen. What's going on here?
Sally:Yes. Well, there is much debate and, while there are, it is very positive to hear that food is on the table at COP28 and that it has become a bigger part of the discussion so that's good news and that 154 countries have signed on committing to these goals of reducing our agricultural emissions and trying to reach this next round of climate targets. However, what we're hearing is that there can be a lot of talk but less action, and that we have a need for more governments to step up and to create more finances for these programs. We've also heard about the different challenges in different parts of the world.
Sally:In the US here, food experts are saying 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 hearing agricultural production needs to be increased, or crop diversity needs to be increased, or, in some areas, we need to work on deforestation. So there are several different issues here that can be unique to different regions of the country. So it will be really important to see how the governments of these countries step up and also how the food industry. I was really glad to see that food executives were at COP28 in getting in on the conversation and we are starting to see more corporations come out and make commitments to reducing waste, make commitments to reduce emissions, and hopefully we'll see more of that.
Phil:Absolutely. And back to the controversy. There's things like the global stock take. That provides a guide for countries' new climate plans. It's supposed to be finalized by 2025. But some experts say it ignores the need to cut emissions from food and agriculture. So the conversation is going. That's the good news. But, to your point, we need to have a lot more than just conversation. We need to have commitments, and that's from the smallest food factories here in the US and globally to the largest ones. So hopefully we get them to sign on and hopefully it's a wake up call before it's too late and agriculture really has to make some significant changes just to feed the planet.
Phil:Instagram is going to the dogs. I said that already, but it's interesting that there's a new study by a pet nutrition expert at Pet Lab who's established Instagram's dogs who can earn the most money through simple sponsored posts. Never thought about this. I thought about influencers making tons of money with their posts. Some come under controversy and critique but I never thought that you have all these dogs Dogs plus one, and I'll get to that in a second but here's, and you have a couple dogs, so maybe you can get your dog. You have three dogs, right?
Sally: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 has millions of followers not too long ago doing his little Elvis smile, and so I should have just capitalized on that.
Phil:You should have. I didn't know. Your dog had an Elvis smile. So the number one richest dog on Instagram named Jif Palm. It's a tiny pomeranian puppy who likes to dress up. He may owe some of his fame to Katy Perry, as he actually appeared in her music video for the song Dark Horse. He has, I guess it's a he, had 9.3 million followers and he can make $53,200 per sponsored Instagram post. He's the most successful dog on Instagram. Then there's Doug the Pug. He's the second highest earning dog. He has over half a million followers no, sorry, 3.6 million followers and he earns $26,100 per post. Then there's Juniper. Juniper is not a dog. I'm not sure why Juniper is in this list, but Juniper is number three and Juniper is the happiest fox.
Phil:I actually went to Juniper's website, which is a very slick, very cool website, and she has 2.9 million followers and she makes $22,300 per post. And the list goes on and on and on, and I had no idea what that. This was even a thing. And Christopher Masanto, who's the co-founder of PetLab, commented we love to see dogs all over social media, so we're all for those sharing their pups on Instagram. It's great, with all these huge followings, to see that so many people are on the same page and incredible to see how that converts to earning potential for these amazing pets what I wish they did. And whenever I go on TikTok I always have some pet thing coming up on TikTok. I wish somebody would do this on TikTok to rank them, because some of the ones on TikTok are hilarious. I like those Just in Instagram posts, not so exciting.
Sally:Yes, and there are so many apps out there right now that you can take a video or a picture of your dog and add a voiceover and make your dog's mouth move so that it looks like your dog is saying these things. So there's a lot of creative things. And I also want to point out, Phil, that in the list you were listing the top performing dogs on Instagram. There are some also that are not even still with us, so if you've lost your dog, you mean they're dead?
Phil:They're dead making money. Yes, Sally, I've just got to wonder if this is the beginning of the end of civilization. I just with everything that's going on, the fact that we now have dead dogs making money on Instagram. Oh well, so to a much cheerier topic than dead dogs today, on FoodN otP hones, we're going to talk about a new survey from the University of Michigan Health, the CS Mott Children's Hospital National Poll on Children's Health, and what they found is nearly three and four parents polled report making resolutions or setting personal goals throughout the year, with a quarter of them hitting the reset button as the clock strikes midnight for 2024. It's interesting, and why this is partially important to the Food Not Phones Initiative that continues and continues to grow, is that 25% sorry, more than half wish. These are the parents wish to spend less time on their phone. They feel that if they spend less time on their phone, they're going to become better parents. What do you think?
Sally: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 during the shutdown, as parents working parents with kids at home, going to virtual school and socializing virtually that we kind of had to let some of this go for a little while. But now we're trying to dial that back. We're seeing the consequences of it and we're trying to dial that back and it is good to hear. One of the great things I saw that came out of the study was that families are talking about looking for opportunities for self-reflection, emotional health, connecting with their community and less screen time, less time on their phones. So remember how we've talked about as parents, as adults, if we want our kids to put those phones down, especially at mealtime when we're all gathered around, then we've got to be able to do that too and we've got to set that goal for ourselves and as a parent.
Phil:Absolutely, and just a reminder, go to FoodNotPhones. com not only to see what this initiative is all about, but check out our survey that was done by Acosta with their consumer panel and a lot of surprises there about who is on their phones, and parents certainly are at risk as well. Thanks, Sally. On Lost in the Supermarket. I spoke with Professor Ricky Volpe, Ph. D of Cal Poly, about food prices for 2024 and his forecast on what comes next. For the complete episode, just go to supermarketgurucom. And here's what he had to say. As we enter in just a couple weeks from now 2024, what's your outlook? What are we going to be looking at? You know the headlines continue. Food prices are up. We just saw a report over the past couple of days that it looks like egg prices are gonna go back up because of yet another strain of bird flu. So give us the 101, What are we looking at for 2024 as it relates to food prices?
Ricky:Yeah, I think that's a great place to start. I think I'm optimistic that food price inflation is going to continue to come down, but I have to be very careful and be clear that that does not mean food prices are going to come down, right. Yeah, I mean, probably most of your listeners are aware of this, but food prices in a nominal sense very rarely come down. In fact, we've had that happen once on a national scale, having nominal food prices decrease year over year. We've had that happen once in the last 60 odd years. It happened in 2016 and I don't expect it's gonna happen in 2024.
Ricky:If you look at the current USDA forecasts the food price outlook, which that's the first place I look to when I'm curious to see what's the consensus. Where are things gonna head? Right now, USDA is forecasting the widest range that I have ever seen for food price inflation, going into a calendar year, you know ever. It ranges from significant deflation to very, very high, much higher than average inflation, and I think that represents just a lot of uncertainty with all the moving pieces that are affecting food prices. But I will tell you that most of the metrics that I follow, that I keep an eye on, most of them. There are, of course, exceptions, you mentioned eggs but most of them are moving in the right direction, and by 'right direction' what I mean is returns to historical norms and returns to relative stability. So we're seeing meat prices come down. Most fruit and vegetable prices come down. We're seeing low and stable outlook for most major US egg commodity prices. We're seeing a slow but steady recovery in energy prices, particularly relative to the highs we saw in the middle of last year.
Ricky:A lot of challenges still remain. We can dig into that. There's still a lot of supply chain challenges in terms of distribution and logistics and, of course, there's a global conflict, particularly what's going on in UK and Russia. That's continuing to affect things like grain markets, oils, cooking oils, preservatives, some raw materials. There are definitely challenges. I will tell you right now that I am optimistic for year over year grocery prices coming back down to about that 2.5, 3% level, which means, of course, food prices will be going up again in 2024, but by about half what they're going up this year in 2023.
Phil:On the bulls eye. No one seems to be able to pinpoint exactly when the fashion trend started, but the fashion trend of boys wearing suits, it's upon us. The tradition of young boys wearing suits actually dates back to the late 19th and early 20th centuries. During this period, children's clothing was a direct reflection of adult fashion. It wasn't uncommon to see young boys dressed in miniature versions of their father's suits. This trend was particularly prevalent among the upper classes, where formal attire was a symbol of status and respectability. A notable shift occurred then in the late 19th century, with the introduction of the sailor suit for boys. Inspired by naval uniforms, these suits became immensely popular and were considered both stylish and suitable for everyday wear. The sailor suit, with its nautical flair, marked the beginning of age-appropriate dressing for children, offering more comfort and freedom of movement than the traditional suits did.
Phil:Then the roaring twenties came, and the 1920s brought significant changes to children's fashion. With the growing emphasis on comfort and practicality, the rigid formality of the past began to wane. Boys' suits became simpler and more functional, reflecting the casualization of dress that was sweeping through adult fashion as well. Following World War II, there was a brief resurgence in traditional dressing for boys. The 1950s saw a return to formality, with suits for young boys regaining popularity. This period is marked by a blend of classic styles with new, more comfortable fabrics and relaxed tailoring accommodating the needs of an increasingly active youth. It's fast-track forward and the July 2022 release of Minions, the Rise of Gru became yet another milestone in boys' fashion.
Phil:As teenage boys hit movie theaters in their eighth-grade graduation finest, most of the time wearing dark sunglasses, to make their fashion statement official, their swagger was part businessman, art, secret service man with a dash of self-awareness. According to NPR, on TikTok, the fashion trend under the #Gentle Minions and related hashtags reached over 100 million views. The junior male fashionistas were so impactful that some movie theaters did what I consider a really dumb thing and banned the wearing of fancy suits at their screenings. Right, let's ban kids from dressing up and having fun? No comment. The idea of dressing up became a cult-like phenomenon and, in my opinion, added a bit of class to an age group of pre and teen boys that typically were known for well just being slobs.
Phil:Just last week, according to a column in the Washington Post, two eight-year-olds third-graders in Chelsea, Maine, came to school dressed in suits. James Ramage and Lincoln Bolitho added a bit of panache to Chelsea Elementary School. James asked his parents for a suit for his seventh birthday and started wearing it to school when he was in the first grade and now, with his bud, lincoln, they're the dashing duo who wear suits to school every Wednesday. Teachers, their bus driver and now even other students have all joined in. The school is encouraging students and staff and sent out a notice to encourage everyone to join in on what is now called 'Dapper Wednesday'.
Phil:James and Lincoln report that they're receiving lots of compliments and say that when people say that they look good, it just made my heart feel real good. They said it's a wake-up call for us all as we enter a new year and put the work styles of the past few years behind us. Wouldn't it be great to have all of our hearts feeling good? And if all it takes is brushing off 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:We do. We have a comment from John Pandol 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 is the ticket.
Phil:Well, John, as always, thanks for your insights. Very well said. And, John, to you and your family, thank you for everything that you do for our industry, Yours to a great 2024. And thanks for being one of our strong supporters here at the Lempert Report Live. A reminder we'll be on break for the holidays and this will be our last broadcast for 2023. And we'll meet back here on January 9th.
Sally:Be sure to visit SupermarketGuru. c om for the latest marketing analysis issues and trends, and don't forget to join us back here next Tuesday at 2.30 pm Eastern for more.