Head of User Services
& Business Librarian
Industry Analysis & Statistics
The resources on this page help you to get a broad understanding of the industry. Make sure you use multiple sources to get the most well-rounded view of the industry as possible.
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IbisWorld is a great place to get started with researching the industry
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Simply search for “grocery stores”, “food store," "food retail," "supermarkets,” etc. to find reports to get a broad understanding of the U.S. industry.
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The industry reports in First Research compliment IbisWorld for a general understanding of the industry
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Search for "grocery stores" to find relevant reports that may offer another perspective on the industry.
- First Research
Provides industry profiles on over 600 industry segments. The reports are very easy to read and can help you gather a quick understanding of the industry.
- Passport contains reports for the USA and for international markets and is great for global coverage of the industry
- Suggested reports to search for include:
- Hypermarkets in [insert country]
- Supermarkets in [insert country]
- Traditional grocery retailers in [insert country]
- Food and Drink Internet Retailing in [insert country]
- Passport
Passport offers comprehensive coverage of international consumer markets, consumer lifestyles in other countries, economic statistics, demographic forecasting, and industry reports for most major markets and consumer products, and more.
- Use Statista to find statistics on companies, consumers, or the market size of the industry.
- Search by company name or by industry topic.
Industry Trade Publications and Websites
- Use Business Source Complete to find trade publications, articles and reports about the supermarket and grocery industry.
- Trade publications are especially useful as they give you an insider's look into the industry. Specific trade publications include:
- Chain Store Age News sources for corporate executives at headquarters in all the major segments of retailing: home centers, supermarkets, drug chains, specialty stores, discount, convenience & department stores.
- MMR Reporter for supermarket, drug and discount chains.
- Progressive Grocer Feature articles, instore business, nonfoods business, commentary, legislation, technology, produce and news of note aimed at executives and managers in the retail supermarket business.
These publications and more can be found by searching for articles in Business Source Complete. Limit to "trade publications" to find these publications and others like them.
- Business Source Complete
Provides full text access of more than 3500 journals, trade publications, magazines, company reports, and more, in the disciplines of business, including marketing, management, accounting, banking, finance and more.
Also useful for finding company profiles, industry profiles, and SWOT analysis for companies.
Below are a few trade sites and organizations that provide useful information grocery stores industry. I will add to the list as I discover additional useful links. Note that these links goe to the free websites. We do not subscribe so some reports may be behind a paywall.
- National Grocers AssociationThe National Grocers Association (NGA) is the national trade association representing the retail and wholesale grocers that comprise the independent sector of the food distribution industry.
- Grocery Manufacturers AssociationTrade organization representing the manufacturers of food and beverage products.
- Supermarket NewsSupermarket News is the brand food-retail professionals count on for competitive intelligence, news, and information to make smart business decisions. (Also available via Business Source Complete)
- FMI - Food Marketing InstituteOrganization that advocates on behalf of the food retail industry, which employs nearly 5 million workers and represents a combined annual sales volume of almost $800 billion.
