The Kroger Co., Cincinnati, (NYSE:KR) and Lindsay Goldberg, a New York-based private investment firm, formed PearlRock Partners, a new platform that will identify, invest in and help grow the next generation of leading consumer product brands.

Coresight Research, New York, estimates just 2.2% of U.S. food and beverage retail sales were online in 2018, with this number rising to around 2.7% in 2019.

While traditional retail chain brick-and-mortar stores have struggled, the U.S. convenience store industry is thriving, experiencing 16 straight years of record in-store sales reaching $242 billion in 2018, according to a new study released by GasBuddy, Boston, Mass.

Buying local had the highest awareness among U.S. consumers, topping the charts at 46%, according to a study produced by Nielsen, Chicago.

The new report, published by CBRE, Los Angeles, makes several predictions about the near-term outlook for the U.S. restaurant and grocery industries and potential implications for retail real estate.

It is essential for retailers to understand the shopping preferences of their target audience to design the right shopping experience that appeals to their customers, according to the “2019 Consumer Shopping Habits – The Generation Gap” report, produced by BRP Consulting, Boston.

With the U.S. multicultural population projected to grow by 98 million people in the coming decades, Acosta, Jacksonville, Fla., expects multicultural shoppers will continue to have significant influence on the grocery shopping experience.

Periscope By McKinsey, New York, announced the findings of a survey conducted of 2,624 consumers in France, Germany, UK and the United States.

Online grocery shopping use varies widely across different consumer segments, according to the “2019 U.S. Supermarket Digital & Social Engagement Study,” presented by the Retail Feedback Group (RFG), Lake Success, N.Y.

Shoppers expect businesses to demonstrate corporate social responsibility by taking stances on pertinent social issues. Some issues, however, are more divisive than others, according to a study by Clutch, Washington, D.C.