After a wild pandemic year, supermarket sales are expected to drop
After a pandemic year filled with food stockpiling and toilet paper shortages, Americans are returning to their old shopping habits and slowly embracing restaurant dining—which means supermarkets are bracing for declining sales. According to one analyst who spoke with CNN Business, grocery sales were up by 11 percent in 2020, but are expected to drop by 5 percent this year. Smaller retailers will likely be impacted more greatly, while bigger outlets could be forced to cut staff brought in during mid-Covid hiring sprees. “Smaller, less differentiated retailers remain at a disadvantage compared to retailers with scale and greater buying power,” the analyst told CNN. “They also have fewer resources to invest in their online offerings.”
