TrendSource Trending Blog

As we recently discussed in this market research blog, industries are finding difficulty filling low-wage jobs as demand returns to pre-pandemic levels.

As restaurants reopen and capacity limits hopefully become a thing of the past, online reservation platforms like Yelp, Open Table, and Resy are all booming. Diners want a seat at their favorite restaurant and, for the time being, operators are all too happy to outsource this function to third party platforms.

Fast-food chains across the country and around the world are finding that they cannot keep key ingredients and supplies in stock, limiting the availability of certain menu items and hindering operational efficiency. We are talking about basic items here like Frozen French Fries, produce, meats, condiments, and even paper bags and napkins.

We’ve heard the warnings for months: Inflation is coming to grocery, to the housing market, to anything with a price it seems. With Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG) and other grocery items in particular, as the costs of raw materials increase owing to broken supply chains and reduced production capacities, the cost of typical household goods is on the rise.

Lately, listening to coworkers, friends, and family all beginning to get excited about their travel plans has been a highlight of my Zoom meeting schedule. Because we’ve all learned to respect the potential for disruptions, everybody couches their plans with the mandatory level of qualifications—a lot of “hopefully” and “god willing.” But people are starting to get excited.