Shoppers, particularly younger ones, believe it's important for retailers to have a physical store, and they expect that store to make a good first impression.

As the U.S. economy continues to improve, consumer confidence has been on the rise, which would typically indicate growth for consumer packaged goods manufacturers as well. However, according to a new Hot Topic Report from Acosta, a sales and marketing agency in the CPG industry, unit sales are flat across most categories, and trade promotions continue to decline as a key factor in driving incremental volume. This decline leads to more unprofitable sales for manufacturers. Despite this, CPG manufacturers continue to allocate an average of 15 percent to 20 percent of gross sales to trade promotion.

Walmart has launched its first campaign to fight hunger and aims to provide 75 million meals through food banks.

In its quest to slake the world's thirst, Coca-Cola is intent on making milk a billion-dollar brand. But not just any kind of milk. Coke has joined forces with a dairy cooperative to create Fairlife, which produces a filtered, high-protein, low-sugar, lactose-free designer milk also called Fairlife.