Kickstart: The e-shopping surge isn't ending anytime soon

A new report from Mesirow Investment Banking says changes to shopping habits from the COVID-19 pandemic will be here to stay.

While packaging suppliers were hit by staffing shortages and other issues related to the pandemic, the growth trend outstripped expectations, writes Mesirow Managing Director John Chrysikopoulos.

"Rising demand for products in many categories drove innovations that increased variety, ease of use, and safety for consumers," Chrysikopoulos wrote. "Think, for example, of single-use packages in smaller sizes protected by seals and labels that assure product safety."

The surge in e-commerce, which picked up as people preferred to shop from home, shows no sign of letting up, he wrote. Home shopping made up 13.3 percent of all retail sales in the second quarter of 2021.

Meanwhile, certain retail sectors — and the packaging used to supply those products — are forecast to grow even more.

Over-the-counter medical sales are expected to climb by 44 percent with packaging related to those products also rising. Personal care products, groceries and household supplies also will top growth rates of at least 38 percent.

You can find the full report here, and watch for Frank Esposito's report on trends in mergers and acquisitions, including packaging, later this month in Plastics News.

Manufacturers have come to rely on automation to help get work done with fewer people. So you should understand the value of investing in robots when you can't get enough waitstaff to cover the tables at your restaurant.

Servi is a foodservice robot developed by California's Bear Robotics, made using Covestro's Makroblend polycarbonate and PET to stand up to tough use in kitchens and on dining floors while also allowing sensors and lidar to clearly "see" any obstacles as it navigates between tables.

Bear Robotics says the robot has been used to bus tables at restaurants, and an Idaho retirement home has a Servi taking food to tables from the kitchen.

Covestro is featuring Servi at its booth at CES 2022 in Las Vegas this week.

Another link in the food production chain — the farm — also is turning to autonomous operations.

Deere & Co. unveiled a fully autonomous tractor on Jan. 4 at CES that can be controlled by farmers' mobile phones to plant seeds, spray chemicals or harvest crops. A person must still take the tractor to the field, but once there it can be set to work on its own.

While CES is operating in a hybrid mode this year — with several companies opting for virtual rather than in-person attendance — companies within the toy industry already are asking if they should attend Toy Fair New York, set for Feb. 19-22, in person.

Isaac Larian, CEO of toy industry giant MGA Entertainment, announced on LinkedIn that the company will only participate virtually.

"Due to rampant COVID spike, we are reluctantly pulling out of NYTF one more time," he wrote. "The risks aren't worth it."

In addition to brands such as L.O.L. Surprise and Bratz dolls, MGA owns rotomolder Little Tikes.

MGA is scheduling virtual appointments with salespeople now, Larian said.

"Be safe and be healthy please," Larian wrote. "Most important."

Toy Fair organizers The Toy Association confirmed Dec. 22 that the event will take place at New York's Javits Center as planned, although anyone attending must be fully vaccinated.