To give you a sense of the sheer size of the US consumer packaged goods industry, the number of jobs it supports (22.3 million) is almost three times the population of New York City, while its GDP contribution ($2.5 trillion) is bigger than the total GDP of Canada in 2023.

So says the Consumer Brands Association (CBA), the trade association representing 75 CPG companies from Procter & Gamble to the Coca-Cola Company, last year adding five new members like Kraft Heinz, Kimberly-Clark, and J&J Snack Foods, and so far this year, three new members, including Tyson Foods.

Newly at the helm of the CBA is Melissa Hockstad, leading as president and CEO since January after the departure of David Chavern last year. Hockstad knows her way around a trade group; she was previously president and CEO of the American Cleaning Institute—which has a few overlapping members with the CBA—and her résumé also includes exec roles at the Plastics Industry Association and American Fuel and Petrochemical Manufacturers.

Hockstad told Retail Brew she was eager to join the CBA to tackle the “broader issues impacting the collective CPG industry,” of which there are many, especially as she grabbed the reins just weeks before the start of the second Trump administration and the flurry of changes that have been imposed since.

Keep reading here.—EC

First Best Buy sold plasma TVs. Now it’s selling Facebook ads.

Last week, the electronics retailer announced a tool called Social+ that will let advertisers target Best Buy customers on Facebook and Instagram.

So what? In recent years, retailers have turned their treasure troves of first-party data into billion-dollar advertising businesses. Retail media networks are expected to account for $129 billion in US ad spend by 2028, according to eMarketer.

Best Buy’s retail media offering, Buy Buy Ads, was first rolled out in 2022, joining the likes of Walmart, Amazon, and even Uber.

How does it work? Advertisers will be able to use Best Buy’s first-party data to target its customers using Meta’s automated Advantage+ AI-powered ad tool.

Keep reading here on Marketing Brew.—RB

The big spring sales are finishing up this week, with Amazon’s wrapping today and Walmart’s continuing until Tuesday. The promotional events come as retailers fret over the state of the consumer, including a recent comment from Walmart CEO Doug McMillon that shoppers are feeling “stressed.”

In webinars: Keeping up the conversation is the National Retail Federation with its State of Retail and the Consumer 2025 webinar on Wednesday. The virtual event will feature a number of high-profile executives, including BJ’s CEO Bob Eddy, Walmart US CEO John Furner, and Nordstrom President Pete Nordstrom, who will discuss the health of the US consumer and key industry trends.

Keep reading here.—AV