Michael Rathburn

Every year, back-to-school is treated like a seasonal event. Retailers build displays of backpacks, lunch boxes and school supplies while grocery stores feature lunchbox snacks, breakfast staples and quick dinner solutions. Those promotions certainly drive trips, but after years of studying grocery baskets, I’ve come to believe we’ve been looking at back-to-school through the wrong lens. The school supplies may bring shoppers into the store, but they don’t explain how families actually prepare for the weeks ahead.

MLB Betting Expert Michael Rathburn digs into a trio of games, including the red-hot Red Sox hosting the White Sox at Fenway Park on Tuesday night.

When I was growing up, one of my favorite television game shows was Name That Tune. Contestants challenged each other by claiming they could identify a song after hearing only a few notes. The game rewarded people who recognized patterns faster than everyone else. I never imagined I’d end up playing a version of that game decades later in the grocery industry.

MLB Betting Expert Michael Rathburn is back with a trio of picks for Tuesday, with a heavy focus on the AL. He likes the pitching in the Red Sox-Blue Jays tilt.

Only a grocery nerd would walk into his neighborhood Publix, notice that mustard had moved to the end of Aisle 3 and immediately start wondering why. But that’s exactly what happened to me recently. The longer I walked the store, the more interesting it became. Candy had moved. Water had moved. Soda had moved. Chips had moved. This wasn’t a typical category reset. Entire aisles appeared to have been reconsidered.

MLB Betting Michael Rathburn does a deep dive into Friday's schedule, offering up value picks, including the Arizona Diamondbacks in a big NL series opener.

How a one-day flash sale turned an email into a lunch-hour store visit – and built a much bigger basket.

For decades, the grocery trip started in pretty much the same place: somewhere near the refrigerator. There was usually a piece of paper held up by a magnet. Run out of milk, add milk. Use the last of the bread, add bread. By week’s end, you grabbed the list, collected your coupons and headed to the store.

MLB Betting Expert Michael Rathburn is back with three picks for Friday's busy slate of games, including a play in the Astros-Mets interleague series opener.

Take soda out of the SNAP basket and what happens? The obvious answer is that soda sales go down. And based on the early data, they do.