TECHNOLOGY

Publix comes out on top again
A Florida-based supermarket company tops J.D. Power’s 2016 U.S. Pharmacy Study. Publix Pharmacy, the in-store pharmacy at Publix Super Markets, came out on top in the J.D. Power report, a customer satisfaction benchmark study that provides pharmacy-specific performance comparisons among brick-and-mortar pharmacies.
Neiman Marcus mirror helps shoppers ‘reflect’ on makeup applications
Women have long struggled with how to recreate a look from a department store’s makeup artist. Neiman Marcus is now streamlining the task through its newest interactive mirror.

Coffee giant brings social gifting to China

On the heels of announcing its ambitious expansion strategy, Starbucks is putting another project on its plate.
Kantar Study: Dollar General and Walmart least expensive

It’s a draw. Dollar General and Walmart tied for the least expensive overall basket, at $27 each, in Kantar Retail's Opening Price Point Study, which seeks to determine how select retailers meet the grocery and consumable needs of shoppers looking for the lowest absolute shelf prices.
Ten Brands to Watch in 2017

Brand-building consultant Denise Lee Yohn has released her annual “Brands to Watch” list for 2017. There are 26 companies on the list, with retail and social media brands accounting for 10 of the spots. Here’s a review: Barnes & Noble. The venerable bookstore chain has let its CEO go, lowered sales expectations, and shrunk its footprint by dozens of stores. Meanwhile Amazon Books is opening stores. Is 2017 the year B&N’s death will become imminent?!
Lowe’s looks to evolve with customer

At analyst and investor conference, the retailer says it will expand its home improvement reach. Lowe’s CEO Robert Niblock kicked off his presentation at the chain’s analyst and investor conference with the phrase: “To help people love where they live.”
UPS: High-tech shoppers drive clicks this holiday season

High-tech purchases could account for a major portion of consumer holiday spending this year — and they will be placed by high-tech shoppers. This prediction was made in a report by UPS, “2016 UPS How to Click with High-Tech Online Shoppers.”
The ‘supermarket of the future’ makes its debut — in Italy

Coop Italia, Italy’s largest supermarket chain, is looking to reinvent the customer experience in grocery shopping. In collaboration with Accenture, the retailer has opened a flagship in Milan that merges the physical and digital to recreate the atmosphere of local open-air markets. Billed as the “supermarket of the future,” the store uses innovative digital solutions that provide product information, improve store navigation and engage customers.
PayPal makes cash gift-gifting more personal — and stylish

PayPal tapped noted designer Jonathan Adler to personalize gift cards for the payment company’s person-to-person (P2P) payment service. Consumers who opt to use the service to give money to friends and family, can now choose from six exclusive yet customizable digital holiday and generic gifting cards — a move that personalizes their “gift of money,” and adds a chic touch to an often impersonal gift option.
Report: Retailers making physical stores more mobile

Physical stores aren’t going away — at least not those who are integrating mobile solutions into the store experience to keep up with today’s tech-savvy shoppers. Stores that have digitized their operations through mobility are exceeding customer expectations, according to the “The Future Store Manifesto — 2016 Scorecard,” from Boston Retail Partners, which finds that 78% of retailers plan to use mobile point-of-sale (POS) by 2018.