Costco Wholesale Corp.

Fast growing e-commerce firm Instacart is now delivering groceries to a 17th major U.S. metropolitan area.

Beginning this week, customers can order from Whole Foods Market, Costco (no membership needed), Marsh Supermarkets, Georgetown Market and Petco stores and have everything delivered by Instacart in as little as one hour.

Issaquah, Wash. — A consumer lawsuit reportedly accuses Costco of knowingly purchasing shrimp from Thai providers that use slave labor and then misleading the public about the practice. According to the Puget Sound Business Journal, a California woman filed the suit in San Francisco federal court.

Pittsburgh -- Consumers love their smartphones, but retailers shouldn’t count out the “old tech” yet in terms of customer appeal. And merchants will have to put some effort into getting consumers to accept some of the new high-tech bells and whistles.

New York -- As Costco Wholesale inches closer to opening its first location in France, the retailer may not find the country such an easy target by any measure, reported the Seattle Times.

In France, Costco will find itself on the doorstep of hypermarket giants Carrefour, Auchan and Casino, which run huge stores selling a dizzying assortment of food and other products, according to the report.

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Lost jobs, ugly architecture, picky consumers and stiff competition are among the reasons why Costco may have a tough time achieving success in France, according to a Seattle Times report.

The newspaper says the Washington-based retailer is building its first warehouse in France and envisions opening as many as 15 stores in that nation over the next 10 years. But whether Costco will succeed in attracting the French consumer is an important question.

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Things really aren't as bad as they seemed a few weeks ago for Costco, which just reported a sizable increase in same store sales for July.

New York -- American Express Co and Costco Wholesale Corp. are at it again.

A lawsuit has been filed accusing American Express of misleading investors about the loss of its contract with Costco after having failed to reveal how significant that business had become to the credit-card company, Reuters reported.

New York -- The big spenders are at Costco.

People spent 149% more at Costco than at other retailers, according to mobile-location firm Placed, which linked store spending to tracked locations. Best Buy BJs, Sam's Club and Ikea also ranked high, Advertising Age reported.