Walmart

Amid the gloom and doom this week around reduced traffic and a waning perception of its price advantage, Walmart got more potential bad news in the form of strong results from arch rival Target.

July same-store sales at Fred’s declined 0.5% and that’s not a particularly good sign for Walmart, as the company prepares to release its quarterly results on Aug. 16. Fred’s appeals to lower income shoppers at its 672 stores in the Southeastern U.S. where the company has considerable overlap with Walmart.

As residents of San Jose, Calif., my wife Pamela and I have our choice of some of the nation’s leading grocers: Whole Foods, Trader Joe’s, Safeway. These companies set a high standard when it comes to quality and service, so it was with some reluctance, but a sense of adventure, that we gave Walmart To Go a try.

BENTONVILLE, Ark. — Walmart announced that through its Acres for America program it is donating $500,000 to help protect, conserve and restore fragile urban ecosystems in Washington D.C., Chicago, Los Angeles, and New York City. 

APOPKA, Fla. – Winn-Dixie announced the opening of the first of several remodeled stores in Central Florida Wednesday as the company looks to reposition itself as the grocery destination in the area.

The store, located in Errol Plaza, is one of 17 planned store remodels. The company expects to invest approximately $5.5 million per store.

Buying online from Amazon.com is a fantastic experience. Between the broad assortment, product reviews, available shipping options, ease of checkout and simple returns process there is a lot to like. It’s why the company’s sales are on fire, profits are beating analysts’ estimates, and the stock has traded above $200 the past month.

Costco isn’t a retailer that comes to mind for most people when it comes to back-to-school shopping, so it was peculiar to see the company’s name atop a list of the best one-stop shopping destinations.

Nothing against Costco, they sell some awesome stuff, but the company can’t be confused with such true one-stop shopping destinations as Target, Walmart or even office supply stores. Costco topped the list due to a flawed survey conducted by STELLAService, a company that provides customer service ratings for online retailers. 

American consumers may not like inflation, but retailers are enjoying the favorable impact rising prices have on their same-store sales calculations. It was evident last month when retailers reported healthy comp increases and more of the same could be in store for July as it appears retailers are effectively passing through increased prices to shoppers.