Convenience Stores

Walmart taking on Amazon with same-day delivery pilot
Walmart is teaming up with a few third-party partners — including two names very familiar to consumers — to take on its biggest rival in the competitive in the area of online delivery.
Fan Base: Retailers create higher level of engagement with in-store activity hubs
Image credit: Ted Eytan, CC by 2.0 While many retailers are focused on making stores a destination to experience, some aim for an even higher level of customer engagement by casting themselves in the role of community center. Others have even become a global destination for enthusiasts. These retailers understand that one way to energize a fervent fan base is to offer a singular fan base. Here are a few examples:

Discounter continues to expand

Meijer has expanded its store footprint in Michigan, opening a new 192,000-sq.-ft. supercenter in Sturgis.

The new store is the latest of nine new Meijer supercenters to open – and part of an investment of more than $400 million in new and remodeled stores – this year, which will create 3,000 new jobs across the Grand Rapids, Michigan-based retailer's six-state footprint.
JLL: Retail driving construction growth

First, the good news: A strong retail sector is helping to drive 2016 U.S. construction activity, with retail construction projects up 24.4% year-over-year.

That’s according to JLL’s latest report on non-residential U.S. construction activity. On the less positive side, the report noted there is a cloud of economic uncertainty, which has companies laser-focused on lean budgeting and smart spending decisions.
Un-Boxing Retail

Image Courtesy: Christopher Michel, CC by 2.0
Three Retailers Who Threaten Amazon

Amazon.com is starting to appear like the ‘Teflon e-tailer.”
Costco Q3 income tops forecasts

Costco Wholesale Corp. exceeded Wall Street expectations with improved net earnings in the third quarter of fiscal 2016.

Net income for the quarter totaled a better-than-expected $545 million, up 6% from $516 million the prior-year period.

Net sales increased 2% to $26.15 billion, just short of forecasts, and up from $25.52 billion last year.
M&M Food Market, Burlington, Ontario (Canada)

Canadian specialty frozen food retailer M&M Meat Shops has changed its name to M&M Food Market as part of a total brand reinvention that includes a new store experience.

Complete with new shopping carts, color-coded in-store signage, merchandising displays and a kitchen, the new store concept works to create a more effective, convenient and hands-on shopping experience.

Designed by Shikatani Lacroix, the format is now being rolled out across Canada.
The current state of retail market trends in the Midwest

For anyone looking at the current state of retail in the Midwest, one of the most fascinating things to track is how some of the macro trends we see in the marketplace today are the end result of years (sometimes decades) of evolutionary change.
June 2016 Weather Report

Temperatures in the East will be somewhat similar to last year while the West will trend cooler than last year. Rainfall will be greater across the Northwest, meanwhile across the Ohio Valley and interior Northeast, we may begin to see the start of a long-term drying trend.
NRF recognizes top small retail exec

The National Retail Federation (NRF) has named Gary Cammack, owner of Cammack Ranch Supply in Union Center, South Dakota, as the 2016 America’s Retail Champion of the Year.

The award was presented Tuesday, May 24, at NRF’s annual Retail Advocates Summit as small retailers from across the country were honored for their advocacy on behalf of the industry while in Washington, D.C., to meet with members of Congress on a variety of public policy issues.
The retailer with the best customer experience is…

Supermarkets and fast-casual restaurant brands took the top positions in an annual ranking of customer experience. Publix, Chick-fil-A, and H-E-B earned top three positions in Temkin Group’s 2017 Temkin Experience Ratings, a cross-industry benchmark of customer experience. Publix had a score of 84%, closely followed by Chick-fil-A and H-E-B, which both scored 83% in the seventh annual rating.