Convenience Stores

Publix is joining Costco, Whole Foods and other retailers in providing grocery delivery service through a partnership with Instacart.   Publix announced Wednesday that it would begin its Instacart service in select areas of Miami beginning July 12. Instacart is an e-commerce and delivery service that allows customers to place their grocery orders online and have their items delivered right to their doorsteps. Customers can place orders by visiting www.instacart.com/publix.  

Walgreens Boots Alliance reported climbing sales and profits in a generally successful third quarter of fiscal 2016.  

A computer error caused Starbucks to overcharge some customers and forced the coffee giant to disclose a planned price increase.   In a brief statement released on the retailer’s corporate blog at about 8 p.m. ET Friday, July 1 and updated about 11 a.m. ET Saturday, July 2. Starbucks said a price adjustment was prematurely entered into the POS systems of U.S. company-owned stores. As a result, some customers were overcharged by as much as 30 cents for their beverages.  

From convenient access to reduced heating costs, automatic doors provide retailers with some key benefits.

An average food retail store leaks an estimated 25% of its refrigerant supply per year. The majority of refrigerant leaks, which are caused by a number of factors, occur in racks and cases. For an individual store, this loss can add up to a sizeable annual expense; for a regional or national chain, the costs can be even more substantial. Additionally, associated labor costs and the potential loss of business because of service disruptions when fixing a leak should be factored in.

Joel Alden, partner in the retail practice at A.T. Kearney, said that investments in technology and physical stores mainly fall into two distinct categories: maintenance investments or growth investments.

“For maintenance investments — replacing a degrading building infrastructure, for example — the cost of not making the investment is critically important,” Alden said.

Retailers should do their homework now and make a plan for the future

Today, retailers and end-users face many changes in regard to refrigerants, including technology options and efficiency regulations. In the past, choices were made and remained applicable for a year or more.

When it comes to supporting liquor sales, the Granite State is looking for a rock-solid enterprise foundation.   The New Hampshire Liquor Commission, which operates 79 retail stores across New Hampshire, is turning to the Microsoft Dynamics AX ERP platform. The New Hampshire Executive Council has approved a contract with global Microsoft Dynamics partner AlfaPeople to implement and support the application. The $19 million dollar, 10-year contract was won in competition with multiple solutions and through a multi-year selection process.