Convenience Stores

By Rick Parker, [email protected]

“Is there a better job out there?”

This is a question that hourly employees within retail industry are asking themselves more frequently, often leading them to say “I quit,” to their current employer.

Consider trends from the government’s latest Job Openings and Labor Turnover survey (JOLTs):

Target may be investing in expanding its offering of fresh food under its PFresh remodeling initiative, but it has a long way to go before it is considered a top grocery destination, at least according to a survey from Market Force Information.

Blue Bell, Pa. -- PDS, a developer of human resource, benefits, recruiting, and payroll systems, announced that convenience store operator Wawa has gone live with PDS’ Vista HRMS 4.1 application. The chain has been a customer of PDS since 1987.

HOFFMAN ESTATES, Ill. — Customers who wish to pay their bills in person can now do so at Kmart through the retailers new CheckFreePay walk-in bill payment service from Fiserv. The program is available at all Kmart stores nationwide and accepts bill payment from more than 3,000 companies—everything from electric, gas and cable bills to credit card statements and auto loans.

Hoffman Estates, Ill. -- Kmart announced it is launching an in-store bill pay program that will allow customers to pay bills from more than 3,000 companies—everything from electric, gas and cable bills to credit card statements and auto loans.

The program is being offered through the CheckFreePay walk-in bill payment service from Fiserv (FISV). Customers seeking an easy and convenient way to pay bills in person can now visit any Kmart store nationwide.

New York -- 7-Eleven Inc. said that it plans to add 630 new stores in the United States and Canada by yearend. In 2011, the chain added some 600 locations, with the stores either built, acquired or transitioned from another business to the 7-Eleven banner

Dallas -- Family Express has improved its inventory management operations significantly by deploying Retalix Ltd.’s demand-driven replenishment solution across its convenience stores in Northwestern Indiana, Retalix said.

Toronto — That trip to the local restaurant is off the menu for consumers today, as are furnishings and electronics, Empathica reported on Thursday, citing its latest Consumer Insights Panel survey of more than 6,500 U.S. consumers. One-out-of-3 shoppers surveyed reported that the economy is still very much top of mind for them. But "need" items — gas, pharmacy and grocery — are not seeing declines in purchase intent compared to findings from this time the previous year, the report noted.