Supermarket/Grocery

Supermarket chain taps AI to improve automated replenishment
Time-starved shoppers expect their favorite grocers to have the staples they need when they enter the store — and supermarkets are hard-pressed to deliver.
Grocery giant improves supply chain planning among perishables
Delhaize America is always striving to reduce inventory levels, yet still maintain fresh perishables as they move between its distribution centers and stores. Besides being a challenge, managing fresh and short-shelf-life products is called one of the toughest tasks related to retail planning. Delhaize hopes to ease this struggle with a new supply chain solution from Relex that will forecast and replenish perishable categories within its distribution centers.

Retailers: Detroit wants you! (And you should want Detroit.)

Detroit is one of the most encouraging and intriguing stories to develop in the wake of the Great Recession. With investment, development, and redevelopment booming downtown, office and multi-family momentum has spurred a retail revival. The Motor City is revving its retail engine and is well on the way to arriving as a true retail destination for the first time in decades.
Myrtle Beach power center expansion is underway

An official from the town of North Myrtle Beach in South Carolina is looking forward to more jobs and tourist income from the expansion of a shopping center in the beach resort area. RealtyLink, a developer of power centers in the Southeast and Midwest, is about halfway done with its phase three expansion of the Coastal North Town Center & Village Shoppes on Highway 17. The 147,000-sq.-ft. addition will take the center size beyond 540,000 sq. ft.
Grocery giant partners with Uber to expand home delivery

The Kroger Co. is testing a solution to solve “the last mile” of omnichannel retail — the post-purchase operations focused on getting merchandise into shoppers’ hands quickly and efficiently.
Study: More than half of U.S. shoppers haven’t tried BOPIS

More omnichannel retailers offer buy-online-pickup-in-store (BOPIS) services to shorten their delivery windows. Yet, 60% of shoppers have yet to take advantage of the service. That’s according to a new report, “Buy Online, Pick-up In-Store” from ChargeItSpot, which was based on responses from over 2,074 shoppers at 20 malls across the country.
Two states accounted for nearly 30% of grocery store openings last year

The Lone Star State and Golden State are ripe areas for grocery store expansion. In 2016, more than 440 grocery stores opened in the United States, adding 18.8 million sq. ft. of space. And 27% of those stores opened in two states: Texas and California. That’s according to JLL’s latest Grocery Tracker JLL’s latest Grocery explores four trends transforming the grocery shopping sector.
Gifting retailer unloads product line, but gains new business partner

1-800-Flowers.com’s latest business move puts the company in a strategic position to more cost-effectively expand its assortment. The gifting retailer said Wednesday that Ferrero International S.A will acquire the company’s Fannie May Confections Brands, including its subsidiaries Fannie May Confections and Harry London Candies.
Three ways Amazon Go’s automation will impact the retail industry

Could “paper or plastic?” become a question of the past? In early December, Amazon opened its checkout-free store concept, Amazon Go, in Seattle. Initially open only to employees, the store is expected to open to the public early this year. With the e-commerce giant’s “just walk out” technology, customers are able to swipe their app when they enter, pick up items they want off the shelves, and exit without cash registers or lines.
Commentary: Downtick in February largely a temporary blip

After solid start to the year, retail is now back in softer growth territory. While the 2.1% rate of overall expansion is not disastrous, it is much lower than the past few quarters and is largely the result of higher gas prices which buoyed sales at gas stations by 15.8%. The pure retail number is more concerning, with the 0.8% increase being the slowest growth recorded since February 2013.
Consumers cautious in February

The delay of tax refunds helped keep consumer spending in check on February. Retail sales in February inched up 0.2% seasonally adjusted over January, according to the National Retail Federation. (The NRF numbers exclude automobiles, gasoline stations and restaurants.) The industry’s performance in February was mixed. Electronics and appliance stores took the biggest hit, with sales falling 2.8% over the previous month.
More details on Amazon’s drive-up grocery store concept

Documents revealed what might be the next on Amazon’s physical retail drawing board. New permit documents revealed a sneak peek into what could be one of the online giant’s first drive-up grocery locations, according to GeekWire.