Supermarket/Grocery

There are going to be a lot of happy chickens roaming free in the coming years as retailer after retailer establish dates by which they will offer only cage-free eggs.

Meijer and Supervalu recently announced plans to source only cage-free eggs by 2025, joining Delhaize and Albertson’s who earlier this year set 2025 as their cage-free deadline. Ahold USA earlier this year also indicated it would be cage-free by 2022. Walmart and Costco have also announced cage-free commitments as have some major food suppliers such as Nestle.

March was a solid month for U.S. job makers, with retailers leading the way.

The retail industry — excluding autos, gasoline and food services — added a solid 40,000 jobs in March, the National Retail Federation reported on Friday. The job market overall saw growth of 215,000 jobs in the month of March.

Retail has added an average of 52,000 jobs per month over the last three months.

H-E-B is planning to build a two-story grocery store in Bellaire, Texas, featuring the latest in food market retailing to open in the fall of 2017, Fox 7 reported Wednesday.

"We have enjoyed our Bellaire neighbors for the past 22 years and look forward to bringing them a store tailored to their needs filled with stellar features and products that will enhance their shopping experience for years to come," Scott McClelland, H-E-B Houston president, told Fox 7.

Hy-Vee has partnered with the Pinky Swear Foundation to sponsor several Hy-Vee Pinky Swear Kids Triathlons in cities across the Midwest. The partnership will help with the foundation’s efforts to raise funds and awareness for the families of children who are suffering from cancer.

Hy-Vee is collaborating with the foundation to bring youth triathlons to several of the communities it serves. In summer 2016, races will be held in Des Moines, Minneapolis, Chanhassen, Omaha, the Quad Cities and Kansas City.

A few months after Whole Foods Market and The Fresh Market initiated price-cutting strategies to lure more shoppers, Trader Joe's has apparently followed suit, according to a new report.

New data from Deutsche Bank indicates that prices on 77 similar items at a New York-based Trader Joe's store and nearby Whole Foods found that Trader Joe's was about 26% cheaper, a decrease from a similar analysis Deutsche Bank did in 2013.

Online delivery is a retail technology niche undergoing active evolution. Consumers are expecting a wider range of goods available in a shorter period of time than ever before. Here are three ways providers are responding:

Eliminate the Middleman

In a history-making move that would have a direct impact on the retail industry and food service sector, the state of California has moved closer to raising the statewide minimum wage to $15 an hour by 2022.

Consumers are buying groceries online in increasing numbers, but are following specific trends.

According to a new survey of 12,000 U.S. grocery shoppers conducted by grocery retail consultancy Brick Meets Click and sponsored by SAP hybris, the percentage of U.S. consumers that have purchased groceries online in the past 30 days nearly doubled to 21% in the fourth quarter of 2015 from 11% in 2013. Forty-one percent of consumers have purchased groceries online at some point.

Gen Z and Millennials are big on physical stores — even more so than their older counterparts.

That’s one of the findings of a new research study by insights firm iModerate in which 74% of all respondents said it is important for brands to have a physical location rather than solely selling online. Interestingly, 80% of Gen Zers and 82% of Millennials respondents said it is important, compared to 69% of Gen Xers and 65% of Boomers.

Online delivery service Instacart is launching its first expansion of 2016 – and it’s a big one.
 
Instacart is now offering deliveries in as little as one hour from Whole Foods Market, Gelson’s Market, Stater Bros. Markets, Ralphs, Smart & Final, Costco (no membership needed), Petco, and H Mart to residents of Orange County, California. Whole Foods will offer delivery via Instacart at prices that are the same as shoppers find in-stores.