Supermarket/Grocery

Wages

Oregon passed Senate Bill 828, known as the “Fair Work Week” law, last month. This law requires foodservice, retail and hospitality employers to give hourly workers reliable work week schedules upon hire, maintain a voluntary list of standby employees to address unanticipated customer needs or unexpected employee absences, and provide their workers with advance notice of schedule changes.  

Marketplaces are taking an increasing share of business-to-consumer (B2C) online retail sales.    Last year, shoppers did half of their online spending through marketplaces — a level that could rise to 66% by 2022, according to “Half of B2C Online Retail Spend Came from Marketplaces in 2016,” a report from Forrester.  

Amazon has evolved into a destination for a variety of categories, and now it’s adding sweets and snacks to this portfolio.    Out of $49 billion in total sales across sweets and snacks in 2016, Amazon rang up $240 million in 2016. And between January-August 2017, the online giant has already grabbed $215 million — a year-over-year (YoY) growth of 42%, according to “Sweets & Snacks: The Amazon Effect,” a report from One Click Retail.  

Consumers were cautious in their spending during the summer months.   Retail sales in August decreased by 0.2% from July on a seasonally adjusted basis, according to the National Retail Federation. (The NRF numbers exclude automobiles, gasoline stations and restaurants. Also, the Commerce Department said data for July was revised to show sales increasing 0.3% instead of the previously reported 0.6% jump.  

British supermarket giant Tesco puts a friendlier and more contemporary spin on its hypermarket format at its revamped store in Swansea, Wales.   The new format, developed by Swedish design firm Blink in collaboration with Tesco's in-house team and corporate identity group Wolff Olins, offers innovative digital services, a more personal approach and simplified shopping for different needs. The remodeled store, which opened in June, is delivering a significantly higher profit, according to Blink.    

The Kroger Co. is looking to extend its share of consumers' food dollars — this time, however, it’s aiming for the dollars spent on meals outside the home.    The supermarket retailer is opening its first-ever full-service restaurant, which will be located next to Kroger's new Marketplace store in Union, Kentucky. In a nod to the year Kroger was founded, the restaurant will be called Kitchen 1883. It will open in late October.   

Uncertainty has always been a part of the retail industry, but today it is reaching unprecedented levels. Far too many retailers have let that online monster that’s under the bed get into their heads and influence their strategic decision and resource allocation. But is that monster really vicious?