Supermarket/Grocery

The National Retail Federation on Wednesday has lowered its annual retail sales forecast, citing government data revisions.   Retail sales for 2017 are now expected to increase between 3.2% and 3.8%, down from the 3.7% - 4.2% growth the NRF predicted earlier this year. The revision comes after the Census Bureau lowered its retail sales figures, and the Bureau of Economic Analysis downgraded its personal income and consumption figures.   

Starbucks Corp. has named a former Walmart executive as its next COO.   The coffee giant appointed Rosalind Brewer as group president and COO, effective Oct. 2. She is the first woman, and first African American, to hold such a high post at Starbucks.  

Raley’s is helping its customers make more informed food purchasing decisions in-store and online.   Called the Raley’s Shelf Guide, the program features icon-based shelf tags that educate shoppers about current food trends and industry research — and also sets stricter standards for packaged food claims. Overall, the service is creating label transparency when it comes to helping customers understand packaged goods’ ingredients, food processing and nutritional value.  

As the online delivery wars heat up, Walmart is expanding its grocery pickup service to the hometown of one of its biggest rivals.  

You’ve read the news: More and more spending is moving online and retailers that have not been able to adapt are falling by the wayside. E-commerce accounted for 8.9% of all retail spending in early 2017 and has nearly tripled its share of overall retail spending since 2008.    

An e-commerce giant is making a big push into the brick-and-mortar world.    Alibaba, China’s largest online sales platform, is building its own shopping mall, with a goal of enriching the real-world shopping experience with technology and convenience, reported MarketWatch.  

Amazon is getting ready to introduce its same-day delivery service in its 10th country.   Canada will be the newest country to offer Amazon Prime Now’s free two-hour delivery service. The online giant reportedly plans to pilot the program in Vancouver. Based on positive results, Amazon will expand the service to other Canadian cities throughout 2018, according to Nasdaq.  

Best Buy and Macy’s are stepping up their same-day delivery efforts as they continue to bolster their defenses to compete with Amazon and other rivals.    Best Buy announced on Thursday it is expanding its same-day delivery of online orders from 13 metro areas to 27, with more to come. The retailer expects that customers in nearly 40 cities will be able to take advantage of service for the holiday selling season.