Supermarket/Grocery

CVS Health's decision to stop selling cigarettes is having its intended impact - 52% of those consumers who used to buy their cigarettes from CVS say it is now harder to buy cigarettes altogether, according to a survey commissioned by V2, a manufacturer of electronic cigarette and vaporizer products.

CVS Health's decision to stop selling cigarettes is having its intended impact - 52% of those consumers who used to buy their cigarettes from CVS say it is now harder to buy cigarettes altogether, according to a survey commissioned by V2, a manufacturer of electronic cigarette and vaporizer products. Out of that group, 73% called the impact manageable, stating that “buying cigarettes is now harder but I have other options” and 27% said it made buying them “much harder.”

Retailing Today's sister publication Chain Store Age recently spoke with Vishwa Chandra, VP of retail accounts for Instacart, to get a better sense of the current and future state of online delivery.
 
What is driving growing consumer interest in online delivery?

Although not many consumers are currently shopping for groceries online, those who do are likely to be repeat customers.
 
According to “The 2016 Online Grocery Shopper,” a survey of more than 500 U.S. online consumers from Toronto-based grocery technology provider Unata, 8% of consumers bought groceries via Internet in 2015.

However, 93% of those shoppers said they are “likely” or “very likely” to buy groceries online in 2016.
 

The losses are mounting at one of New York City’s most beloved supermarket chains, the 80-year-old Fairway Market, as it battles increased competition from the likes of Trader Joe’s and Whole Foods Market. Fairway Group Holdings Corp., is on the cusp of default, and the next step could be bankruptcy court, Crain’s New York reported. The company warned investors in a regulatory filing on Feb. 5 that it could breach its loan agreements.

A modest increase in fourth quarter same store sales at Walmart’s U.S. stores marked a sixth consecutive period of growth and helped the company exceed analysts’ profit targets, but a reduced 2016 sales outlook caught some investors by surprise.

Google is testing a new range of products for its Google Express online delivery service.

Google is now offering fresh grocery items, such as milk and bread, for delivery through Google Express in the San Francisco and Los Angeles markets. The company is partnering with local outlets of retailers including Costco, Whole Foods and Smart & Final in San Francisco and Costco, Whole Foods and Vincente Foods in Los Angeles to fulfill orders, which can include alcohol and frozen items.

Retailers have yet to make a major move toward EMV compliance, but that doesn’t mean they are ignoring the need to secure card-based transactions.

According to a new special report from Boston Retail Partners, “Payment/Data Security in an Omnichannel World,” only 10% of retailers are performing EMV-enabled transactions that are working well, with another 12% saying their EMV-enabled transactions need improvement.

The Kroger Co.'s senior VP for retail operations and strategic initiatives plans to retire in April.

The company announced that Marnette Perry plans to retire on April 29, after 44 years with the company.