Supermarket/Grocery

Walmart continues to explore new ways to make it easier for customers to pick up goods purchased online.    The discounter is expanding its deployment of a giant self-service kiosk, which it calls a Pickup Tower, that spits out online orders to users of Walmart's buy-online-pickup-in-store service. Walmart debuted the technology last fall, in a store in Bentonville, Ark., close its headquarters.  

Technology giants, including a retailer, dominated an annual ranking of the world's most valuable brands.   

Regional supermarket operator Shnucks is the latest grocer to offer customers same-day delivery.

Proposed cuts in food stamp benefits could cost the the retail industry billions — with supermarkets and discounters taking the biggest hit.    AlixPartners estimates that retail collectively stands to lose $70.7 billion during the next 10 years if the proposed cuts in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (commonly referred to as food stamps) turn into reality, CNBC reported. The budget proposed by the Trump administration calls for $191 billion in cuts to the program between 2018 to 2028.  

While Amazon expands its physical presence, Walmart Canada is taking its own swipe at the online giant — by moving in on its turf.   

While Amazon’s purchase of Whole Foods Market signifies a staggering boost in its physical store breadth, the deal is much more valuable than that.   This is according to “LandMark Insights,” a report from PlaceIQ. The study analyzed more than 165 million anonymous and opted-in mobile device signals nationwide to determine visitation patterns and audience affinities, among other metrics. These transactions were compiled over a 90-day period.   

Target Corp. has entered the fast-growing next-day grocery delivery market.    The discounter on Tuesday launched a pilot for Target Restock, a next-day delivery service for household essentials and dry grocery items ordered online, in its hometown market of Minneapolis-St. Paul. The service, available only to Target REDcard holders, comes with a flat fee of $4.99 per box.   

It had to happen sooner or later. The hipster pioneers of Brooklyn’s greatest real estate reclamation project are having kids and leaving Williamsburg behind. Many of them have landed in the quaint riverside towns of Westchester County, a swath of land the New York Times has christened “Hipsterbia.”