Supermarket/Grocery

Retail Rap: Half Foods?
When Whole Foods Market announced in May that it planned to open a new chain of stores offering a lower price point and specifically targeting millennials, it’s safe to say that the reaction from industry analysts and observers was underwhelming. Responses have ranged from confusion to outright skepticism, and there is a general sense of uncertainty surrounding the whole enterprise.
Study: Retailers lose $1.1 trillion in global inventory distortion
Franklin, Tenn. – Retailers lose $1.1 trillion worldwide due to inventory distortion. According to new research from IHL Group, by fixing problems such as out-of-stocks and excess inventory from overstocks, retailers could improve their revenues by 7.5%.

The combined cost of poor merchandise planning alone equals $452 billion. Inventory distortion costs retailers nearly $158 for every person on the planet, and $252.2 billion annually in North America. The Asia/Pacific region contributes 39% of all inventory distortion.

Food Lion enhances e-commerce site with customer feedback

Salisbury, N.C. – Food Lion has launched a new, enhanced website focused on easing the process of shopping for and preparing dinner. The new website, built on customer feedback, offers shoppers a personalized experience when they log in.
Raley’s relaunches e-commerce with Unata

Sacramento, Calif. - Raley’s Supermarkets is relaunching its e-commerce offering using technology from Unata. Raley’s will leverage Unata capabilities to deliver functionality including one-to-one experiences across all e-commerce elements from homepage to search.

In addition, product updates will enhance the click and collect functionality, which allows Raley’s customers to pick up items they ordered online in-store.
Study: Shoppers prefer convenience over grocery

State College, Pa. - Consumers are spending 5% less time in supermarkets, compared to the previous year. Concurrently, the sixth annual C-Store MegaStudy from VideoMining Corp. found that shoppers' time in convenience stores increased 6% from the previous year.

VideoMining integrates behavioral data with a range of other data sources, including transaction data and exit interviews. In the C-Store MegaStudy, for example, this integration showed a correlation between time in store and average dollar basket size, which grew by 9%.
Study: Millennials seek automatic digital coupon redemption

Boston – Millennials as a generation are known for wanting instant gratification, and that desire extends to digital coupons. According to a new commissioned study conducted by Forrester Consulting on behalf of Linkable Networks, CPG retailers and brands must adopt digital coupon redemption experiences that are automatic to reach millennial shoppers.
Raley's Supermarkets seeks personalization for shoppers

California-based regional grocery chain Raley’s Supermarkets is overhauling its e-commerce capabilities to offer customers a "seamless shopping experience."
Kroger promotes two Harris Teeter executives

Photo: Fred Morganthall has been named senior VP of retail divisions for The Kroger Co.
Food Lion debuts redesigned website

Food Lion has launched a new web site designed to make shopping, saving and planning for dinner easy for shoppers.
Report: Recipes to become 'shoppable'

It's going to be a lot easier for consumers to make meals from recipes thanks to a new partnership between food magazines and Popcart.

Bon Appetit and Epicurious have teamed up with Popcart to make recipes "shoppable," according to Ada Age. No longer will consumers have to read a recipe and make a shopping list and head to the store.
Apple Pay adds select retail credit cards, rewards programs

Cupertino, Calif. – Apple Inc. is enacting a number of significant enhancements to its Apple Pay mobile payment app, including adding support for rewards programs and store-issued credit and debit cards. During a June 8 keynote address at Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC), Jennifer Bailey, VP of Apple Pay, said that retailers, including Dunkin' Donuts, Walgreens, Wegmans, and Kohl's, will support the new reward card functionality.
IHL: EMV costly, time consuming, out of date for most retailers

Franklin, Tenn. - The new EMV card payment mandate may not provide financial ROI for retailers. According to new research from IHL Group, most retailers will never recoup the expense that EMV imposes.