Supermarket/Grocery

Nordstrom Rack, the off-price division of Nordstrom, continues its expansion, announcing two new upcoming locations.

The retailer plans to open a 28,000-sq.-ft. store at Fashion Outlets of Chicago in Rosemont, Ill., in fall 2016. The property is owned by Macerich.

The stereotype of younger consumers spending all their time glued to smartphones may have some validity, at least when it comes to shopping.

New custom Interactive Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) analysis of Prosper Insight data shows that adults ages 18-34 are more likely to favor smartphones for retail activities than any other age group.

When it comes to return policies, Nordstrom and Forever 21 couldn’t be further apart.

At least that’s according to an annual survey of return policies by GOBankingRates.com. The study rated Nordstrom as offering the best return policies of 2015, with Forever 21 offering the worst.

“Return policies should be a big consideration for holiday shoppers — two-thirds of people return at least one holiday gift,” said Elyssa Kirkham, lead reporter on the GOBankingRates study.

As we begin 2016, supermarket retailers continue to adapt to changing consumer demands, industry issues and regulations affecting their businesses. Some grocers are expanding their footprints, others are narrowing to specialty formats, and some seem to be doing both. All are facing increased competition and high expectations around freshness, convenience and transparency.

How will retailers fare in 2016? Very well, according to experienced market watchers.

“We expect core retail sales to grow 5.3% in 2016,” says Scott Hoyt, senior director of consumer economics for Moody’s Analytics, a research firm based in West Chester, Pa. (Core retail sales exclude volatile revenues from auto sales and gas stations.)

That is notably faster than the 4.2% rate anticipated when 2015 sales are finally tallied. The 2015 experience was, again, slightly better than that the 3.9% growth of 2014.

It’s official: Smart & Final Stores is acquiring 32 Haggen stores in Central and Southern California.

Smart & Final has been approved by the United States Bankruptcy Court to purchase 32 store leases – four of which are supplemental to the chain’s previously announced stalking-horse bid –from affiliates of Haggen Holdings for a total cash purchase price of approximately $68 million. Smart & Final plans to convert the 32 stores to its Extra! Store format.

Haggen has received approval from a federal bankruptcy court to sell 47 stores. Included in the sale are 33 supermarkets to Albertsons LLC, which formerly owned the stores. Albertsons sold the stores to Haggen just less than 12 months ago.

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