Supermarket/Grocery

 In a shift to quality over quantity, Walmart has cut expansion plans for its Neighborhood Market stores despite the format’s consistently strong top line growth in recent years.

Winston-Salem, N.C. - Lowes Foods, a Carolinas-based grocer with locations in North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia, is feeding consumer appetite for omnichannel experiences. Lowes is working with omnichannel commerce solutions provider Unata to deliver enhanced omnichannel services at its 60 Lowes Foods-To-Go stores.

New York -- Almost as quickly as tiny northwest grocer Haggen became a regional player by acquiring 146 former Safeway and Albertsons stores the company is retrenching and has plans to close a large number of stores.

Franklin, Tenn. – Although mobile POS software installations by North American retailers grew 41% year-to-year, this rate did not meet expectations of analysts and industry experts. According to a new study from IHL Group, “Mobile POS Software Market Share,” the enterprise market of retailers with more than 50 stores only delivered 59% year-over-year growth, well below the expected 100% increase.

Chicago -- Transwestern’s Chicago office announced it brokered the sale of Town Square of Schaumburg, a 96,014 sq. ft. retail center, in Schaumburg, Illinois, for an undisclosed amount to Tony’s Finer Foods. Tony’s Finer Foods plans to open a Tony’s in the former Dominick’s space, which closed in December 2013.

Bellingham, Wash. – West Coast regional grocer Haggen is scaling back some highly ambitious growth plans. Haggen, which made headlines by buying 146 divested Albertson’s and Safeway stores as an 18-unit chain in December 2014, is closing or selling a number of locations in California, Arizona, Nevada, Oregon and Washington.

New York – As millennial moms are making back-to-school preparations that include planning school lunches, many are turning to their peers and the Internet to get ideas. According to a survey of millennial moms about their back-to-school lunch plans by online review site Influenster, word of mouth (79%) is the top influencer for school lunch shopping decisions.

That is followed by online reviews (59%), social media (57%), brand websites (43%), television (37%), news websites (16%) and newspapers (15%).

Former Walgreens president and CEO Greg Wasson became the chain drug industry’s first executive to receive the Grocery Manufacturers Association’s highest honor.