Supermarket/Grocery

New York – Wal-Mart Stores Inc. is reportedly asking suppliers to cut their product costs and also seeking to expand its grocery business. According to the Wall Street Journal, Wal-Mart is recommending that suppliers forego investing in joint marketing programs with the retailer and use that savings to reduce the price Wal-Mart pays for their goods.
 

Seattle – Some observers thought it might be an April Fools prank, but Amazon.com has officially released its Amazon Dash mobile ordering device for AmazonFresh customers. Chain Store Age readers had no confusion as we first reported the pilot of Dash in April 2014, but here is a brief primer of how Dash works.

Walmart plans to improve the customer experience, invest in its grocery business, and put pressure on suppliers to drive down prices, according to a Bloomberg report.

Eden Prairie, Minn. – Supervalu Inc. wants customers to be able to stack some coin. The grocery retailer has added Cummins Allison’s Money Machine 2 self-service coin counters across multiple store locations in Maryland, Missouri, Illinois and Virginia.

Supervalu selected the new Money Machine 2 coin counters because of their flexibility. Additionally, Cummins Allison provided Supervalu with opportunities to increase their coin redemption revenue without increasing user fees.

Bay Shore, N.Y. -- Confectionary giant Mondelēz International is deploying digital signage displays that resemble a store assistant to promote its new sweet treats in Carrefour, Cora and Makro stores across Belgium.  

The Tensator Virtual Assistants displays, which have a 20- by 20-inch footprint, will stay in each location for two weeks before continuing on their retail tour. The displays use cutting edge technology to project the image of a real person that can deliver a variety of messages.

Norwell, Mass. -- Bluestone Energy Services and Ahold USA are increasing their energy conservation initiative in 2015 by expanding the reach of projects to touch stores in all regions and to increase the energy savings in new projects while also continuing to improve the efficiency of existing projects.

Washington, D.C. - An Obama administration proposal to expand overtime and redefine what it means to be a restaurant or retail manager may harm mangers’ career paths and undermine the quality of customer service they are able to provide. According to a new survey 200 salaried retail and restaurant managers conducted for the National Retail Federation (NRF) by GfK Research, 81% of respondents said there would be an adverse impact on customer service.

London – The Amazon Prime paid shipping service appears to be in a membership boom. New Millward Brown Digital research suggests that the percentage of Amazon traffic from Amazon Prime members has increased 300% in the last year.

The increase in Amazon Prime membership means that an increasing amount of shoppers at other retailers are also Prime members. For example, during the most recent holiday season, almost one in 10 Walmart.com shoppers was an Amazon Prime members.