News

Ann Arbor, Mich. - Domino's Pizza is integrating Google Wallet with its Android ordering app. Domino's customers who have an Android device can now pay for their online orders using Google's digital wallet.

Domino's customers who place an online order of $10 or more using the Android ordering app and pay by selecting the "Buy with Google" button at checkout will receive a free order of Domino's new specialty chicken, now through June 15.

Whole Foods is experimenting with transforming food waste generated at stores into organic fertilizer by using a piece of equipment called the WISErg Harvester.

The Harvester is a piece of equipment with a footprint about the size of a typical pallet that promises to change the way retailers dispose of food waste. The Harvester unit ingests food scraps from overripe produce and unsold prepared foods and converts them into a liquid that can be made into an organic fertilizer.

Austin, Texas -- Whole Foods Market claimed the honor for best brand on Pinterest at the Shorty (the Shorties) Awards on April 7. The Shorties are an annual awards event that honors the best short-form content creators on Twitter and on other social media sites.

Whole Foods Market joined Pinterest in 2011, and currently has 180,000 followers.

The Hillshire Brands Company has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Catterton portfolio company Van’s Natural Foods. Van’s is a leading better-for-you food brand of frozen breakfast and snack foods.

Hillshire Brands will pay $165 million for Van’s, which is expected to have net revenues of approximately $60 million in calendar year 2014. The transaction is expected to close in May 2014 pending regulatory clearance.

Umang Shah was named global director for social media and digital marketing at Campbell’s after serving in a similar capacity at Walmart for the past two years.

Back in October, I commemorated my six-month anniversary as technology editor of Chain Store Age with a column looking at how retail IT has been disrupted in recent years. Now that I have a full year under my belt, I thought it would be interesting to look at how customer expectations of retail IT have been disrupted in recent years (and don’t worry, there will be no 18-month anniversary piece). Three paradigm-shifting changes in how retailers must now engage with customers using technology stand out.

Every Man is an Island

Walgreens is now offering expanded travel health services, including immunizations and consultations, to support the nearly 60 million annual planned trips by U.S. residents venturing outside the country.

Grand Forks, N.D. -- Acme Tools, an authorized online retailer of tools and equipment, is launching a new mobile version of AcmeTools.com for online customers using smartphones. Developed by BlueSky Technology Partners, the new mobile platform leverages Acme Tools' ongoing investment in IBM WebSphere Commerce to deliver a seamless online shopping experience.