US: Whole Foods sees uptick in foot traffic, drop in new shoppers
Whole Foods saw a 16.5% increase in foot traffic in Q1 2019 compared to the first quarter of 2018, according to a new report from inMarket. The increase may be attributed to incentives for Amazon’s 90mln Prime members. The number of new shoppers for the same period dropped 2.5%. The length of store visits is also down. Micro visits, shopping trips that last less than five minutes, increased by 10% in Q1 this year, which could be attributed to the increase in Amazon Lockers at Whole Foods locations and online order pickups. Customers who are shopping in-store are also spending less time there. Whole Foods shoppers tend to buy brands that are fresh and organic versus dry or packaged goods. The report found that brands such as Organic Valley, Organic Girl, Chobani, Kevita and Driscoll’s had the highest volume growth in Q1 2019.
Source: grocerydive.com
US: Publix debuts 'pub sub' delivery
Publix is now delivering its famous pub subs to customers’ doors through Instacart, according to Orlando Weekly. This is the first time Publix subs have been available for delivery. Customers can order the sandwich by choosing a time and date. Same-day delivery is available. Sandwiches include Chicken Tender, Italian, Chicken Cordon Bleu, Ultimate, Havana Bold and more.
Source: grocerydive.com
US: Trader Joe's confirms it's looking at Little Rock locations
Trader Joe's confirmed that the grocery chain has looked at locations in Little Rock this year. Company spokeswoman Kenya Friend-Daniel said she could not provide further details. But she added that the California-based company is constantly traveling around the country scouting new locations. Fans of the grocery chain in Arkansas have been asking for years that it come to the state. The chain focuses on its own Trader Joe's brand products, many of which have a cult-like following. A Facebook group named "Bring Trader Joe's to Little Rock, AR" has been in place since October 2012.
Source: katv.com
US: The Fresh Market expands Instacart to all stores
The Fresh Market has expanded its personal shopping and home delivery service via Instacart to all 161 of the specialty grocer’s stores. “We are proud to partner with fresh-focused specialty retailer The Fresh Market to bring their carefully curated products to all of their loyal customers in a new way”, said Andrew Nodes, VP of retail accounts at San Francisco-based Instacart. “Now that Instacart is available in all 161 stores, customers can have all the ingredients they need to prepare a memorable meal delivered directly to their door with the same exceptional service they’ve come to expect from The Fresh Market.”
Source: progressivegrocer.com
US: Costco announces new stores in Oklahoma and Arizona
Costco announced two store openings in new markets for the retailer: Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, and Surprise, Arizona. Both store openings are being welcomed with open arms by residents who have scrambled to get their Costco membership cards ahead of the openings. The Oklahoma City store has already opened to great fanfare, while the Surprise location is still in its planning stages.
Source: delimarketnews.com
Amazon wants to turn employees into independent couriers
Amazon is offering employees a start-up grant of 10,000 dollars plus three months' paid salary to make the leap towards becoming self-employed couriers - delivering Amazon parcels, of course. In the middle of last year, Amazon launched its own delivery service in order to become less dependent on major logistical players such as UPS and FedEx. By taking care of the deliveries themselves or outsourcing them to small-time entrepreneurs, the e-commerce giant hopes to save on transport costs. Since the delivery service was launched, more than 200 independent contractors have applied to process the deliveries. Together, they have hired thousands of drivers, Amazon claims. This year, the company is planning to add hundreds of contractors more, including those employees willing to take up Amazon's new offer.
Source: retaildetail.eu
Canada: Metro adopts a packaging and printed materials management policy
Metro is announcing the adoption of its Packaging and Printed Materials Management Policy covering its corporate, food and pharmacy activities. Building on the range of initiatives undertaken over the years, Metro is releasing out a framework to guide its teams and suppliers in the efficient management of its packaging and printed materials, including reduction and optimization. This major program will enable Metro to implement practices to reduce the use of resources, limit product losses and reduce waste generation, while contributing to the global movement to tackle single-use plastics.
Source: newswire.ca
Canada: Loblaw pilots PC Express grocery pick-up service
Canadian food retailer Loblaw Companies, in partnership with Toronto Transit Commission (TTC), is piloting its PC Express pick-up services at three Toronto subway stations. The three locations are Finch, High Park and Islington stations, which operate under the TTC network. As part of the pilot, customers can pre-order groceries online at pcexpress.ca or via the company’s app, for pick-up, on their way home. Groceries will be delivered from nearby Real Canadian Superstore locations using a customised, temperature-controlled PC Express truck.
Source: retail-insight-network.com
US: Lidl reveals plans for 25 East Coast stores
As part of its continuing growth along the East Coast, Lidl US has revealed plans to open 25 new stores in Maryland, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, South Carolina and Virginia by the spring of 2020. By the end of next year, the deep discounter expects to operated more than 100 U.S. stores and create more than 1,000 new jobs in nine states. “We are committed to long-term growth in the United States and always strive to locate in the most convenient locations for our shoppers”, noted Lidl US CEO Johannes Fiber. “These new stores are part of the next steps in our U.S. expansion. Over the next year, we are excited to introduce more customers to Lidl’s award-winning quality, reliably low prices and convenient shopping experience.”
Source: progressivegrocer.com
Malta: Supermarket chain completely stopping the sale of single-use plastics
Valyou Supermarkets, who currently have three stores around Malta, have taken the initiative to reduce the sale of single-use plastic products from their stores, making it the second massive stance the company has taken in the past two years. In a Facebook post, Valyou Supermarkets announced their new move to become more eco-friendly with a powerful image that seems to be targeting threats commonly brought up by environmentalists, namely single-use straws, cutlery and cups.
Source: lovinmalta.com
UK: Morrisons launches “Weigh What You Need” service to reduce food waste
Morrisons has launched a “We’ll Weigh What You Need” service nationwide at its fresh food counters to help customers buy exact food items in order to reduce food waste. The initiative is the Big 4 grocer’s aim to cut down on food waste in customers’ homes as each household in the UK reportedly wastes £500 worth of food each year, according to the government’s Food Waste Champion’s findings.
Source: retailgazette.co.uk
Russia: X5 unveils 'smart kitchen' to boost Perekrestok Chef sales
Russian retailer X5 Retail Group has unveiled what it has described as a 'smart kitchen', operated by its Perekrestok banner, to increase the range and quality of its ready-to-eat and ready-to-cook ranges. Describing the new facility as Russia's 'largest and most advanced ready-to-eat and ready-to-cook production facility', the retailer said that it will help increase the range of items available under the Perekrestok Chef brand by two and a half times. Once fully operational, a total of 2,000 employees will be working at the 26,000 square metre facility, up from 700 employees that current work on the Perekrestok Chef brand.
Source: esmmagazine.com
India: Spencer's Retail to buy Nature's Basket in $42.76mln deal
Spencer’s Retail Ltd will buy upmarket grocery chain Nature’s Basket from Godrej Industries for 3bln rupees ($42.76mln), the companies said. Spencer’s, a part of RP Sanjiv Goenka Group (RPG), runs its own grocery stores in parts of the country. The deal will give Spencer’s access to cities like Mumbai, Pune and Bengaluru through 36 stores of Nature’s Basket, said Shashwat Goenka, who leads RPG’s retail unit, in a statement. “Nature’s Basket has a strong portfolio of private label brands which has huge traction with its consumers,” Goenka said, adding that RPG would also benefit from the chain’s online grocery business.
Source: reuters.com
UK: Waitrose & Partners announces plans to treble the size of its online operations
Waitrose & Partners announces plans to treble the size of its successful online grocery operation to a £1bln business over the next three years, working in partnership with Today Development Partners (TDP). The move with TDP, which is headed by Jonathan Faiman and Mo Gawdat, will accelerate the development of Waitrose.com through a significant increase in capacity and automation and will see a rapid step change in Waitrose.com’s online and digital capabilities. Together, Waitrose.com and TDP plan to develop three state-of-the-art automated Customer Fulfilment Centres (CFCs) while harnessing cutting edge technical capabilities to deliver an outstanding online customer experience.
Source: waitrose.pressarea.com