US: Grocery chains to test in-store digital media network
Albertsons, Safeway, Southeastern Grocers and Weis Markets supermarkets are slated to pilot an in-store digital media network from News Corp. subsidiary News America Marketing (NAM). In the test, due to launch this winter, large-format screens deployed in high-traffic areas of the store, including at the entryways, and in-store windows will run various applications of digital media. Content will include local and national advertising as well as brand and retailer marketing. NAM said ads can be turned on and off based on real-time triggers - such as time of day, weather and first scans for newly launched products - and be directed at any phase of the shopper journey leading to the purchase.
Source: supermarketnews.com
US: Walmart and Capital One announce new Walmart rewards cards with up to 5% cash back
Walmart and Capital One are teaming up to make shopping at the retail giant more "rewarding." The companies announced the September 24 launch of the Capital One Walmart Rewards Credit Card Program with two new cards offering up to 5% back on Walmart purchases. The program's Mastercard will be accepted everywhere and the private-label Walmart Rewards Card is only for store purchases. Daniel Eckert, senior vice president, Walmart services and digital acceleration, said in a statement, the company's "mission has always been to help customers save money so that they can live better" and the new program "helps customers earn more when paying for things in and outside of Walmart."
Source: eu.usatoday.com
Israel: Trigo raises $22mln 'A' Round to enable more grocery retailers to battle Amazon Go
Trigo, a computer-vision company providing checkout-free systems to grocery retailers, announced that it raised $22mln in an A Round. The round was led by growth fund Red Dot Capital with the participation of existing investors Vertex Ventures Israel and Hetz Ventures. The funds will enable the company to scale the technology for even larger store sizes (currently at 2X the footprint of Amazon Go), and advance its partnerships with leading US and European grocery retailers. Trigo is currently installed in stores as large as 5,000 square feet, the largest checkout-free stores in the world.
Source: prnewswire.com
Russia: X5 opens logistics facility in Siberia
X5 Retail Group ("X5" or the "Company"), a leading Russian food retailer, has expanded its logistics infrastructure in the Siberian Federal District with a Pyaterochka distribution centre (DC) in Novosibirsk. The 38,500 sq m Tolmachevo DC will be used by Pyaterochka stores in the Novosibirsk, Omsk, Tomsk and Kemerovo regions, Krasnoyarsk and Altai territories, and the republics of Altai and Khakassia, handling up to 5,000 tonnes of goods per day. Its capacity enables it to service up to 1,200 retail outlets (as at 30 June 2019, the retail chain had 583 stores in Siberia). Featuring eight storage zones, each with a specific temperature band, this modern centre can accommodate dry goods and alcoholic beverages, fresh and frozen products, caviar, fruit and vegetables and has a banana ripening room.
Source: x5.ru
Holland: Jumbo Foodmarkt trials online meal order service in Groningen
Jumbo is trialling an online meal order service in its Foodmarkt store in Groningen. Jumbo is working in partnership with meal order site Thuisbezorgd.nl and will review the trial after a few months. To use the service, shoppers must enter their delivery address through thuisbezorgd.nl or its app and choose Jumbo Foodmarkt Groningen. Shoppers can choose from a range of meals and drinks from Jumbo's assortment, including fresh salads, pizzas and crispy focaccias. The meals are then delivered to the customer within an hour.
Source: retailanalysis.igd.com
UK: Ocado Retail revenue up 11.4% in Q3
In the first set of results from the joint venture between Ocado Group and M&S, Ocado Retail revenue reached £386.3mln in its third quarter, 13 weeks to 1 September. The company saw growth of 11.4%. Ocado Retail reported a strong Q3 with revenue up 11.4%, despite the fire at its Andover customer fulfilment centre (CFC) earlier this year and the significant change of forming the joint venture with M&S. Average order size was down 0.8% as shoppers are ordering more frequently. Average order size remained strong at £105.42. Average orders per week increased by 12.1% to 314,000, as more slots became available.
Source: retailanalysis.igd.com
Milan-based Cortilia raises €8.5mln to deliver fresh food from farms to doorsteps across Northern Italy
The Italian grocery market is worth €150bln, but online services have a low adoption rate. Milan-based Cortilia is an e-commerce business delivering fresh food products to homes across the North of Italy, and is planning to fill this gap. The startup, founded in 2012, has just raised €8.5mln from the food and agtech investor Five Seasons Ventures along with Indaco Ventures, the largest VC in Italy. Cortilia offers country-fresh products to consumers, placing them directly in contact with farmers and artisans. With a simple click, Cortilia delivers fresh products right to customers’ doorsteps within 24 hours at the most convenient day and time. The service is available online, and via an iOS and Android app.
Source: eu-startups.com
Philippines: Lazada to offer instalment credit with AsiaKredit
Lazada Philippines customers can now buy goods online and pay by instalments. Called eShopaLoan, the service targets the increasing population of middle-class Filipino shoppers offering monthly instalment options for purchases made via Lazada’s platform. Consumer loans range from PHP4000 to PHP20,000 (US$77 to $384) over a six-month period. EshopaLoan finances products within the PHP5000 to PHP50,000 price range. To apply for eShopaLoan service, Lazada customers can install the AsiaKredit pera247 app and fill out the application.
Source: insideretail.asia
UK: Morrisons launches new product labels asking customers to recycle packaging in store
Morrisons has launched new product labels asking customers to recycle, reuse or recycle packaging in store. Hundreds of products now contain advice on how the packaging can be recycled and even encourage customers to bring recyclable plastic packaging, which is not widely taken at kerbside, back to its stores. The supermarket plans to eliminate all packaging that isn’t recyclable, reusable or compostable from its own brand goods in the next five years. The scheme, which features 400 products, focuses on front-of-pack icons advising customers on how the packaging can be recycled.
Source: usatodaypost.com
Belgian e-commerce continues to grow
During the first half of the year, e-commerce in Belgium grew by 7% compared to the same period last year. This is illustrated by figures from BeCommerce Market Monitor. Over the first half of the year, 5.69bln euros have already been spent online, representing an increase of 7%. Both the number of online payments and the actual amount spent have increased for the fifth year in a row, according to BeCommerce. "If e-commerce continues to grow at this rate, it looks as if we will break the magic barrier of 11 billion euros this year”, said Sofie Geeroms, Managing Director at BeCommerce.
Source: retaildetail.eu
UK: Grocery market returns to growth, but 'Big Four' still down
The UK grocery market posted a 0.5% increase in sales in the the 12 weeks to 8 September, according to the latest market share figures from Kantar, however the 'Big Four' all saw sales decline in the period. According to the data, Tesco, the UK's largest grocer with 26.9% market share, saw a 1.4% decrease in sales in the period, while second-placed Sainsbury's (15.3% share) saw a 0.1% decline and third-placed Asda (15.1% share) saw a 1.0% decline. Morrisons, which saw its market share fall below the 10% mark (9.9% market share), saw a 2.0% decline in sales, according to the Kantar data. Of the 'Big Four', Sainsbury's put in the strongest performance, according to Kantar, with its Price Lockdown strategy appealing to shoppers, while there were also bright spots for Tesco, "including sales of free-from products, which were up 11%, and its own value lines like Redmere Farms and Creamfields, as sales of these ranges totalled over a third of a billion pounds", said Fraser McKevitt, head of retail and consumer insight at Kantar. The best performer in the period was Ocado, which saw a 12.7% increase in sales to sit on 1.4% market share. Elsewhere, the discounters also put in a strong performance, with Aldi (8.1% share) seeing a 6.3% increase in sales, and Lidl (6.0% share) seeing a 9.2% sales boost, hitting a new landmark in the process.
Source: esmmagazine.com
Carrefour expands presence in central and southern Italy
Carrefour Italia has signed two master franchising agreements with Apulia Distribuzione and Etruria Retail that will see the French retailer expand its presence in central and southern Italy. The move facilitates the consolidation of the Carrefour Market and Carrefour Express networks in the Calabria, Basilicata and Puglia regions, as well as strengthening the French retailer’s presence in the Tuscany and Umbria regions. As a result, on 1 January 2020, 546 new stores will be added to the 1,085 that comprise the current sales network of Carrefour Italia. In detail, Carrefour will get 256 new stores in Puglia, Calabria and Basilicata, as well as another 290 in Tuscany and Umbria. However, some of Etruria Retail’s franchised stores will maintain the La Bottega brand.
Source: esmmagazine.com