US: Tops expands Shop + Scan app to 5 more stores
Tops Markets LLC has expanded its Tops Shop + Scan app to five more stores. Already available at 19 upstate New York locations, the app can now be used at Tops supermarkets in Dunkirk (3955 Vineyard Drive), Cheektowaga (3865 Union Road), Williamsville (5274 Main Street), Hamburg (4250 McKinley Parkway) and Ithaca, New York (2300 North Triphammer Road).
Source: progressivegrocer.com
US: Dollar General piloting self-checkout-only stores
Dollar General recently started piloting self-checkout as the sole way to make purchases at select stores, Chief Operating Officer Jeff Owen said during the discount retailer’s first-quarter earnings call. The test will involve about 200 of Dollar General’s more than 18,000 locations throughout the rest of the year, Owen said. The trial comes as the discounter expands self-checkout overall, with plans to have the units, which were in more than 8,000 stores at the end of Q1, in 11,000 stores by the end of the year, Owen added.
Source: grocerydive.com
US: Giant Eagle gives shoppers a break on grocery prices
Giant Eagle, Inc. has rolled out a new pricing initiative for its myPerks members that offers savings of up to 20% on more than 1,000 products. The lower prices are aimed at helping customers deal with higher inflationary prices and will be available at both Giant Eagle’s supermarkets and Market District locations.
Source: progressivegrocer.com
US: Asian Pacific Heritage Month: supplier diversity
Ahold Delhaize reported: "Across the U.S. many people and businesses celebrated Asian Pacific Heritage Month throughout May. Within the U.S. about 23mln Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders trace their origins to more than 20 countries throughout East and Southeast Asia, the Pacific Islands, or the Indian subcontinent - all with their own unique histories and cultural practices. As a result, the U.S. has greatly benefited from this rich diversity with their contribution to its economic and cultural life and cuisine!"
Source: aholddelhaize.com
Canada: Grocery store self-checkouts now more popular than cashiers: researcher
Grocery store self-checkouts are now more popular than human cashiers, according to a researcher at Dalhousie University’s Agri-Food Analytics Lab. “Canadians are starting to befriend machines at the grocery store”, Sylvain Charlebois, the lab’s scientific director, told CTVNews.ca. “Nobody really wants to wait to pay for food in 2022, that's the reality”.
Source: ctvnews.ca
Aldi Italia targets 150 stores for end-2022
Discounter Aldi is celebrating four years of its presence in Italy by announcing its ambition to have 150 stores by the end of 2022. All of Aldi’s current 140 stores are located in Northern Italy, namely in the Piedmont, Lombardy, Veneto, Trentino Alto Adige, Friuli Venezia Giulia and Emilia Romagna regions, where about 30mln Italians live.
Source: esmmagazine.com
UK: Sainsbury’s price investment to top £500mln as cost of living rises
Sainsbury’s investment in price to help customers with the cost of living is set to top more than half a billion pounds. With the latest planned investments, a total £500mln of savings will have been delivered to customers since Sainsbury’s initiated its plan to put food back at the heart of the business in March 2021. Sainsbury’s is focused on investing on the essential items that customers buy day in, day out, including milk, eggs, meat, fish, fruit and vegetables and key household essentials, with no compromise on quality or sustainability.
Source: about.sainsburys.co.uk
UK: Ocado Beyond 2022 exhibition/conference showcases online grocery disruption
Ocado Beyond, Ocado Solutions’ flagship annual product event and conference exclusive to its C-level and senior OSP partners, took place in London on 23rd - 26th May. “Our retail partners from around the world had the chance to come to London and meet in person for four days of exclusive panels, talks with key industry players, live tours to our newest sites, and a unique exhibition featuring Ocado’s latest technology”, Ocado said in an online post.
Source: retailtechinnovationhub.com
New Zealand: Countdown announces plans for new $99mln Christchurch fresh distribution centre
Countdown has announced plans for a new, $99mln, state-of-the-art fresh distribution centre in Rolleston, Canterbury. The 11,000sqm development will service stores across the South Island and transform how Countdown moves fresh produce from local growers to its customers.
Source: scoop.co.nz
Leading retailers set to test environmental labels, as IGD mobilises industry to develop harmonised solution
Four retailers - Co-op, Morrisons, Sainsbury’s and Tesco - will be trialling environmental labels in a virtual reality setting this summer, as the food industry moves one step closer to developing a harmonised environmental labelling scheme.
Source: igd.com
Italy: Gruppo Abbi opens new multi-channel store concept
Sardinia-based Gruppo Abbi, a partner of Gruppo Crai, has rolled out a new store format in Cagliari, combining the digital and physical channels. The 'Tuttigiorni' store combines e-commerce with a new approach to grocery shopping, the retailer said. There is a large fresh produce department with fruit and vegetables, meat, fish, cold meats and cheeses.
Source: esmmagazine.com
Portugal: Pingo Doce honoured for combating food waste
Portuguese supermarket chain Pingo Doce has received a national distinction for its efforts to combat food waste. It has become the first food retailer to be recognised by the Portuguese National Commission for Combatting Food Waste (Comissão Nacional de Combate ao Desperdício Alimentar-CNCDA), for 'Sustainable Production Responsible Consumption'.
Source: esmmagazine.com
UK: Aldi ramps up healthy eating programme to reach an extra 1mln children by 2024Aldi, in partnership with Team GB and ParalympicsGB, is ramping up its Get Set to Eat Fresh programme in a bid to educate an extra 1mln children about affordable healthy eating by the end of 2024. Get Set to Eat Fresh is a nationwide education programme designed to help young people aged 5-14 years develop the skills required to cook nutritious, low-cost meals.
Source: aldipresscentre.co.uk
SPAR Netherlands to double number of outlets by 2025
SPAR Netherlands is aiming to expand its presence in the country, with plans to more than double its number of stores - from 455 to 1,000 - over the next three years. The retailer said that it plans to examine various formats in its expansion in the Netherlands.
Source: esmmagazine.com
Australia: Bundy Online Fruit and Vege to open shopfront
Ashley and Sharen Staier have been operating Bundy Online Fruit and Vege for eight years and soon they will be opening their first-ever shopfront in the region. The local couple said the online component of their delivery business had been very successful while they lived in Bullyard but, upon recently moving to Bundaberg, they had decided to expand to offer a walk-in shop. “Opening a fruit and vegetable shop has always been something that we have dreamed about!” Sharen said.
Source: bundabergnow.com
Snoonu acquires major Omani food delivery platform
Qatar's leading tech start-up Snoonu announced its acquisition of Akeed, a leading Omani food delivery platform with a network of more than 1000 restaurants and grocery stores. This milestone is considered the first ever achieved by a local tech start-up in Qatar. It serves as a step propelling the rising company forward and bringing it closer to achieving its goal of becoming the first local tech Unicorn company. The agreement will also shore up Snoonu’s business objectives that aim to diversify and expand the company’s operations across the region.
Source: zawya.com