Kmart’s downfall, accelerated by poor management and failure to adapt to modern retail trends, ended with the recent closure of its last full-size U.S. store. Experts say there are lessons to be learned from Kmart’s demise.
Amazon’s chief engineer used to have a dog named Rufus who ran up and down the halls fetching tennis balls. That doesn’t seem like a big deal for a multibillion-dollar business. But recently, Amazon brought …
Food and beverage stakeholders already know that to guarantee a sale, one must meet consumers where they are. Today, that’s online. Nearly 70% of consumers purchase groceries online in some capacity, according to recent data …
A health scare inspired CEO Katie Lefkowitz to create gut-friendly snack bars. She ended up with a sweet solution in the form of date caramel candy bars.
Retailers are navigating a complex landscape right now marked by regulatory scrutiny, rising shrinkage, and financially stretched consumers. These pressures are forcing retailers to adapt quickly, according to Supermarket Guru Phil Lempert.
The latest Food Institute Fast Break news podcast provides an update of Walmart’s drone delivery plans, and more.
New employee compensation initiatives at employers like McDonald’s and Walmart aim to make on-the-job experience count toward college credits.
Amazon’s Prime Day sales, which began Tuesday, were expected to rake in $14 billion, up 10.5% from last year, Adobe Analytics projected. Such statistics have inspired competitors to join the July sales fray.
As consumers continue to stockpile frozen foods, retail operators are leveraging private labels to tap into that demand. Which frozen products are experiencing the most store brand sales growth? FI investigates.
Everything is cyclical. There’s a pendulum at play for any brand investing heavily in the private-label game – as more house brands populate shelves with similar names and cheaper prices than their national brand counterparts, public perception of the parent company may swing along with the pendulum; in other words, some consumers may begin to question what they’re compromising when their carts are full of private-label goods instead of the national brands they may have been buying last week, last quarter, or last year. So swings the pendulum as a blade of commerce.
“The digital element presents an expanded shopper/marketer revenue stream for the company,” Zakowicz said.
While e-commerce continues to gain ground, most consumers still appreciate the in-store shopping experience, according to a new survey.
Today’s retail workers are most eager to be equipped with tools that help them tackle inefficient tasks, particularly when interacting with customers.
The performance of dollar store stocks suggested investors believed Walmart’s best days were behind it. They were wrong.
For many major retailers, the latest quarterly results tell a familiar tale: consumers are fed up with high prices, spending less, and commodifying their loyalty by taking the best deal right now, regardless of whose logo adorns their grocery bag or shopping cart.
Central America’s burgeoning population is proving an attractive target for Walmart, which announced its plans to invest $1.3 billion in Guatemala and Costa Rica in the next five years. Cristina Ronski, who heads up the …
All of a sudden, $5 value meals are everywhere, from fast-food chains to major retailers. Industry insiders say the deals are simply a short-term solution, however.
The most recent rising trend in retail is lowering one’s expectations of retail. This year, clothing companies tended to fall the worst, followed closely by QSRs, big box stores, and grocers, in that order.
Retail giant Walmart is hardly moving like a lumbering incumbent, but rather at a pace more like that of a startup. That seems a terrifying prospect for the rest of the industry, said FI’s resident stock analyst.
Shopper experience in the physical store is often what truly differentiates the independent grocer from brick-and-mortar chain stores and online e-commerce competitors like Amazon. The right mix of products, priced right, offered in the right place, and services delivered by welcoming staff in a pleasant environment are essential to building sales and customer loyalty.
Many consumers feel they can’t win on cost alone – they also need an experience, or at least a decent reason to visit a brick-and-mortar store.
As more work is being published (and more health-focused products manufactured) to improve health and happiness, we may be entering an era in which the average human life can not only be improved, but extended. Are store managers ready for what that means?
The latest Food Institute news podcast touches on a very unique new collection of products from the Dunkin’ chain.
For the first time in the report’s history, the top six brands – all of them – are store brands, from retailers like Walmart, Amazon, and Target.
The future of marketing was examined by executives during this week’s Possible Conference. A key takeaway: shoppable content.
Can compassion be taught? That’s the question Walmart hopes to answer with a recent initiative for its store managers.
In a few short years, retail will be a totally immersive and data-driven experience highlighted by personalized AI recommendations for health and home, smart carts to increase efficiency (and solve the traveling salesman’s dilemma in-store), and much more.
“Customers will step into a retail environment where every interaction is personalized, guided by AI algorithms that efficiently navigate shoppers through aisles and offer tailored product suggestions in real time,” fostering brand loyalty and elevating the consumer experience to “unprecedented satisfaction levels.”
To further understand how inventory and supply chain will change, Jarvis said the end of data silos must be achieved “to create a holistic understanding of each shopper, their interactions, and the stream of information being shared with them.
“By 2030, visiting a Target, Walmart, or Costco won’t just be about shopping,” said Diana Zheng, head of marketing at Stallion Express, a leading e-commerce shipping company from Canada, “It will be an experience. An immersive experience. A personalized experience, even a social experience.”
The Pitbull-launched intra-store restaurant is part of a larger, $9 billion plan to make “upscale changes” to stores and bring in more recognizable and coveted brands and influencers. For Walmart, pairing with the king of collaborations is a natural choice.
From number-crunching untold volumes of data to helping streamline inventory, supply chain, and predictive market trends, there is no digital limit to what AI can help operators achieve.
The least expensive products will start at just $1.99 and range from apparel to supplements, vitamins to technology, and more. Many of the offerings will be exclusive to Target and complement its dedicated online wellness destination that features ideas, meal inspiration, and more.
EV charging stations outside, stores within stores inside, sprawling beauty sections, niche products, reimagined loyalty programs – the battle for foot traffic is cutthroat as the economy roars to life.