food retail

Launch of Walmart Land and Walmart’s Universe of Play

Roblox community members can check out the Walmart ‘isles’ to collect verch, catch top music artists and unlock exclusive interactive content

Recently, Walmart announced the launch of two new immersive experiences in the metaverse mega-platform, Roblox. Called Walmart Land and Walmart’s Universe of Play, the spaces offer unique interactive content and entertainment for customers, ...

U.S. food industry is investing heavily in customer experience

Food retailers pursue strategic differentiation strategies as inflationary pressures increase costs and impact shopping behaviors

Despite a challenging year marked by a persisting pandemic, historic inflation, supply chain bottlenecks and labor shortages, the food industry is making significant investments to meet shoppers’ evolving tastes, according to FMI – The ...

Food retailers missing out on revenue opportunities

OSF Digital releases 2022 Grocery Omnichannel Retail Index with insights to accelerate growth and increase loyalty

OSF Digital, an award-winning provider of digital transformation services to companies worldwide, announced the release of the 2022 Grocery Omnichannel Retail Index (ORI) findings in partnership with FMI, the Food Industry Association, and NRF, the ...

Instacart announces ‘Connected Stores’ technology

New technology to help grocers seamlessly unify the online and in-store shopping experience

Instacart, a grocery technology company in North America, unveiled Connected Stores – a bundle of six new Instacart Platform technologies that layer on top of existing offerings, helping grocers bring together the best of online ordering and ...

Cimcorp to showcase its bakery solution at IBIE 2022

Automated order fulfillment solutions help bakeries minimize lead times and maximize product freshness

Cimcorp, a manufacturer and integrator of turnkey robotic order fulfillment and tire-handling solutions, announces it will be exhibiting at the International Baking Industry Exposition (IBIE) 2022, scheduled for Sept. 17-21, in Las Vegas. Cimcorp ...

How convenience stores can drive shopper loyalty in 2022

Convenience, prices, loyalty programs – how to retain customers

According to this year’s Convenience Store Trends Report from Intouch Insight Ltd., convenience does not trump brand loyalty for today’s consumers. For example, when it comes to their cup of joe, 70% of shoppers would seek out their ...

Practical buying, automatic selling

Interview with Alexander Eissing, Managing Director of Livello GmbH, about modern vending machines and their cross-sector future

Vending machines are a familiar sight at airports, train stations, hospitals and many other facilities. But not all vending machines are the same. Many of the older models are not suitable for meeting the requirements of both retailers and customers ...

EuroShop 2023 – Prime time event of the global retail industry

Hot topics that move retail now and in the future – from 26 February to 2 March 2023

Despite a turbulent climate EuroShop 2020 proved a resounding success. 94,339 visitors from 142 countries travelled to the Rhine to learn from 2,287 exhibitors from 56 nations about all aspects, innovations and trends in the global retail world. And ...

Rolling into the future

Why shopping carts can be so much more than they currently are

More and more technology is finding its way into our supermarkets. Already today, self-service checkouts, electronic shelf labels and virtual wayfinding guides are a familiar sight in many stores. But the customer experience usually doesn't ...

Tesco electrifies deliveries to more than 400 stores

Introduction of new electric truck will help improve air quality and reduce emissions

In an industry first, Tesco has become the first retailer to launch a zero-emission electric lorry to make deliveries from its distribution centres to stores in city centres. ...

UpWest makes impact in New York with local non-profit GrowNYC

Purpose driven brand on a mission to provide comfort for people and planet by donating 1% of sales to non-profits across the US

This year, UpWest has opened two stores in the greater New York area with locations in Williamsburg and Roosevelt Field Mall. Both locations partner with GrowNYC whose mission is to improve New York's quality of life through environmental ...

First "Refill Station" at Tops market Westgate

Tops highlights its sustainability store concept by partnering with Unilever Thailand and SCGC

Today, the world has more plastic waste than it can handle, partly because we are used to the convenience that plastic brings, but do not manage plastic waste properly. Most of the plastic waste is single-use plastic and more and more ends up in ...

Smart shopping – with intelligent shopping trolleys

How modern shopping trolley systems benefit retailers and customers

Smart shopping trolleys offer various advantages not only to customers but also to retailers. This was proven by the great interest in and selection of such technologies during EuroCIS 2022. With the SmartShopper, Expresso has launched its own ...

Morrisons launches lower environmental impact store

Including less carbon emissions, zero waste, local and loose products

Morrisons is has opened a lower environmental impact store in Little Clacton, the latest initiative on its journey to becoming a more sustainable business. The new store design, which has been built from scratch, for the first time incorporates ...

InHome direct-to-fridge delivery as option for Walmart customers

Walmart creates a convenient shopping experience

Starting on June 6th, Walmart’s InHome Delivery Service, which delivers groceries straight to your fridge, is now available as an optional add-on within Walmart+. What were previously two standalone memberships are joining forces to bring all ...

Food-packaging system reduces health risks and saves food

Antimicrobial food wrap could reduce food waste and foodborne illness

As food costs continue to rise and a global food crisis looms on the horizon, it’s staggering to think that some 30-40% of America’s food supply ends up in landfills, mostly due to spoilage. At the same time, the World Health ...

Convenience Experience Report: Demand for short lines, mobile ordering, and drive-thru

Americans put convenience stores on par with fast food restaurants

Bluedot introduced the first Convenience Experience Report, a benchmark study that explores consumer sentiment and the customer experience at gas stations and convenience stores (c-stores).The research was based on a survey of 1,570 American ...

Weekly grocery shopping made easy: meal planning via app

Grocery shopping, ordering, recipes – all in one app with connection to local grocery stores

Grocery shopping can be fun. For a five-person household with a baby and a dog, including allergies and favorite dishes, it quickly becomes a mammoth task. The developers of the app Jow want to simplify this very process and are teaming up with ...

BJ’s Wholesale Club opens first of its kind BJ’s market

The new club, openend on Friday, May 6, gives members full access to a smaller format club and a convenient, expedited shopping experience

BJ’s Wholesale Club, operator of membership warehouse clubs in the Eastern United States, has announced the opening of BJ’s market, a new concept club in Warwick, RI.Located at 375 East Ave, BJ’s market is 43,000 square feet, about ...

Grocers miss opportunities by not showing alternatives as “out-of-stock” messages increase

How the pandemic has impacted online grocery shopping and how consumers respond to grocer recommendations and decreased inventory

Lucidworks, a provider of next-generation AI-powered search applications, surveyed consumers in the U.K. and U.S. who shop for groceries online. The survey revealed that only 28% of shoppers are being offered alternative recommendations every ...

An experimental shop of the future in London

Selfridges looks to reinvent retail through its sustainability strategy 'Project Earth'

SUPERMARKET – an earth conscious shop of the future –  was unveiled by Selfridges at the start of April. Customers were able to explore a creative playground in The Corner Shop in Selfridges Oxford Street store where printing ...

Ensuring freshness in food retail from farm to plate

Kroger and NVIDIA partner with AI-enabled applications and services

The Kroger Co and NVIDIA announced a strategic collaboration to reimagine the shopping experience using AI-enabled applications and services.Kroger, USA’s largest grocer, and NVIDIA will build a state-of-art AI lab and demonstration center to ...

Food retail: from self-scanning to autonomous stores

EuroCIS from 31 May to 02 June 2022 in Düsseldorf presents current technology trends

When Amazon opened the first cashierless "Amazon Go" store to the general public in 2018, most experts in Europe were unanimous in their assessment: a highly exciting, technologically very ambitious project that a company like Amazon can ...

Key strategic priorities to businesses this year

IGD unveils five global retail trends for 2022

Global insight provider IGD has published its predictions for the global retail trends that are set to shape the international food and consumer goods industry in 2022. The new report outlines five key trends to help retailers and suppliers navigate ...

"Amazon Go" or "Amazon No"?

Our iXtenso editor tested a “just-walk-out store” from Amazon in Chicago

Is Amazon's ambitious "Amazon Go" project quietly going under? Or is it about to catch on and become ubiquitous? I tried to find answers to these questions at a store in Chicago.  ...

IGD unveils five global retail trends for 2022

Global insight provider IGD has published its predictions for the global retail trends that are set to shape the international food and consumer goods industry in 2022

The new report outlines five key trends to help retailers and suppliers navigate the ongoing challenges brought about by COVID-19 and plan for the year ahead.Toby Pickard, Head of Innovation and Future Retail Insight at IGD, said: "2021 was a ...

U.S. conventional grocers’ same-store online sales down in 2021 6.8% vs YOY

New eGrocery sales performance benchmarks and topline findings

Conventional grocers reported a 6.8% drop in online grocery sales on a same-store basis during the 12 weeks ending September 28, 2021, versus the prior year, according to the Brick Meets Click eGrocery Performance Benchmarking 2021 Wave. A 3.1% ...

Albertsons Companies launches new digital meal planning features

Shoppers can now complete meal planning and shopping in under 10 minutes and easily keep essentials stocked at home

Albertsons Companies, Inc. announced the launch of two new digital offerings – meal planning and Schedule & Save. The new capabilities will offer loyalty members integrated menu planning and shopping list creation and the ability to ...

AI Counter tech: future of unmanned retail stores and ability to scan objects

INFINIQ reveals next-generation retail tech at CES 2022

INFINIQ, an artificial intelligence (AI) and autonomous driving data service company, unveiled its autonomous driving and retail innovation technology at CES 2022 from Jan. 5-7, 2022 in Las Vegas.INFINIQ presents a self-checkout solution and CES ...

Retail turnover in 2021 expected to be up 0.9% in real terms on 2020

Non-food retail gains, textile retail loses

According to an estimate of the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis), turnover in retail trade in Germany recorded a new record high in 2021.The real (price-adjusted) turnover in retail trade was 0.6% to 1.2% higher and the nominal (not ...

Asda trials UK-first indoor map service for the blind and visually impaired

The British supermarket chain Asda is trialling new technology in its Stevenage store which will make it easier for blind and partially sighted customers to navigate their way around the store.To coincide with the UN International Day of Persons ...

Coco, the remotely-piloted delivery service

New model Coco 1 expands delivery radius and volumes

Coco, the robot based delivery service, announced the official launch of COCO 1, a larger, more advanced version of its signature pink bot.The Coco 1 is a first of its kind delivery robot designed and manufactured in partnership with the micro ...

One in five will buy groceries online in 2024

Report highlights need for grocers to improve online experiences

Spryker Systems has launched its U.S. Online Grocery Report 2022. The research finds that almost half (47 percent) of Americans buy at least some of their groceries online. The research surveyed 2,500 consumers from across the U.S. on their ...

Israeli companies cooperate on smart shopping carts

Supermarket chain Machsanei Hashuk integrates solution by WalkOut for intelligent shopping carts

The Israeli company WalkOut, the developer of an autonomous end-to-end frictionless shopping solution, announces an extensive cooperation agreement with Machsanei Hashuk, one of the largest supermarket chains in Israel. As part of the ...

Self-driving kiosk: wave, buy, snack

REWE and Vodafone put first self-driving kiosk on the road

A kiosk on four wheels - this may not be new and somehow it is, because: The snacks are on the road without a driver*. The innovation unit REWE digital of the food retailer REWE makes common cause with the telecommunications company Vodafone and ...

Independent grocers reach record sales and profits

Independents stepped up during pandemic, building on community ties and employee loyalty

The 2021 edition of the Independent Grocers Financial Survey, a joint study between the National Grocers Association (NGA) and FMS Solutions, finds record financial and operational performance benchmarks in a banner year for the $253 billion ...

75% of online grocery orders to be fulfilled at grocery stores

Demand for grocery home delivery has plateaued according to 40,000 U.S. customers

Mercatus announced findings from its annual eGrocery survey of U.S. consumers, conducted in collaboration with Incisiv. The report, titled "eGrocery Transformed: 2021 market projections and insight into online grocery's elevated ...

Tesco opens new checkout-free store ‘GetGo’

Shopping and paying without scanning products or using checkouts

Tesco has opened its first checkout-free store in central London on October 19th, giving customers the opportunity to shop and pay without scanning a product or using a checkout. This new store trial, GetGo, offers customers the same Tesco products ...

Instacart acquires Caper AI

Smart cart and smart checkout technologies

Instacart announced its acquisition of Caper AI (“Caper”), an AI-powered shopping cart and checkout technology platform. With this acquisition, Instacart aims to help retailers unify the in-store and online shopping experience for ...

The first cashier-free supermarket inaugurated in Dubai

Unmanned stores with remote-controlled counters

“The world of retail is evolving and digital transformation will be the engine of change. Customers are increasingly demanding and they are asking for a fast, pleasant and safe shopping experience. The innovation will support retailers in this ...

Expanding grocery order and delivery service for independent retailers

Partnership between United Natural Foods and DoorDash

United Natural Foods, Inc. announced it has entered into a reseller agreement with DoorDash to bring on-demand grocery delivery solutions to independent retailers nationwide through the DoorDash marketplace.UNFI’s arrangement with DoorDash ...