EQUITY RETAIL BLOG

Study finds that most consumers still want to buy groceries in stores

According to a recent Forbes.com story, The Food Marketing Institute estimates that online grocery sales will reach $100 billion by 2025, or about 20% of the grocery retail market. Today it is estimated that 2.0% to 4.3% of industry sales originate online. Amazon currently leads the way in the online grocery market, with an 18% […]

Sam's Club to open 32,000 SF store

Sam’s Club announced last month that it plans to open a smaller-format store centered on convenience and a digital experience, with the product selection focusing on consumables. The 32,000 square foot store is scheduled to open in Dallas this fall. Typical Sam’s Club warehouse stores are about 135,000 square feet, with many even larger. According […]

Restaurant Chain Growth

This article shows a brief, but good list of restaurant chains with both size (in number of units) and momentum in growth.   Three are from the Coffee-Snack segment.  Two are from Chicken and there is one from C-Store, Pizza, and Limited Service/Mexican.   Note, many, but not all, of the expanding chains rely on franchising.   We’re […]

Amazon brings Whole Foods into the mix for Prime Day

Amazon announced earlier this week that it plans to offer Prime customers $10 to spend on Amazon for Prime Day when they make a purchase of $10 or more at Whole Foods between July 11 and 17. Prime Day begins at 3:00 pm on July 16 and runs through July 17. Here’s how it works. […]

The Fresh Market to close 15 stores

The Fresh Market announced yesterday that it plans to close 15 stores in nine states. None of the closings are in Pennsylvania, New Jersey or Delaware. The closings are expected to take place in the next two to four weeks. Four of the stores are in Illinois, two in Georgia, two in Virginia, and one […]

Kroger to test unmanned vehicle delivery

Kroger announced in late June that it plans to pilot unmanned road vehicles for grocery delivery through a partnership with Nuro, a California-based robotics and artificial intelligence company. A test scheduled for the fall will allow customers to place grocery orders through Kroger’s ClickList system and Nuro’s app, and have their items delivered the same […]

Giant Eagle launches Scan Pay & Go service

The Pittsburgh-based Giant Eagle supermarket chain recently launched Scan Pay & Go, a service that enables customers to use their phones or a store-provided device to scan groceries as they shop. The service allows shoppers to keep track of how much they are spending and experience a faster checkout process. Scan Pay & Go is […]

Young customers taking to Lidl as older shoppers return to former shopping habits

Two recent studies show how Lidl is affecting the competition, and how the retailer is taking hold with customers. In a study called “Defending Supermarket Share When Lidl Comes to Town,” Florida-based Catalina, which claims to have the world’s largest database of shopper history, examined shopper behavior at 83 supermarkets within three miles of 30 […]

Vote set for Albertsons - Rite Aid deal

Rite Aid has set a special stockholders meeting for August 9 to vote on a proposal to approve its merger with Albertsons, even as some investors are trying to stop the deal. Rite Aid has repeatedly stated that the deal is in the best interest of its shareholders. However, some investors have been upset that […]

Giant to open e-commerce hub in Lancaster County, PA

Giant Food Stores recently announced a $22 million investment in Lancaster County, PA. The grocery retailer plans to launch a new e-commerce hub, remodel four stores, lower prices, and open a fuel station in Lititz. According to a company press release, the e-commerce hub “will be designed with a unique format that offers curbside pickup […]