Amazon is beginning to incorporate Whole Foods into its Prime Now delivery program. Prime Now offers one and two hour delivery options in certain cities. Laura Stevens reports for The Wall Street Journal that Amazon plans to expand its efforts. The online retail giant will add Whole Foods to its one- and two-hour delivery option, Prime Now, in the grocer’s hometown of Austin, Texas, as well as Dallas, Virginia Beach, Va. and Cincinnati, Ohio. Stephenie Landry, the Amazon vice president who oversees Prime Now, said it plans to expand the effort, but declined to say how quickly. She noted … [Read more...]
Amazon Grocery Sales Bask in Glow of Whole Foods Halo
After buying Whole Foods, Amazon has been selling more groceries via its AmazonFresh delivery service. Customers are buying Whole Foods branded products through Amazon's online grocery offering. Heather Haddon writes: Whole Foods’ brand items like bacon, coconut water and frozen blueberries helpedAmazon.com Inc. AMZN -1.13% gobble up more U.S. grocery sales last year. Products carrying the natural foods chain’s brand helped push sales at Amazon’s online grocery-delivery service, AmazonFresh, up 35% to $135 million in the last four months of 2017 over the previous four months, according to … [Read more...]
After a Year of Retail Misery, Shoppers Finish 2017 Strong
Throughout 2017 it seemed that every week a brick and mortar retailer was going out of business. Big names like RadioShack, The Limited, Payless ShoeSource, and Toys R' Us all went under in 2017, and there are plenty of other retailers on the edge. But according to MasterCard, retailers, including e-commerce, did well in the last months of 2017. MasterCard tracked an increase of 4.9% in sales at retailers (excludes autos) from November 1 to December 24. That's larger than the 3.7% recorded last year. Suzanne Kapner reports at The Wall Street Journal: “It started with a bang in the week … [Read more...]
Warehousing Employments Soars to Support E-Commerce Explosion
The number of employees working in the warehousing and storage industry in America has reached a new all-time high of 974,000. Last month alone employers added 8,100 new hires in the business. That's up 0.8% in one month. Since 2014 the industry has been averaging annualized hiring growth of 7.83%. The demand for employees who support e-commerce is ramping up, with hiring for warehouse workers, truckers, and delivery drivers all expanding. Jennifer Smith writes at The Wall Street Journal: November marked the eighth straight month of expansion in a sector that has boomed as more … [Read more...]
Dollar General Has Cracked the Code to Rural America
Proper location and the right product mix has given Dollar General just what it needs to appeal to shoppers in rural America. They want smaller sizes than they get at giant big box stores, and the convenience of a store nearby. The Wall Street Journal's Sarah Nassauer notes that as rural America struggles, Dollar General's customer base grows. She writes: Dollar General is expanding because rural America is struggling. With its convenient locations for frugal shoppers, it has become one of the most profitable retailers in the U.S. and a lifeline for lower-income customers bypassed by other … [Read more...]
Can Breakfast at Tiffany’s Get Americans to Shop Brick and Mortar Again?
U.S. retailers are looking hard for anything that can prevent them from going under. Focusing on in-store events and promotions that can't be duplicated online is how many retailers are hoping to fight the e-commerce sales growth that has been gutting brick and mortar stores. The Financial Times' Anna Nicolaou reports on the efforts of retailers to bring in foot traffic: On the fourth floor of the Tiffany flagship store overlooking Central Park, Audrey Hepburn fans can now recreate her famed breakfast for $29. Since opening last month, tourists have flocked to the restaurant, snapping photos … [Read more...]
Faster Food: Wal-Mart and Kroger Demand Suppliers Speed Up
With the threat of Amazon's Whole Foods business on their minds, executives at Wal-Mart and Kroger, two of America's largest grocers, are focusing on driving down costs so they can better compete on price. To increase efficiency, the grocers are targeting late deliveries. According to the Food Marketing Institute, grocers are losing $75 billion a year in sales thanks to out of stock products and other unsalable items. That makes suppliers The Wall Street Journal reports: The country’s biggest grocers are increasingly demanding their suppliers deliver on time, imposing fines for late … [Read more...]
Brands Relying Heavily on Amazon for Holiday Season Success
It seems every year brands must focus more of their attention on e-commerce sales if they want to thrive. This year looks no different. Wonder Workshop, a company that makes toy robots aimed at tweens who are into coding, is focusing the majority of its attention on e-commerce sales. The decision to think of brick and mortar retailers as a secondary concern comes as many physical stores are facing difficulties. Toys R' Us, long a staple of Christmastime present buying, filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy in September. Companies need to think differently than they have in the past about … [Read more...]
Malls: Back Already?
The financial press has been trashing malls for months now, but it doesn't make much to turn the tide. With a bid by Brookfield Property Partners to purchase the remaining shares of GGP, a REIT that is significantly invested in malls and retail operations, Wall Street is taking a second look at mall properties. Esther Fung writes: Shares of A-mall real-estate investment trusts Taubman Centers Inc., TCO -0.16%Macerich Co. MAC +0.32% and GGP all have risen between 14% and 24% since the start of November after having underperformed the broader REIT market since August 2016. “Two weeks ago … [Read more...]
Is America’s Great Coffee Boom About to End?
The number of coffee establishments in the U.S. has increased by 16% over the last year to almost 33,000. The increased supply has started to take a toll on the coffee business. With everyone from Cumberland Farms to McDonald's making an aggressive push into the coffee business, profitability has suffered. Dunkin Donuts recently scaled back its new store plans and Starbucks has reduced is long-term profit goals. The share prices of Dunkin and Starbucks have held up relatively well in the face of increased competition, but then again neither have had to face the rumors that Amazon is entering … [Read more...]
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