Specialty, fresh format, and value grocers are outpacing traditional chains
Weekly visits to the grocery store are up, and those shoppers are headed to specialty, fresh format, and value grocery chains, according to a new white paper from Placer.ai. "The two segments offer markedly different shopping experiences: Specialty chains tend to emphasize harder-to-find ingredients and fresh produce - sometimes even at higher price points than traditional grocery stores - while value grocery stores focus on affordability. But both categories are experiencing outsize visit growth in 2024, highlighting consumers' dual interest in both quality and value", the report noted.
Source: supermarketnews.com
US: New Whole Foods Market in Boynton Beach, Florida, to open December 10
Whole Foods Market will open a new 42,024-square-foot store located at 7395 Boynton Beach Blvd. on December 10. Features of the new Boynton Beach store include: an array of certified organic, conventional and Sourced for Good produce, including collards, kales, baby bok choy, lettuce, eggplant and green peppers from Lady Moon Farms and grapefruit from Florida Classic Growers.
Source: media.wholefoodsmarket.com
US: Dollar General opens 1st distribution facility in Colorado
Dollar General celebrated the grand opening of its Aurora, Colorado, distribution center on November 9. The state-of-the-art, approximately 1mln-square-foot facility is expected to create approximately 400 new jobs at full capacity and will also support the company's growing DG Private Fleet presence.
Source: progressivegrocer.com
US: New wave of local and independent grocers adopt Instacart Caper Carts
Instacart announced that multiple local and independent grocers, including Bowman's Market, Maurer's Market IGA, Neiman's Family Market, Queen's Price Chopper and Soelbergs Market are adopting Caper Carts, Instacart's AI-powered smart carts, across their stores.
Source: prnewswire.com
Amazon Fresh expansion continues as chain opens long-awaited stores
Amazon confirmed the opening of eight new Amazon Fresh stores on both the East and West coasts over the past two and a half weeks. The company signed several of these locations' leases years prior but is only now utilizing the spaces, according to local news reports about the locations. Amazon will continue to selectively open Amazon Fresh stores "as we see results we like", company spokesperson Griffin Buch said in an emailed statement.
Source: grocerydive.com
US: ShopRite builds bigger and better supermarket in upstate New York
ShopRite opened its newest state-of-the-art supermarket at 333 North Bedford Road in Mount Kisco, New York, on November 10. The 74,000-square-foot store features expanded services, chef-prepared meals to go, smart shopping carts, and a wide variety of fresh foods and departments.
Source: progressivegrocer.com
India to summon Amazon, Flipkart executives as regulatory scrutiny grows, source says
India's financial crime agency will summon Flipkart and Amazon executives as it steps up an investigation into alleged foreign investment law violations, days after raiding some of the e-commerce firms' sellers, a senior government source said.
Source: reuters.com
SPAR Netherlands recognised by prestigious YouGov consumer research
Consumers appreciate the targeted strategic choices that SPAR Netherlands makes in rapidly changing retail markets through investing in innovative concepts such as the SPAR FoodClub and expanding the network of SPAR stores at strategic locations. This is the outcome of a consumer survey by YouGov (formerly GFK), a British international agency for market research and data analysis. In the constantly evolving customer needs and market conditions, SPAR Netherlands focuses strongly on freshness, convenience, and customer experience.
Source: spar-international.com
India: Wheelocity raises $15mln from Lightspeed as it refocuses on fresh produce in Tier III+ towns
Semi-urban commerce platform Wheelocity has raised $15mln in a round led by existing investor Lightspeed Ventures, along with participation from Alteria Capital, Anicut Capital, and the company's founder. Wheelocity, which earlier procured fresh produce for major quick commerce and ecommerce channels, phased out its B2B arm a year ago and now completely focuses on B2C operations in Tier III towns and beyond.
Source: yourstory.com
Britain's supermarket sales hit 2024 high as shoppers get ready for Christmas
Kantar reported: "Ocado topped the growth table, boosting its sales by 9.5% over the 12 weeks to 3 November 2024. With sales up by 7.4%, Lidl was the fastest growing retailer with a bricks and mortar presence for the 15th period in a row, continuing this run into a second year. It secured 326,000 additional shoppers this period, more than any other retailer, and saw particularly strong fresh produce sales growth at 22%".
Source: kantar.com
Morrisons plans 15 extra stores in Channel Islands
A supermarket chain has announced plans to open an additional 15 stores across Jersey, Guernsey and Alderney. It comes after Morrisons completed the acquisition of 36 convenience stores from SandpiperCI. The acquired stores currently operate under the Iceland, Chequers Express and Le Cocq brands. A spokesperson for the UK retailer said: "In the coming months all stores, with the exception of the two Le Cocq stores, will be rebranded to the Morrisons format."
Source: bbc.com
Ahold Delhaize launches fourth unified app with Mega Image in Romania - elevating digital shopping across Europe
Ahold Delhaize reported: "Ahold Delhaize is excited to announce the launch of its fourth unified app, this time with Mega Image in Romania, marking a significant milestone in our digital convergence journey across Europe. This initiative aims to provide a seamless and cohesive shopping experience, integrating advanced features tailored to meet the evolving needs of our customers".
Source: newsroom.aholddelhaize.com
UK: Asda appoints former Tesco director as interim online boss
Asda has appointed former Tesco director Barney Burgess as its interim vice president of online until David Devany joins the business next year. Burgess will lead the Asda.com, George.com and online operations teams with immediate effect, reporting to chief digital officer Matt Kelleher.
Source: grocerygazette.co.uk
Dino Polska reports LFL sales growth of 4.9% in 9M 2024
Polish retailer Dino Polska has reported like-for-like sales growth of 4.9% in the first nine months of its financial year, to September 2024. Revenue for the period amounted to PLN 21.5bln (€5bln), increasing by 13.5% from one year ago, the company added. The sales of fresh products generated 39.7% of revenue, including fruit and vegetables, bread, and fresh meat produced by the Agro-Rydzyna meat-processing plant.
Source: esmmagazine.com
UK: Andrew Staniland ditches Asda move for Morrisons
Iceland group buying director Andrew Staniland has ditched his impending move to Asda to join Morrisons instead. Originally scheduled to start in a VP role at Asda in March, Staniland will now take on the position of group trading director and executive committee member at Morrisons in February.
Source: retailgazette.co.uk
UK: IGD outlines plan for how food industry can achieve net zero targets
The Institute for Grocery Distribution (IGD) has released a new report - A Net Zero Transition Plan for the UK Food System - providing a framework for the food sector to achieve 70% emissions reductions in agriculture and to fully decarbonise heat, electricity and transport. Commissioned by IGD and developed by consultants EY and WRAP, the report provides an independent, evidence-based view of how the UK food system, in its entirety, can reduce Greenhouse Gas emissions in line with a 1.5degree SBTi outcome and meet the UK's legally binding national target.
Source: kamcity.com