Have you ever wondered when buying grocery items by the pound, if you’re also paying for the weight of the packaging? Well, you shouldn’t be. But the city of Los Angeles says a local chain has been charging customers that way repeatedly – so maybe a million-dollar penalty will get the store’s attention. Los Angeles-based Ralphs, a subsidiary of Kroger,[Read More…]
Your grocery store isn’t the only one that knows what you’re buying when you use your store loyalty card. Turns out, Facebook does too! A report in London’s Financial Times reveals that Facebook has partnered with the data company Datalogix, to track how many consumers buy products after seeing ads on Facebook. How are they doing this exactly? By using[Read More…]
Sure, you like your local grocery store, but have you “liked” them? A roundup of the most and least popular grocery retailers on social media sites (see the full list below) can yield some interesting insights, though it also shows that “likes” aren’t necessarily everything. Florida-based Publix was recently criticized (in “Frozen & Refrigerated Buyer” magazine) for being “technology-challenged”: “Yes,[Read More…]
Walmart recently announced that you can earn a 5% credit by buying some of its healthier store-brand products. Kroger recently discovered that you can earn $7.2 million for buying its store-brand microwave popcorn. A Colorado jury this week awarded that chunk of change to 59-year-old Wayne Watson, who says he developed a chronic condition called “popcorn lung” following his enthusiastic[Read More…]
Some stores are loyal to their loyalty cards, others hope introducing cards will make their customers loyal to them. But still others refuse to go the loyalty card route – and they may be onto something. If you haven’t read the latest exciting issue of “Frozen & Refrigerated Buyer” magazine – and, really, what’s keeping you? – the trade publication[Read More…]
Increasingly, supermarkets caught in the middle between the likes of Walmart and dollar stores on one end, and Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s on the other, are facing a choice: go upscale, go downmarket – or go bust. Winn-Dixie nearly went the “go bust” route. But now it’s trying something different. This week, the Florida-based grocer opened its newest “transformational[Read More…]
The “Walmart Challenge” ads that target grocery stores across the country have not yet targeted Whole Foods. But they just might. Because now Walmart says you can save even more at its stores if you like to shop, and eat, healthy. Today, Walmart announced a new partnership with health care insurer Humana, offering a discount for purchasing healthy items in[Read More…]
As more supermarkets expand their selection to include more wine, beer and specialty foods along with the usual staple grocery items, Harris Teeter is taking a different tack. The southeastern grocery chain is planning a brand new store concept that ditches many of the usual staple grocery items altogether, in favor of high-end items that you might need to entertain[Read More…]
As Walmart expands its ad campaign that invites shoppers to “see for yourself” how much lower their prices are, more competitors mentioned by name in those ads are starting to fight back. First it was Milwaukee-based Pick ‘n Save, now it’s Florida-based Publix. But first, some background. Since early this year, the “Walmart Challenge” ads have been rolling out across[Read More…]
Sure, you’re loyal to your local grocery store – but do you have the card to prove it? More supermarkets are looking to the loyalty card as their ticket out of oblivion. Sacramento, California-based Raley’s, which also operates Bel Air Markets, Nob Hill Foods and Food Source stores across Northern California and Nevada, is the latest to unveil a store[Read More…]
