Convenience, technology leading small-store push at Walmart By Jon Springer Wal-Mart Stores will open more small stores than big stores in the U.S. this year, underscoring not only that more convenient concepts like Neighborhood Markets are outperforming their larger sibling Supercenters, but a concurrent companywide effort to use digital technologies to make those small stores behave…
Archives for June 2014
Your Time is Money
How much will you pay to have someone do your shopping for you? Lots of new services will do your shopping for you for a fee. These are runner services that source people who are willing select and deliver your groceries to you. Most charge a fee and some upcharge the products. This is a…
Speed is the New Currency
Amazon and Walmart are making lots of big plays to ensure that they are well positioned to provide fast delivery to consumers. They are building distribution centers at an unprecedented rate, optimizing inbound transportation, and building last mile infrastructure. The race is on to provide the fastest possible delivery. You want it, you click, you…
Traditional American supermarkets are being eaten alive
Traditional american supermarkets are being eaten alive By Matt Phillips The grocery store business has never been easy, given its traditionally thin margins. But the last decade has seen a fundamental transformation of the food business as giant discounters such as Wal-Mart and Target cut into food sales. According to a recent note published by equity analysts…
Click & Collect – The New American Drive-Thru
Click & Collect operations have been very successful in the UK and Europe with retailers like Tesco and Auchon. This concept is expanding in the US with most retailers, like Walmart, Stop & Shop, and Hannaford, testing options. Click & Collect is one of the most cost effective solutions for retailers to provide a last…
Key to Reverse Logistics is Great Inventory Visibility
Retailers are working hard to figure out how to get product to consumers in our new omnichannel world. The bigger challenge looming may be how to deal with all of the stuff that they don’t want. It is inevitable that there will be returns, even in a CPG world. Consumers will make mistakes with their…
Consumer Confidence Reaches Highest Level in Six Years
With steady improvements in employment this year, the forecast for consumer spending in the United States is the brightest it has been since 2008. Consumer spending accounts for almost 70 percent of the economy today. Americans will be spending more as a whole due to the higher number of people employed. This will lead to…
Uber for Logistics: A User-Friendly Way to Transport Things
I received an email this morning announcing UberRUSH it, a messenger delivery service for NYC. The car service is branching into bikes and on-foot messengers to deliver documents or other small parcels in place of a traditional courier service. This service is a natural extension of Uber’s compelling use case, but it is not the…
Improving Health and Wellness a Top Priority
The Consumer Goods Industry Strengthens Commitment to Improving Health and Wellness for Consumers Worldwide The Consumer Goods Forum Board of Directors agrees to new strategic milestones to help ensure the wellbeing of consumers PARIS, Wednesday 18th June 2014 – Recognising the importance of health and wellness to consumers, The Consumer Goods Forum’s Board of…
A Call for Change at the Consumer Goods Forum Global Summit
The Consumer Goods Forum Calls for Binding Global Climate Change Deal PARIS, Wednesday 18th June 2014 – The Board of The Consumer Goods Forum today called on heads of state across the world to engage and act with determination, leadership and ambition to secure an ambitious and legally binding global climate deal. As part of…