Stripes is among the growing number of convenience store chains providing an authentic Hispanic cuisine to attract this growing demographic. By Pat Pape, Contributing Editor. Early each morning the parking lots of Stripes Convenience Stores fill up with the trucks and cars of customers wanting to purchase a hearty meal of breakfast tacos, carne guisada…
Will Tesco Turn it Around?
Fresh & Easy is rolling out a new Express store format, but can the company come out on top after nearly four years of heavy losses? By Erin Rigik, Associate Editor. Tesco’s Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Market grocery chain debuted with a bang in 2007, rolling out 20 stores in rapid succession in California, Nevada…
Building Better Beer Sales
While many trends impact the beer category, the one that will most directly influence how marketers do business is the continued demand for more choices by the consumer. By Joe Bush, Contributing Editor. It’s been two years since Walgreens jumped back into the beer and wine business, and at least three convenience store operators in…
7-Eleven Teaming With Amazon
Now in tests in Seattle, a new program could allow customers to retrieve their Amazon packages at their local c-store. Amazon and 7-Eleven are reportedly testing a new delivery locker that would allow customers to pick up their Amazon packages at local 7-Eleven convenience stores, according to GeekWire. Currently the locker system is said to…
Walmart’s Reign Fading?
“How America Shops” survey shows Walmart shoppers find lowest prices elsewhere. The Walmart shopper’s value perception has dramatically changed, according to a new research report that surveyed nearly 1,500 Walmart Shoppers. A continuing recessionary mindset, coupled with lower priced competitors are driving shoppers to other retail destinations, according to WSL/Strategic Retail’s How America Shops…
Retailers Pledge to Expand Healthy Food Options
Several c-stores and grocery stores agreed to join the Partnership for a Healthier America (PHA) with First Lady Michelle Obama to expand value and health foods to more impoverished U.S. communities. The Partnership for a Healthier America (PHA), together with First Lady Michelle Obama, announced that leading grocery retailers have committed to bring healthy, affordable…
Murphy USA Attracts Customers Through Whrrl
Murphy USA, a national gas station and convenience store chain co-located at Walmart, has partnered with Warner Bros. and is driving business with a social networking campaign through Whrrl, Mobile Commerce Daily reported. When customers check in on Whrrl- a Web site where people can find friends that share their real world patterns-at one of…
Walmart Infiltrates Chicago
Chicago retailers could face increased big box competition now that Walmart has announced its goal to build several dozen stores in the city over the next five years. Part of a long-term initiative called the “Chicago Community Investment Partnership,” the new plan between the city of Chicago and Walmart would help eradicate food deserts and…
Low Prices Replace Customer Service As Loyalty Driver
In a vast departure from COLLOQUY’s 2008 report on consumer loyalty to U.S retailers, Walmart dominated the 2010 COLLOQUY Retail Loyalty Index, in results that reflect a reality of the Great Recession – low prices drove consumer loyalty. COLLOQUY, the publishing, education and research division of LoyaltyOne, previously published the COLLOQUY Retail Loyalty Index in…
IRI’s Thom Blischok Keynote Speaker at Retail Technology Conference
Leading consumer trends expert Thom Blischok will be the keynote speaker at Gilbarco Veeder-Root’s Retail Technology Conference, March 8 – 11 at the Carolina Inn in Chapel Hill, N.C. On Wednesday, March 10 at 8:00 a.m. Blischok will discuss trends in retail and how technology is essential to compete. As president of thought leadership and…