Walmart is overhauling its first‑mile logistics with a new Prepaid Consolidation Program, designed to get products onto store shelves faster while reducing complexity for suppliers. The program allows vendors to send products under a single national purchase order to one location. From there, Walmart combines the inventory and distributes it to 42 regional distribution centers […]
Category: Industry News
Posted inExecutive News, Featured News, Merchandising News, National, News, The Kroger Co.
Kroger SVP Jabbar Retires After 38 Years
The Kroger Co. has announced that Valerie Jabbar, SVP of retail divisions, retired in May after 38 years of service. Jabbar began her career with Kroger’s Fry’s division in 1987 as a clerk. Over the decades, she held a range of leadership roles, including assistant store director, category manager, drug/general manager coordinator, general office seasonal […]
Posted inGrocery Store Equipment, Association News, National, News
FMI, NGA Applaud Trump Administration’s Rollback Of Refrigeration Rules
President Trump and EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin announced revisions to two commercial refrigeration rules May 21, drawing praise from FMI – The Food Industry Association and the National Grocers Association (NGA), which said the changes will spare grocery retailers – especially independent operators – from an estimated $144 billion in compliance costs. The final EPA […]
Posted inFinance News, Corporate Store News, Featured News, News, Southwest, Walmart
Walmart U.S. 1Q Comps Up 4.1%, E-Comm 26%
Walmart characterized the first quarter of fiscal 2027 for its U.S. division as one of “strong sales, with broad-based share gains, reflecting accelerated customer transactions led by e-commerce growth.” Reporting results May 21 for the quarter ended April 30, Walmart said its U.S. comparable store sales increased by 4.1 percent, excluding fuel. U.S. net sales […]
Posted inSnacks Brands, Featured News, Grocery Research, National, News
State Of Treating 2026: What’s Driving Confectionery Consumers
Nearly every American household still reaches for chocolate, candy, gum or mints at some point in the year — but how, where and why they buy is shifting in ways independent grocers can lean into. That was the core message from Anne-Marie Roerink, president of 210 Analytics, who presented the National Confectioners Association’s seventh annual […]
Posted inIndependent Store News, Featured News, H-E-B, News, Southwest, Supply Chain News
H-E-B Planning $700M Supply Chain Expansion Over Next Decade
H-E-B plans to invest $700 million to expand its supply chain operations, a project expected to create 720 jobs by 2028 and more than 1,200 new full-time positions over the next decade. While not yet finalized, the retailer has identified its Foster Road campus on San Antonio’s east side as a potential location for the […]
Posted inGrocery Research, Association News, Featured News, National, News
FMI Report Finds Shoppers Visit More Than 5 Grocery Banners Per Month
FMI – The Food Industry Association has released the U.S. Grocery Shopper Trends 2026 report, outlining elements of the evolving physical grocery shopping experience that build consumer loyalty and repeat visits. “In an effort to fulfill their unique definitions of value, consumers visit more than five separate grocery store banners on average per month despite growing […]
Posted inOnline Grocery Technology, Featured News, News, West
The Raley’s Companies Launches In-Store RMN With Grocery TV
The Raley’s Companies has launched an in-store retail media network with Grocery TV at more than 200 stores – spanning the Raley’s, Bel Air, Nob Hill, Bashas’, Food City and AJ’s Fine Foods banners – in California, Nevada and Arizona. The partnership extends West Sacramento, California-based grocer’s retail media strategy into the physical store environment, connecting […]
Posted inPackaging News, Association News, News, Snacks Brands, West
Billie-Ann Plastics Wins Ruby Award For Sustainable Packaging Innovation
The National Confectioners Association (NCA) has named Billie-Ann Plastics Packaging Corp. as the winner of the 2026 Ruby Award for Supplier Innovation for its RPET Clear Cylinder with Optional Snap In/Snap On Top and Printing. The award was presented during the Sweets & Snacks Expo Awards Ceremony May 18 in Las Vegas. Created in 2018, […]
Posted inOnline Grocery Technology, Harps Food Stores, News, Southwest
Harps Food Stores, NationsBenefits Partner On OTC Flex Cards
NationsBenefits has announced a new retail network integration with Harps Food Stores, an employee-owned supermarket chain with stores in Arkansas, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Oklahoma and Tennessee. Through the integration, eligible health plan members can use their NationsBenefits Mastercard Prepaid Flex Cards at more than 160 Harps locations to buy approved food-as-medicine items, OTC […]
Posted inAssociation News, Featured News, Grocery Research, National, News, Supply Chain News
FMI: Global Conflict, Rising Energy Costs Put Upward Pressure On Food Prices
Cargo ships stalled in the Strait of Hormuz. Fertilizer prices that have effectively doubled for American farmers. A Sierra Nevada snowpack that never materialized. The pressures bearing down on the U.S. food supply chain in 2026 are coming from multiple directions at once – and according to experts from FMI – The Food Industry Association, […]
Posted inOnline Grocery Technology, Featured News, National, News
Instacart Expands Fulfillment Pro With New Picking, Delivery Tools
Instacart is expanding Fulfillment Pro, its end-to-end order fulfillment platform, with two major updates – new delivery management software for retailer-owned fleets and enhanced enterprise-grade picking capabilities for store teams. The updates build on fulfillment infrastructure used by more than 50,000 retail associates to deliver more than 45 million orders in 2025. They represent Instacart’s […]
Posted inFinance News, Grocery Research, National, News
Circana’s Purchase To Consumption Tool Highlights $100M Opportunity Gap
Circana has rolled out its Purchase to Consumption solution, a tool that links verified purchase behaviors from the company’s receipt panel with National Eating Trends (NET) consumption behaviors from the same consumers. The solution provides the consumer packaged goods industry with what Circana calls a “holistic” understanding of the food and beverage journey. It closes […]
Posted inFinance News, Association News, National, News
Food-At-Home Prices Jump 0.7% As Energy Costs Squeeze Supply Chain
Food-at-home prices rose 0.7 percent in April – the sharpest monthly increase so far this year – as energy market disruptions and ongoing supply chain pressures pushed grocery costs higher for American families and retailers alike. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported May 12 that the overall Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers […]
Posted inOnline Grocery Technology, National, News
Instacart Expands Ads Manager To Retailers With New Self-Serve Tools
Instacart announced it has extended Instacart Ads Manager to retailers, enabling them to activate campaigns within the scaled, self-serve advertising platform. The company is opening the same high-intent reach, optimization and closed-loop measurement infrastructure that supports brand campaigns to retailers. At the same time, it is building new tools designed for their goals, from driving […]
Posted inFinance News, Featured News, Grocery Research, National, News
NRF: Retail Sales Rose For Seventh Consecutive Month In April
Retail sales grew for the seventh straight month in April despite rising gas prices and persistent inflation, according to the CNBC/NRF Retail Monitor released May 13 by the National Retail Federation. Total retail sales, excluding automobile dealers and gasoline stations, rose 0.34 percent month over month on a seasonally adjusted basis and 5.73 percent year […]
Posted inOnline Grocery Technology, Executive News, Featured News, National, News
Gopal Joins Ahold Delhaize USA To Lead Data, AI Strategy
Ahold Delhaize USA has appointed Vipin Gopal as SVP, serving as chief data and artificial intelligence officer for the U.S. businesses. Reporting to Chief Information Officer Ann Dozier, Gopal will lead data, analytics and AI strategy and advance Ahold Delhaize USA’s efforts to further embed data-driven decision-making and AI capabilities into its business. He will […]
Posted inOnline Grocery Technology, Featured News, National, News
Amazon Now Expands Ultra-Fast Delivery Across The U.S.
Amazon has rolled out its ultra-fast delivery service, Amazon Now, to customers throughout the U.S. Amazon Now provides thousands of fresh groceries, everyday household essentials and locally-relevant items in about 30 minutes or less. It is widely available in Atlanta, Dallas-Fort Worth, Philadelphia and Seattle, and is expanding in dozens more cities, including Austin and […]
Posted inFinance News, Association News, Featured News
Report: Independent Grocers Generate $557.5B In Annual Economic Activity
According to a new economic impact analysis released today by the National Grocers Association, independent supermarket operators generate $557.5 billion in total annual economic activity, representing nearly 2 percent of U.S. gross domestic product. The report, conducted by Arizona State University using store-level retail sales data from NielsenIQ’s TDLinx platform, found that independent grocers account […]
Posted inGrocery Store Equipment, National, News
Vori Raises $22M Series B To Build Operating System For Grocery Stores
Vori announced a $22 million Series B funding round led by Cherryrock Capital, with participation from Greylock Partners and The Factory, including Stanford AI researcher Chris Ré. The company is building an operating system designed to manage a grocery store’s entire operations. It handles checkout and payments at the register, tracks every item on shelves, […]