Always a major factor in determining where people choose to shop, the concept of convenience is now continually redefined by rapid advances in technology. Consumers can, of course, turn to e-commerce to order products and services anytime, anywhere, and usually expect to receive them in short order, and digital devices enable them to access detailed
The Food Marketing Institute recently issued the 70th installment in its annual The Food Retailing Industry Speaks series. Based on responses from retailers that together operate more than 36,000 stores, the report provides a window on what the leaders of the nation’s grocery companies think about the challenges they currently face and prospects for the
There is a sea change occurring among business leaders in America that promises to transform a sector of society that has frequently been criticized, with some justification, for being motivated solely by profits. The Business Roundtable, an association of chief executive officers of major U.S. companies, last month issued an updated “Statement on the Purpose
DALLAS, Ga. — When Sam Walton opened the first Walmart store in Rogers, Ark., in 1962, he set in motion an enterprise that fundamentally transformed the way Americans shop, giving them convenient access to high-quality consumer products at the lowest possible price. Now, 57 years later, the company has embarked on a pilot test to
Less than a year after the completion of the $77 billion acquisition of Aetna, CVS Health shows every sign of being on course to achieve its stated objective of transforming the consumer health care experience in America. Evidence of the swift progress in integrating the two companies and the positive response to the initial steps
The nation’s top consumer-facing technology companies, including e-commerce powerhouse Amazon, will encounter increased scrutiny from the federal government. The Department of Justice late last month announced that it is looking into the business practices of “market-leading online platforms,” an elite group led by Facebook, Google and Apple, as well as Amazon. Overseen by the department’s
WASHINGTON — With the Senate Finance Committee expected to begin making decisions on spending bills as early as today, the National Association of Chain Drug Stores has launched a telephone hotline — (866) DIR-RE4M — that pharmacy advocates can use to urge the inclusion of DIR fee relief in drug-pricing legislation. An NACDS RxImpact grassroots
Amazon, synonymous with innovation in retailing and technology, consistently tests boundaries as a result of its self-described customer obsession and commitment to long-term thinking. The company’s catalytic role in e-commerce is a given, but in recent years it has also extended its reach in the realm of brick-and-mortar retailing. Through the acquisition of Whole Foods
Walmart held the series of events that comprise its annual meeting earlier this month on its home turf in northwest Arkansas, and, according to a well-established pattern, the occasion afforded the company the opportunity to celebrate its accomplishments, recognize its workforce and look to the future. Walmart’s eminence as the world’s biggest retailer has long
Already intense, the competition among mass market retailers for the allegiance of omnichannel shoppers is becoming more fierce. Not a week goes by without an announcement from a major retailer about how it intends to improve the customer experience. Although the idea that brick-and-mortar stores are passe and will slowly but surely whither away has
Amazon took a small but significant step earlier this month toward the goal of becoming as disruptive an innovator in the delivery of health care as it is in the sale of consumer products. Working together with several prominent health care organizations, which developed a series of tools for Amazon Alexa, the company has made
The transformation of the retail business continues apace, but the outright revolution promised by the adherents of e-commerce and digital media still appears to be a ways away. That’s one of the insights gleaned from new research conducted by the National Retail Federation (NRF) and Forrester. Based on responses from 69 retailers — a mix