In Marrakesh, tourism is frozen. So is the economy.
For many living in Marrakesh, Morocco, the month of Ramadan was unlike any other in recent memory. The country closed its borders on March 20, before Ramadan began, and had locked down most public...
View ArticleWith grocery sales up, what does that mean for Albertsons’ IPO?
The nation’s second-largest grocer, Albertsons, is said to preparing for an IPO this week, and analysts are expecting the Idaho-based company to raise $1.3 billion. Albertsons also operates Safeway,...
View ArticleWhy retailers price some items below cost
If you’ve walked down the milk aisle at the grocery store lately, you may have noticed there were more options to choose from. Kroger, Walmart and Albertsons have started producing their own milk....
View ArticleWalmart was prepared for how customers are shopping in the pandemic
Walmart reported earnings Tuesday, and the retailer is killing it. E-commerce sales are up 97%, and same-store sales are up 9.3% in the second quarter. It looks as if Walmart is doing something right...
View Article“Dark stores” fulfill online grocery orders — but for how long?
Groceries were already moving online before the pandemic, and now it’s become a major focus in the industry. Walmart launched its new delivery subscription program Tuesday called Walmart Plus, which...
View ArticleDon’t forget the garlic (industry)
With or without a pandemic, the days leading up to Thanksgiving are some of the busiest of the year at American grocery stores. Shoppers rush through checkout lines with carts loaded with potatoes,...
View ArticleRisk of getting COVID at the grocery store is higher in low-income neighborhoods
When Christel Orange goes into one of the little corner stores in her neighborhood to grab some groceries these days, it is not easy to keep her distance from other people. “The lines are going down...
View ArticleKroger, offering antibody tests, may be well placed to distribute a vaccine
Kroger reported third-quarter results Thursday morning, beating profit estimates and falling just short of sales expectations. The grocery chain, which also owns Ralphs, Harris Teeter, Fred Meyer and...
View ArticleWhat does a return to restaurants mean for big-name packaged food brands?
Brands that are grocery store staples, like General Mills, benefited from some habit changes during the pandemic: more people eating at home and buying food at the grocery store. Once we start going...
View ArticleCommercial landlords look to grocery stores to fill retail vacancies
The grocery business has been one of the few bright spots in retail during the pandemic. Stores like Aldi, Food Lion and Lidl have major expansion plans in the works. Big supermarket chains were...
View ArticleSome consumers have had a soft spot for avocados during the pandemic
Cinco de Mayo is one of the biggest days of the year for avocado sales in the U.S. Trade groups predict Americans will buy 60 million to 70 million pounds this week. Sales of avocados have run...
View ArticleDoorDash and Albertsons bet heavily on online grocery shopping
DoorDash, one of the leading food delivery apps, announced this week it’s expanding its grocery delivery service by partnering with Albertsons. It’ll offer on-demand groceries from nearly 2,000 stores...
View ArticleGrocers are stockpiling, but that probably won’t ease the pain of rising prices
It’s been a long time since we experienced the great toilet paper shortage of 2020. And though consumers aren’t as worried about getting the goods they need, retailers are. With new strains on the...
View ArticleHow companies disguise rising food prices
A little tip for your next grocery trip: “Beware of shrinkflation,” said Mark Bergen, a marketing professor at the University of Minnesota. He was talking about one of the easiest things a...
View ArticleThe closing of a Nashville Piggly Wiggly leaves some with few shopping options
In the last week that the Piggly Wiggly near Nashville’s downtown was open, Ken Blair, a regular, said the store reminded him of the small mom-and-pop shops he used to go to. “Everybody down here is...
View ArticleHow do grocery stores make money when their profit margins are so low?
This is just one of the stories from our “I’ve Always Wondered” series, where we tackle all of your questions about the world of business, no matter how big or small. Ever wondered if recycling is...
View ArticleIt’s hard to keep costs down at the supermarket, thanks to store design and...
The consumer price index, which measures inflation, jumped 9.1% in June, compared to the year before. And the food-at-home category rose by more than 12%. A lot of people are cutting back their...
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Why aren’t mulberries sold at grocery stores?
This is just one of the stories from our “I’ve Always Wondered” series, where we tackle all of your questions about the world of business, no matter how big or small. Ever wondered if recycling is...
View ArticleHow store brands went from shamed to chic
Once rejected as a poor man’s version of name-brand products, store brands are now enjoying a certain level of cachet. And the profits — and savings — they offer are the real thing, experts say. With...
View ArticleHow would a Kroger-Albertsons merger change grocery prices?
Two of the nation’s biggest grocery stores announced plans to merge Friday. Kroger, with around 2,700 supermarkets in the United States, plans to buy Albertsons, which has about 2,200, for $24.6...
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Will “wonky” fruit and vegetables help alleviate the U.K.’s cost of living...
Food prices have been rising in the U.K. at their fastest rate in more than 45 years — 16.4% a year, according to the latest set of figures — and that is putting British household budgets under...
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“New smaller size, same great price!” The products we buy are shrinking, and...
For American consumers, there are universal laws governing the shopping experience that are supposed to be immutable. Hot dog buns come in packs of eight. You should be able to buy eggs by the dozen....
View ArticleGrocery inflation cools while restaurant prices continue to rise
The price of food has been one of the driving forces behind inflation over the last couple of years. In March, however, food prices overall stayed pretty flat. The price of groceries dropped slightly...
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Rural towns fear Kroger-Albertsons merger will close stores and raise prices
Grocery mergers have a bad rap in Sharon Ketchum’s family. Ketchum, 60, lost her job at a Safeway grocery store in rural northwest Colorado after the company announced its merger with Albertsons in...
View ArticleWhy are bananas so cheap?
This is just one of the stories from our “I’ve Always Wondered” series, where we tackle all of your questions about the world of business, no matter how big or small. Ever wondered if recycling is...
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