Consumers Plan to Do More Holiday Shopping In Stores Than Online, Reports NPD

Consumers have relied more on e-commerce since the pandemic began, but that’s changing this year

The number of consumers planning to shop online for the holidays fell from 85% last year to 80% this year, which is the largest ever shift favoring stores, according to the annual holiday purchase intentions survey from The NPD Group. This is also the first year, since before the pandemic, that consumers expect to make more of their holiday purchases in stores (46%) than online (45%). Checkout receipt-based insights from...

US Foods Launches the Most Advanced E-commerce Application in the Food Service Distribution Industry

US Foods Holding Corp. announced today the beginning of the national roll-out of MOXē (Making Operator Xperiences Easy), the food service distribution industry’s most advanced and the only all-in-one e-commerce application that can be used across desktop, tablet and mobile devices anywhere, anytime. MOXē is a personalized one-stop shop where operators can find the right products from a selection of more than 400,000 items, manage orders and track deliveries in one application. This new application builds on the company’s long track record of bringing food service operators innovative technology solutions that help them save time and money and more efficiently manage their business.

Upcoming Marketplace Will Help Emerging Natural Brands Expand Their Reach

Global B2B marketplace and US-based supplier GreenDropShip has developed an online platform to spur emerging natural brands' growth by helping consumers connect with qualified online merchants. GreenDropShip is best known for offering innovative solutions in the rapidly growing eCommerce space as it relates to groceries, personal care, home goods, and baby products.

This tech innovation sprang from a need for emerging natural and organic brands to maximize their footprint and find top merchants for their products. As eCommerce continues to expand at a booming pace, this marketplace will create...

Instacart Announces Acquisition of Rosie

Acquisition brings Rosie's e-commerce platform and team of experts to Instacart, giving local independent grocers access to a broader range of technology and fulfillment capabilities to grow their businesses

Instacart, the leading grocery technology company in North America, today announced it has acquired Rosie, the premier e-commerce platform for local and independent retailers and wholesalers. With this acquisition, Instacart is deepening its commitment to serving local and independent grocers and expanding its Instacart Platform e-commerce offerings.

Founded in Ithaca, NY in 2013, the Rosie team has spent nearly a decade building relationships...

Fuzzy’s Taco Shop Launches Online Ordering for Catering

Fuzzy’s Taco Shop announces the launch of their online ordering platform for catering orders to make enjoying their scratch made favorites with family, friends, and coworkers even more convenient. The Texas-based restaurant group is recognized for their Baja-style fare with nearly 150 franchise- and corporate-owned locations in 17 states.

The growing taco shop concept partnered with Olo, a leading on-demand commerce platform powering the restaurant industry’s digital transformation, to integrate catering into their online ordering platform.

“We’ve seen our catering sales increase..."

Retailers Say Small Businesses Are Hardest Hit by Rising Credit Card Swipe Fees

The National Retail Federation and a group of small retailers told Congress today small businesses are the hardest hit by high credit card “swipe” fees that are driving up inflation and that they want to see more competition in the payments market.

“Ongoing and unwarranted increases in swipe fees are especially damaging to small retailers,” NRF Chief Administrative Officer and General Counsel Stephanie Martz said. “We have heard many stories from small retailers about the extreme challenges posed by the current payments system and Visa and..."

eGrowcery and DoorDash Partner To Provide On-Demand Delivery for Supermarkets and Other Retailers

eGrowcery, developer of the leading retail food industry eCommerce platform, announces a partnership with DoorDash Drive, DoorDash's white label fulfillment platform that powers direct delivery for businesses, to provide supermarkets with access to an expansive delivery fleet and a flexible delivery solution directly from the eCommerce experience. With the new DoorDash Drive integration, retailers using the eGrowcery platform can now benefit from the scale of DoorDash’s logistics network, all while retaining full autonomy around the eCommerce experience and, critically, owning their own shopper data...

Shane Sampson Named Executive Chairman of The Save Mart Companies

The Save Mart Companies and Kingswood Capital Management, LP announced today that Shane Sampson has been named executive chairman of the California-based, regional grocery retailer.

Sampson is a fourth-generation grocer who brings nearly four decades of experience to The Save Mart Companies in building brands, implementing innovative marketing and merchandising programs, and leading strategic operations. He started his career in a local grocery store as a retail clerk and learned the grocery business from the ground up, which culminated in being named Albertsons Companies' Chief Marketing and Merchandising Officer. He was instrumental in driving Albertsons' merchandising strategy during a period of monumental growth during which he oversaw significant development and innovation of digital and e-commerce strategies, rapidly scaled its private label brands and built customer and associate engagement across 2,300 stores. As a result, he was recognized as Mass Market Retailer's Merchant of the Year in 2017 and received the Retail TouchPoints' 2018 Innovator Award.

Instacart Unveils Shoppable Recipes, New Product Integrations with TikTok, Hearst Magazines, & More

Instacart, the leading online grocery platform in North America, today announced Shoppable Recipes, new product integrations that will allow food creators to make their recipes shoppable on Instacart via strategic integrations on TikTok and Tasty, as well on Hearst Magazines' properties like Delish, Good Housekeeping, and more. Shoppable Recipes leverages Instacart's immense grocery catalog -- one of the largest in the world -- with real-time AI-driven modeling to find in-stock items and available Shoppers to get them delivered quickly, empowering people to turn the food...

PlantX Launches Same-Day Grocery Delivery Across Ottawa and Toronto, Ontario

PlantX Life Inc. is pleased to announce the launch of same-day delivery for its grocery products across Ottawa, ON and Toronto, ON. This expansion reflects the Company's commitment to enhancing its e-commerce capabilities by leveraging PlantX's physical retail stores within the Hudson's Bay in Yorkdale Mall, Toronto, ON and CF Rideau Centre, Ottawa, ON.

Same-day delivery is a key component of PlantX's goal of diversifying its on-demand delivery solutions to better service online customers across Ontario. Distribution for same-day delivery will be available through...

Kroger Fulfillment Network Expands to Three New Cities

The Kroger Co., America's largest grocery retailer, today announced at its 2022 Business Update in Orlando it will offer more Americans delivery through the addition of spoke facilities in Austin and San Antonio, TX and Birmingham, AL powered by the Kroger Fulfillment Network and Ocado Group. As a continuation of Kroger's successful entry into Florida in 2021 without physical stores, the new Texas and Alabama facilities will serve as new geographies for the organization, bringing innovation and modern e-commerce to the cities and extending the grocer's reach and ability to provide...

Tech Policy Expert Joins National Retail Federation

The National Retail Federation today announced that it has hired veteran technology policy expert Michael Lemon to manage NRF’s portfolio of e-commerce and related issues as vice president for legal affairs.

“Mike Lemon has worked on technology-related issues ranging from privacy to intellectual property for more than a decade, both on Capitol Hill and in the private sector,” NRF Chief Administrative Officer and General Counsel Stephanie Martz said. “His wealth of experience and expertise will be invaluable as we advocate on behalf of the retail industry on these complex and..."

Kroger Fulfillment Network Expands to Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

The Kroger Co., America's largest grocery retailer, today announced it will offer more Americans delivery through the addition of a spoke facility in Oklahoma City powered by the Ocado Group. As a continuation of Kroger's successful entry into Florida in 2021, Oklahoma will serve as another new geography for the company, bringing innovation and modern e-commerce to the area, extending the grocer's reach and ability to provide its customers anything, anytime, anywhere.

"We're excited to extend the Kroger fulfillment network to Oklahoma City, a new geography for our operation and..."

Ethnic E-Grocer Weee! Appoints Three Executives To Leadership Team and Board of Directors

Weee! (www.sayweee.com), the largest and fastest-growing ethnic e-grocer in North America, today announced three key executive appointments as the company expands to meet the growing demands of its customers nationwide. The announcement comes on the heels of the recent appointment of acclaimed filmmaker, Jon M. Chu, as Chief Creative Officer. New appointments to the leadership team include: Board Members James McCann and Vivek Subramanian, and Senior Vice President of Engineering Rudy Darmawan.

"Weee!'s recent appointments bring a depth of experience in..."

Kroger Delivery Arrives in Metro Atlanta

The Kroger Co., America's largest grocery retailer, today announced the official opening of the Customer Fulfillment Center (CFC) in Forest Park, GA, a city south of Atlanta, powered by Ocado Group, a world leader in technology for grocery e-commerce. This marks an expansion of Kroger's national fulfillment network, providing the region with an e-commerce delivery service that combines vertical integration, machine learning, and robotics with affordable, friendly, and fast delivery of grocery items and fresh food.

"We're proud to launch Kroger Delivery in metro Atlanta with future expansion plans throughout Georgia and..." 

C3 Appoints Former Overstock CPO as Chief Product and Technology Officer to Accelerate Innovation

C3 (Creating Culinary Communities), the leading global food tech platform founded by visionary Sam Nazarian, has today announced the appointment of Vikram Raghavan as Chief Product and Technology Officer. Raghavan's extensive expertise will bolster C3's product and technology departments, forging an exciting new path ahead by accelerating the company's prowess in data science, digital marketing, and eCommerce.

Conceptualized in 2019, C3 experienced accelerated growth this past year as the hospitality industry saw massive digital adoption. Raghavan was driven to C3 after observing the pandemic's...

United Natural Foods Names 360PR+ Agency of Record

United Natural Foods, Inc. (UNFI), the largest publicly traded grocery distributor in the United States, has named 360PR+ as public relations agency of record. UNFI is North America's premier food wholesaler delivering the widest variety of products to customer locations throughout North America, including natural product superstores, independent retailers, conventional supermarket chains, ecommerce retailers and food service customers.

The agency's work for UNFI leverages 360's experience spanning b2b and b2c communications and marketing, including the agency's deep sector expertise in food and beverage, retail and grocery, as well as...

Organic Prairie® Launches Ten-Minute Mealtime Solution

This winter, don't forget to add Organic Prairie's new Seasoned Ground Beef to your shopping list. Organic ground beef, pre-seasoned with all-organic spices, will cut prep time for some of America's most popular home-cooked meals.

Ten Minute Dinners

"Our new organic, seasoned ground beef gives home cooks a choice of high-quality protein that's quick and easy to prepare," said Dave Greening, Organic Prairie General Manager. "Shoppers can just 'grab and go,' and the meat is fully cooked in approximately 8 minutes..."

U.S. Pet Treat Sales Approach $10 Billion Mark

In its just-released report on Pet Treats and Chews in the U.S., Packaged Facts projects that U.S. retail sales of dog and cat treats will reach $9.87 billion by the end of 2021, after two years of double-digit increases.

Sales growth in treats has consistently outpaced the more mature pet food market and pet supplies in general, and this growth accelerated with the COVID-19 pandemic. “Pet owners spending more time at home with their pets has translates into more opportunities for treat-giving,” notes Packaged Facts analyst...

eCommerce Platform Pepper Raises $16M in Series A Funding for Food Distributors

Pepper, the eCommerce platform for food distributors, has raised $16 million in Series A funding that will enhance the ordering experience for distributors servicing over 25,000 restaurants and grocery stores in the U.S. and Canada. Index Ventures led the round with participation from Greylock, Imaginary Ventures, BoxGroup, Moving Capital, and Brett Schulman, bringing the total capital raised to date to $20M.

With the Series A secured, platform enhancements are a top priority for Pepper. “This funding enables us to accelerate product development in..."