ARLINGTON, VA – FMI – The Food Industry Association, has tapped Julie Savoie to lead the association’s strategic direction for, and implementation of, member workplace and workforce initiatives. She will also help oversee the FMI sustainability agenda. Julie Savoie “Workforce capabilities are one of FMI’s Imperative Issues and have become particularly urgent in recent years,” notes FMI’s senior vice president of industry relations and chief collaboration officer Mark Baum. “We have been addressing these challenges and opportunities in a variety of ways, but now, under Julie’s leadership, we ..read more

WASHINGTON – Mother’s Day spending is expected to reach $33.5 billion this year, according to the annual consumer survey by the National Retail Federation and Prosper Insights & Analytics. The figure is the second highest in the history of the survey, following last year’s record $35.7 billion. “Mother’s Day is a time to celebrate the women who play a meaningful role in our lives,” NRF President and CEO Matthew Shay said. “Retailers know the significant importance of this day and are ready to help their customers with a wide selection of meaningful gifts for loved ones to show their apprec ..read more

WASHINGTON – Soaring credit and debit card swipe fees cost the average U.S. household more than $1,100 last year, the Merchants Payments Coalition said. “American families should not get bilked for more than $1,100 each year on swipe fees,” MPC Executive Committee member and National Retail Federation Senior Director of Government Relations Dylan Jeon said. “It’s time for the card industry to stop gouging American consumers and small businesses and compete to offer market-based, competitive fees. Instead, the credit card industry uses cartel pricing to extract more and more dollars from Americ ..read more

Kevin Host, senior vice president of pharmacy at Walmart and incoming NACDS chairman, talks about the state of the association and the industry it represents. Host discusses his priorities at NACDS, including DIR reform and expanded scope of practice for pharmacists, as well as efforts to foster innovation and build synergies between pharmacy and the front end.   The post Video Forum: Kevin Host, Walmart appeared first on MMR: Mass Market Retailers ..read more

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — The opportunities for grocery retailers to grow their health and beauty care and general merchandise sales are exponential, according to a new study by Acosta Group. In advance of this week’s 2024 National Association of Chain Drug Stores (NACDS) Annual Meeting, Acosta Group has shared the results of its recent proprietary Shopper Community study on Health and Beauty Care (HBC) and General Merchandise (GM) sales in grocery. Every month, 114 million households purchase food and beverages at grocery stores, according to NIQ. The Acosta Group study reflects grocery shopper be ..read more

SAN FRANCISCO — DoorDash is collaborating with Walgreens to offer SNAP/EBT payment at nearly 7,800 Walgreens stores across the country. DoorDash says it is the first platform to enables SNAP customers to make purchases directly from Walgreens using their SNAP/EBT cards, and is also the first third-party delivery service provider to offer SNAP/EBT as a payment option at a major drugstore nationwide. The addition of Walgreens more than doubles the number of stores available for on-demand delivery with SNAP/EBT payments on DoorDash. “Since launching support for SNAP/EBT payments in 2023, over 1.1 ..read more

ZAANDAM, the Netherlands — Ahold Delhaize said Wednesday that it is opening a new new tech studio in Bucharest called AD/01. The company expects to staff the studio with about 250 tech employees who will work on innovations aimed at providing an improved customer experience at Ahold Delhaize’s European brands. “Our great local brands strive to create the leading local food shopping experience,” says Wouter Kolk, CEO of Ahold Delhaize Europe & Indonesia. “As part of our tech ambitions, we focus on providing seamless digitally enabled experiences, whether in-store down the aisles, at the che ..read more

WASHINGTON—The National Retail Federation issued the following statement from Executive Vice President of Government Relations David French after the Department of Labor (DOL) released its final overtime rule. Originally proposed in September 2023, the rule will increase—in two steps—the minimum annual salary threshold that determines overtime pay eligibility under the Fair Labor Standards Act. “NRF acknowledges the steps that DOL took to phase in the full impact of the new rules in response to employer concerns. The delay in full implementation of the new higher threshold, for example, w ..read more

SEATTLE—In a bid to bring greater convenience to budget-minded food shoppers, Amazon has unveiled a new grocery delivery subscription option to Prime members and customers using EBT in over 3,500 cities and towns across the United States. Priced at $9.99 per month for Prime members, this subscription service offers unlimited grocery delivery on orders exceeding $35 from Amazon Fresh, Whole Foods Market, and a diverse array of local grocery and specialty retailers featured on Amazon.com. Subscribers also get access to a suite of convenient delivery and pickup options, according to the company ..read more

ARLINGTON, VA – FMI—The Food Industry Association, has announced the finalists for its 2024 Store Manager Awards, which are designed to shine a spotlight on the dedicated and deserving store managers who bring their passion and talents to serve their store, employees and customers. The Store Manager Award nominations are submitted by peers and food retail companies to recognize outstanding managers who (1) generate sales growth, (2) effectively communicate company and store goals and objectives, (3) demonstrate team leadership in their store/company, and (4) provide exceptional customer servic ..read more