As grocery chains face mounting pressure from inflation-weary shoppers and growing competition, some in the industry are starting to rely on artificial intelligence to protect margins without losing customers. Traditional levers to protect profits or drive sales, like raising prices or running blanket promotions, are becoming less effective as shoppers split trips across multiple retailers…
Michelle Suter has worn mostly big and baggy clothing for years. The 63-year-old retiree who lives in a suburb of St. Louis gave away her favorite sundresses and other form-fitting outfits, thinking she’d never be those smaller sizes again. Now, after losing about 28 pounds while taking GLP-1 drug Wegovy, she said she has started…
A Sam’s Club in Miami, July 7, 2025. Joe Raedle | Getty Images Walmart-owned Sam’s Club said Wednesday it will raise its annual membership fee by $10. Starting on May 1, the warehouse club — which directly competes with Costco and BJ’s Wholesale Club — will charge $60 per year for basic membership and $120…
The ripple effects of the war in Iran are ever-widening. Soaring oil prices continued to put pressure on stocks last week, with the Dow and Nasdaq slipping into correction territory, defined by declines of 10% or more from record highs. The Dow and Nasdaq sank 1.7% and nearly 2.2%, respectively, on Friday and just about…
A major teachers’ union is calling for its members to skip Target when buying back-to-school supplies, the latest twist in a series of boycotts that have targeted the big-box retailer as its turnaround shows signs of life, CNBC has learned. The AFT, or American Federation of Teachers, passed a resolution Thursday that calls on its 1.8…
Oil prices fell on Wednesday after reports that the U.S. had given Iran a plan to end the war, pushing stocks higher. Can investors finally breathe a sigh of relief? Not so fast, says Morgan Stanley. In a client note, analysts said that even a reopening of the critical Strait of Hormuz, which Iran has…
Always products are displayed on a shelf in a supermarket in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina October 29, 2024. Dado Ruvic | Reuters Rising inflation and ever-changing tariff policies have led to higher prices across store shelves over the past few years, squeezing consumers’ budgets. An often overlooked example: menstrual products. The average price of menstrual…
Things just keep getting worse for the stock market. The S & P 500 , Nasdaq , and Dow suffered their fourth consecutive week of losses as the Iran war and hot wholesale inflation stoked economic concerns. Nvidia ‘s annual GTC developers event last week was chock full of bullish announcements and the talk of…
As the technological and digital landscape has transformed American retail, there have been some areas of life that have remained unchanged. The grocery store aisle, for instance, looks largely the same as it did 50 years ago. Sure, price stickers on the product have been replaced by bar codes, but otherwise the aisle looks largely the same. But the biggest change since the…
Rising gas prices drive more people to Costco for cheaper fuel. But the real benefit to the retailer is the additional sales that come from the accompanying in-store traffic boost. With the Iran war in its fourth week and U.S. oil prices soaring to highs not seen in four years, the national average for a…
