The Friday Checkout is a weekly column providing more insight on the news, rounding up the announcements you may have missed and sharing what’s to come.
Walmart and Meijer have gotten really good at selling groceries inside their massive supercenters. Now, they’re leaning into separate food-focused formats to further drive sales of bread, milk, beer and more.
The two retailers are at very different points along this journey. Meijer Grocery has just two locations, both of which opened early last year, while Walmart operates nearly 700 Neighborhood Market locations across the U.S. But the drive to capitalize on their well-known brands that shoppers have come to associate with good value and a wide assortment of goods is a sentiment both companies share.
We reported this week that Meijer is working on opening two more Meijer Grocery locations, signaling a vote of confidence for the format that has become a mid-sized option for the retailer that also operates small-scale grocery stores and its legacy supercenters. Meijer Grocery is similar to traditional supermarkets, offering a wide selection of produce, a large health and beauty care section, and convenience with a shop & scan program.
Walmart, meanwhile, is testing a next-generation concept for its Neighborhood Market stores. The focus — as is the case in everything Walmart is doing these days — is on omnichannel. The two new stores in Florida and Atlanta are 17,000 square feet larger than the typical Neighborhood Market. The retailer is using that extra space to provide a broader assortment of fresh foods, new pharmacy accommodations like a Health Services Room, and larger pickup and delivery areas. In addition, the new prototype stores double as fulfillment centers, with wider aisles to accommodate both shoppers and order pickers.
Both Meijer and Walmart can use their grocery formats to enter markets their legacy supercenters might not fit into. What’s notable about the Neighborhood Market update is that it’s positioned to help the company expand its reach even further by optimizing online order fulfillment.
In case you missed it
Misfits Market rescues brands ditched by Foxtrot
Misfits Market has teamed up with distributor Pod Foods to stock 35 products that were slated to go on Foxtrot’s shelves.
This week, Misfits Market's online shop introduced 15 of those brands to its customers, including Bon Bon, Deliciously Ella, Leisure Hydration, Spring & Mulberry and Courtside. The e-grocer has added these products to its three warehouses in Chicago, San Antonio and Baltimore — markets Foxtrot abandoned with its sudden closure last month.
Schnucks ramps up exclusive deals for its customers
The Midwestern grocery chain has joined Ibotta Performance Network to make thousands of new product offers available to its customers, according to an emailed press release. Digital offers from the network are expected to become available to Schnucks customers later this year.
The companies said a “key component” of their partnership will include research and development aimed at “building the next-generation grocery shopping experience for consumers,” with potential areas of innovation including advanced digital offers in retail media and the creation of new in-store touchpoints.
New ad campaign battling antitrust concerns
The National Grocers Association has released new ads calling for stricter enforcement of antitrust laws. The trade association’s digital ads appear on Connected TV platforms, audio ads slated to run on Spotify and display ads placed on Politico and social media outlets.
“Thriving main streets have turned into barren food deserts. Consumers have lost their choice and their voice,” a 30-second ad says, urging enforcement of the Robinson-Patman Act, a federal law that aims to prevent price discrimination. The ads come at a time when the Federal Trade Commission is fighting the controversial Kroger-Albertsons merger.
Number of the week: 5,000
That’s the approximate number of items that Target plans to lower prices on, the retailer announced earlier this week. Target said it has already cut prices of 1,500 items with more reductions coming this summer.
What’s ahead
Earnings coming up
Both Dollar General and SpartanNash are scheduled to release their first-quarter results on Thursday.
No news Monday
The Grocery Dive team will be off on Monday for Memorial Day. Our daily newsletter will be back in inboxes starting Tuesday.
Impulse find
Expecting a pot of gold and jewels at the end of the rainbow? Well, you may instead find the Rubyglow Pineapple, worth a whopping nearly $400.
Melissa’s Produce, a Los Angeles grocery store, is exclusively selling this limited-edition fruit. According to the grocer, the Rubyglow Pineapple has been 15 years in the making and melds a classic pineapple with the “rare Morada variety.” The results: “a striking jewel-toned exterior and rich, citrine-yellow flesh that delivers a luxurious, smooth flavor with minimal acidity.”
Melissa’s is already sold out of this “luxury fruit,” according to the grocer’s site.
