Department: HBC

  1. Department: HBC

Malachyte Turns Spotify’s Skip Signal Into a Merchant’s Agentic Edge

Watch more: Digital Shift With Malachyte’s Sidd Motwani Spotify solved a problem that most digital merchants still haven’t: how to understand who shows up to shop but prefers to do that without registering or checking in. For Spotify, an anonymous listener arrives with no profile, no playlist history and no declared preference. Spotify must decide […]
5 min read
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  1. Department: HBC

Uber Teams With Zipline to Expand Drone Delivery Service

Uber hopes to expand its U.S. delivery business by teaming with drone company Zipline. Starting later this year, Uber Eats customers in the U.S. will get the option of having orders delivered “in minutes” through Zipline’s autonomous drone delivery, Uber said in a Monday (Aug. 17) news release. Uber is also investing in Zipline as […]
2 min read
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  1. Department: HBC

The Next Restaurant Battle Is Bigger Than Food: McDonald’s, Red Bull and the Fight for Consumer Occasions

  McDonald’s is getting into the energy-drink business with Red Bull, but from my perspective as the Grocerant Guru®, the bigger story is not caffeine. The bigger story is consumer evolution. Consumers are no longer willing to define a restaurant visit by the traditional three meals a day, a limited beverage menu and a single […]
6 min read
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  1. Department: HBC

Bahama Buck’s Takes the Taste of Paradise Beyond Its Four Walls: Why SnoBlast Could Be a Big Growth Step After 35 Years

  After 35 years in business, the biggest challenge for any restaurant or foodservice brand is not simply staying relevant—it is finding new ways to make the brand relevant more often, in more places and for more occasions. That is why Bahama Buck’s launch of SnoBlast deserves more attention than a typical new-product announcement according […]
7 min read
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  1. Department: HBC

Desert Island Retail Technology: Linda Johansen-James talks AI and the importance of human connection

As part of a new RTIH series, in which leading industry figures share the retail soundtrack of their lives, we sit down with Linda Johansen-James, Founder and CEO at International Retail Group, a global retail consulting and management firm helping brands launch, scale, and grow across physical, digital, and automated retail channels. RTIH: Your earliest […]
3 min read
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  1. Department: HBC

July 2026 Retail Metrics are in!

July 2026 Retail Metrics: July’s numbers are in — and if there’s one metric that explains the month, it’s conversion. Mattress extended its streak to three straight months of conversion gains, up 7% year-over-year and 3% from June, with daily revenue climbing right alongside it (+31% YoY, +18% month-over-month). Furniture’s conversion rate improved too, and […]
2 min read
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  1. Department: HBC

Amazon Has Finally Cracked the Food Retail Code—Fresh Food, Fast Service, Price Value, and Personalized Convenience

  For more than two decades, the Grocerant Guru® has maintained that the retailers who would ultimately dominate food retail would not necessarily have the most stores—they would have the most relevant customer experience. That winning formula has always been remarkably simple: Price + Quality + Service + Convenience + Portability = Customer Value. Today, […]
6 min read
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  1. Department: HBC

Healthcare Fraud Just Cost the Industry $308 Billion

Healthcare fraud is bleeding the industry dry. The National Health Care Anti-Fraud Association estimates that fraudulent billing, phantom procedures, and identity theft cost the U.S. healthcare system alone over $308 billion annually. That’s roughly 10% of all healthcare spending disappearing into criminal schemes.
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  1. Department: HBC

Your Views:  “Love You Brother, But Sometimes You Piss Me Off”

Normally I reserve “Your Views” for Thursdays;  it seems like a nice way to wrap up the week. Making an exception today, though, because I thought this conversation was valuable and worth spotlighting. The subject is one that has generated a lot of email here on MNB –  New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s controversial […]
5 min read
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  1. Department: HBC

Value retailer B&M wraps Point of Sale roll-out across 790+ UK stores in partnership with PMC

Value retailer, B&M, has partnered with PMC to deploy a Point of Sale (PoS) solution spanning across its entire estate. Operating one of the UK’s largest value retail estates, it has replaced its legacy PoS solution with new hardware and updated software. It also wanted to enhance in-store experiences as part of the refresh, adding new capabilities […]
2 min read
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  1. Department: HBC

Josie Smith joins Redcentric after stepping down as M&S CTO in wake of major cyber attack

Josie Smith has joined managed service provider Redcentric as Chief Customer Officer. The hire follows her stepping down earlier this year as Marks and Spencer’s Chief Technology Officer, nine months after a major cyber attack hit the retailer hard. The departure of Smith, who was at M&S for just under two years, was disclosed internally […]
3 min read
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  1. Department: HBC

Bananas Are The New Pumpkin Spice, With Growing A-Peel

The New York Times has a story about how “America’s most-eaten fresh fruit is standing out with unusual and unexpected force, on cafe, bar and restaurant menus and on grocery store shelves across the country. In May, the popular protein bar brand Barebells introduced a banana-nut-bread-flavored bar. Last month, Mars began selling banana-nut-flavored M&Ms. “Trending […]
2 min read
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  1. Department: HBC

Your Views:  Coulda, Woulda, Shoulda

MNB reported last week that the nonprofit Center for Responsible Food Business is out with a new ad campaign designed to persuade Kroger customers that the retailer is charging them too much for groceries, especially through the use of dynamic pricing. The president of the Center, Taylor Warren, at one point said, “Kroger could change […]
9 min read
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  1. Department: HBC

When & How to Find the Perfect Contract Manufacturer for Scaling Your Brand

Many of the brands I’ve interviewed over the years have followed a similar journey. They started making their products at home, typically in their kitchen or basement (as Nat’s Nuts did), then eventually moved up to a commercial kitchen space (or using a local church kitchen as in the cases of Molly Bz Cookies and […]
8 min read
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  1. Department: HBC

Drug Channels News Roundup, Mid-July 2026: Biosimilar Launch Strategy, Part D Spending Trends, Rural 340B Hospitals, What Employers Can Do About 340B, and Drug Channel Villains

By Bryce Platt, PharmD Summer’s in full swing, but the drug channel didn’t take a break. What better way to spend the summer than reading about new pharmacy resources in the Drug Channels News Roundup? In this issue: The New Biosimilar Launch Playbook Factors Adding to Part D Cost Trends Rural vs. Non-rural 340B Hospitals […]
2 min read
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  1. Department: HBC

The Very Group reshapes pricing with agentic AI: last week’s most read RTIH retail technology articles

Check out our most clicked articles from last week, including UiPath, Vivobarefoot, Ocado Group, Tesco, Uber Eats, Deliveroo, Gap Inc., Microsoft, Waitrose, SOLUM, Savvy, Sephora, CeX, Auror, Wickes, and La-Z-Boy. The Very Group teams with UiPath to deliver AI powered agentic pricing solution across retail brands UiPath has announced a three-year partnership with The Very Group to revamp […]
7 min read
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  1. Department: HBC

The $5 Escape: Why Inflation Is Fueling America’s “Little Treat Economy”

  For years, economists have searched for ways to explain consumer behavior during periods of inflation. The food industry, however, has been watching a different trend unfold in real time. Consumers aren’t giving up indulgence—they’re redefining it according to Steven Johnson Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions®. The newest research from Method1 confirms […]
6 min read
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  1. Department: HBC

Why 7-Eleven Understands Summer Marketing Better Than Many Restaurant Chains

  While many restaurant brands continue to chase customers with another limited-time sandwich or discounted combo meal, 7-Eleven is reminding the food industry that successful marketing isn’t always about the food—it’s about creating reasons to visit. Its latest partnership with Mattel’s iconic Hot Wheels brand is another example of experiential retailing done right. For the […]
5 min read
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  1. Department: HBC

The $12 Billion Backyard Revolution: Why Summer Gardens Are Quietly Reshaping America’s Food Industry

  Every summer the food industry falls into a predictable rhythm according to Steven Johnson Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions®.  Watermelon goes on sale. Corn fills produce tables. Farmers markets become weekend destinations. Yet this summer something much bigger is happening beneath the surface. Consumers aren’t simply buying seasonal produce—they’re becoming creators […]
6 min read
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  1. Department: HBC

Direct-to-Consumer Shouldn’t Always Mean Direct-To-Mail-Order: Why Fulfillment Choice Matters

Today’s guest post comes from Divya Iyer, SVP, Head of Revenue, Pharma Direct at GoodRx. Divya examines why direct-to-consumer strategies shouldn’t default to mail-order as the endpoint for every program. She argues that preserving patient choice between retail pickup and home delivery can reduce friction, improve therapy initiation, and strengthen the overall patient experience. To […]
2 min read
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  1. Department: HBC

5 Things NOT to Do When Pitching to a Retail Buyer (and What to Do Instead)

Pitching your product to a retail buyer can be one of the most exciting—and nerve-racking—moments for any product manufacturer. The stakes are high, competition is fierce, and buyers are constantly evaluating which brands deserve a spot on their shelves. Landing a retail deal can mean massive brand exposure, increased credibility, and a major jump in […]
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  1. Department: HBC

Kroger acquiring Giant Eagle in $1.65B deal

Kroger Co. is acquiring Giant Eagle, a family-owned food and pharmacy retailer, for a purchase price of $1.65 billion. Giant Eagle has approximately $9 billion in annual sales and 197 supermarkets and 11 standalone pharmacies across northern Ohio, western Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Maryland and Indiana, according to a press release. The purchase is comprised of […]
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