Weather

Articles on the impact weather has on retail.

  1. Trends & External Forces

OffBeat:  The Big Not-So-Easy

If you are not already watching “Shrinking,” on Apple TV, you should be. “Shrinking,” which just finished its third season and has been renewed for a fourth, is a gently comedic look at the lives and relationships of three therapists – played by Jason Segal, Jessica Williams and Harrison Ford – in the Southern California […]
3 min read
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  1. Media & Marketing

Society 2, Social Media 0, As Two Juries Cast Their Votes

It has been a bad couple of days for social media companies. Yesterday, a jury in Los Angeles found that “the social media company Meta and the video streaming service YouTube harmed a young user with design features that were addictive and led to her mental health distress,” according to the New York Times.  “Meta […]
4 min read
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  1. Technology & Innovation

Your Views:  A Surge In Dynamic Opinions

Got a lot of responses to our coverage of the national backlash against electronic shelf labels, and concerns about dynamic/surge pricing. MNB reader Rudy Dory wrote: We have had ESLs for over twenty years. We have never had a complaint about surge pricing. Wanting to ban ESLs in smaller units like ours would penalize people […]
9 min read
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  1. Shopper & Customer

Consumers With Smart Fridges Gaze Into The Fourth Circle Of Hell

The Wall Street Journal has a story about how advertising is showing up on refrigerator doors. But not the doors in retail stores, where manufacturers would pay for the positioning.  These ads are popping up on people’s refrigerators at home. The Journal writes that Samsung has been “intermittently serving up ads” on some of its […]
2 min read
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  1. Trends & External Forces

Your Views:  As Time Goes By

On the subject of dynamic pricing as reflected in electronic shelf labels – which some states want to ban – MNB reader Donald C. Taylor wrote: Probably a poor comparison and sure, the industries are different, but aren’t our local gas stations doing this exact same thing?  Prices change, prices are digitally displayed roadside, the […]
8 min read
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  1. Data & Insights

The End of the Endless Aisle: The Paradox of Choice in Ecommerce

For years, ecommerce has succeeded on an assumption that the more a marketplace offers, the more users are to spend. Digital shelves seem to be infinite, unlike physical ones, and this “endless aisle” was long seen as a competitive advantage. Now, shoppers spend more time browsing, comparing, filtering— and increasingly leave without buying anything. According […]
4 min read
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  1. Data & Insights

Lululemon Founder Calls Board’s Response to his Proposals ‘Weak and Insufficient’

Lululemon Athletica Founder Dennis J. “Chip” Wilson, who remains one of the athleisurewear company’s largest shareholders, has stepped up his criticism of Lululemon’s current Board of Directors. Among other accusations, Wilson decried a “third failed succession planning process” that has the board in search of a permanent CEO following last month’s departure of longtime leader […]
2 min read
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  1. Trends & External Forces

Congressional Oversight Of Corporations Is Likely In 2027

Axios  has a story about how Matthew Miller and Tucker Eskew, described as “veterans of high-profile campaigns, now partners at Vianovo, a bipartisan management and communications firm,” are telling clients “that a ‘tsunami of Congressional oversight’ is headed straight for corporate America if, as is likely based on history, Democrats win the House in November’s […]
2 min read
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  1. Data & Insights

AI Is the New Line Cook, Category Manager, and CMO: A Grocerant Guru® Perspective on the Future of Food Sales

  Circana recently reported in The Evolving Ecosystem that 86% of U.S. adults are aware of AI in their devices, yet 35% are not interested in AI features. Nearly two-thirds of detractors say their devices already do what they need. 59% cite privacy concerns. 43% don’t want to pay more. Only 15% think AI sounds […]
6 min read
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  1. Channel: Delivery

As Winter Storm Raged On, Food Delivery Remained Essential

As the northeastern US got hammered by a blizzard yesterday, the New York Times reports that food delivery workers were among those considered to be “essential.” From the Times coverage: “During the heaviest snowfall in New York City since 2016, which closed the city’s schools, shuttered Broadway and caused the city’s airports to cancel thousands […]
2 min read
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  1. Data & Insights

Tipping at the Drive Thru Good Idea or Bad Idea

  By any metric, Toast is on a heater. The Boston tech player that already powers roughly one in five independent restaurants has been stacking logos, scaling payments, and moving upstream into enterprise. Landing deals with Applebee’s, Firehouse Subs, and Papa Murphy’s signaled it can play far beyond mom-and-pop. Now comes the next frontier: the […]
4 min read
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  1. Data & Insights

Why Fragmented Forecasting is the #1 Driver of Lost Retail Margin (And How to Fix It)

Retail operates at a constant, unforgiving sprint. With today’s global trade volatility and fast-moving trends, poor forecasting has become a high-stakes vulnerability. A slight miscalculation — whether missing the boat on the next TikTok trend or being hit with a last-minute supply chain disruption — can lead to unhappy customers and margin erosion. To outpace […]
5 min read
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  1. Stores & Formats

Saks Global to shutter 9 full-line stores

​[[{“value”:” Dive Brief Saks Fifth Avenue is taking the brunt of the plans, with eight stores on the list. The company told the bankruptcy court further closures may be necessary. Published Feb. 10, 2026 The grand re-opening of the Saks Fifth Avenue in New Orleans on Nov. 16, 2006, following Hurricane Katrina. The location is […]
< 1 min read
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  1. Acquisitions, Divestitures & Mergers

Tipping in the Grocerant World: The Real Price of Food, Labor, and Convenience

  Tipping is no longer a social afterthought—it is a structural component of the modern food economy. As restaurants, grocery stores, convenience stores, and delivery platforms converge, consumers are navigating a fragmented system where food prices are transparent, but labor costs are not. In the Grocerant World, tipping has become the consumer’s most direct investment […]
5 min read
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  1. Data & Insights

How AI can Handle the 3 Biggest Gen Z Retail Trends that Shaped the 2025 Holiday Season

Gen Z is rewriting the rules of holiday shopping. Deloitte projected that Gen Z’s 2025 holiday spending would drop 34% from the previous year, with an emphasis on budgeting and deal-hunting. And while the numbers are still coming in, the mandate for retail leaders is clear: adapt to Gen Z’s evolving preferences or miss out […]
5 min read
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  1. Technology & Innovation

Google DeepMind CEO Demis Hassabis on AI’s Next Breakthroughs, What Counts As AGI, And Google’s AI Glasses Bet

AI is evolving fast, but AI researchers still have substantive work ahead of them. Figuring out how to get AI to learn continuously, for instance, is a problem that “has not been cracked yet,” Google DeepMind CEO Demis Hassabis told me last week. Tackling that problem, along with building better memory and finding more efficient […]
10 min read
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  1. Channel: Specialty & Other

Tractor Supply reins in guidance after weak finish to the year

​[[{“value”:” Dive Brief Weaker demand for discretionary goods and fewer severe weather events hurt Q4 sales while tariffs helped drive down margins. Published Jan. 29, 2026 A Tractor Supply storefront in Virginia. The company plans to open another 100 or so stores this year. Taunya Moore/Retail Dive “}]] 
< 1 min read
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  1. Technology & Innovation

Davos Dispatch: Is AI The New Altruism?

Good morning from Davos, Switzerland where I’ll be on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum conducting interviews with the globe’s AI leaders. You can expect Big Technology Podcast episodes this week with Google DeepMind CEO Demis Hassabis, Qualcomm CEO Christiano Amon, Cohere Chief AI Officer Joelle Pineau, Sierra CEO Bret Taylor, and more. Stay […]
5 min read
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  1. Data & Insights

2026 Guest the Forces Redefining Loyalty, Experience, and Foodservice

  Convenience store retailers and restaurants alike are investing heavily in loyalty programs, upgrading technology stacks, and launching mobile ordering platforms. Yet a fundamental challenge remains: moving guests from a single transaction to a sustained brand relationship. In 2026, engagement—not access—will separate winning brands from interchangeable ones. Paytronix, a recognized leader in guest engagement solutions, […]
4 min read
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  1. Technology & Innovation

Chalhoub Group veteran Tomasz Mazur joins Currys as Head of Customer Data & Orchestration

Currys has appointed Tomasz Mazur as Head of Customer Data and Orchestration. He was previously at Chalhoub Group, spending almost seven years there and most recently serving as Head of Digital Technology and Delivery. In a LinkedIn post, he said: “This update is long overdue, but the start of the new year feels like the […]
2 min read
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  1. Data & Insights

Always-On Retail: How MVNOs are Solving the Multi-Location Connectivity Challenge

When the network goes down, so does your business. In today’s cashless, cloud-connected retail environment, a single network outage can halt store operations. Point-of-sale (POS) systems freeze, digital payments fail and customers abandon transactions. The financial impact is staggering: according to Gartner, IT downtime costs businesses an average of $5,600 per minute, while research from […]
4 min read
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  1. Trends & External Forces

Filshill teams rise to the challenge of winter weather conditions

JW Filshill, one of Scotland’s oldest independent food and drink wholesalers, has highlighted the “sterling efforts” of staff in ensuring KeyStore customers received timely deliveries during the recent spell of wintry weather. Renfrewshire-based Filshill, which supplies KeyStore convenience stores and independent retailers across Scotland and… This story continues at Filshill teams rise to the challenge […]
< 1 min read
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  1. Data & Insights

Mobile Marketing, Virtual Retail, and the Reinvention of Foodservice Brick-and-Mortar

  For more than a decade, Foodservice Solutions® Grocerant Guru®, Steven Johnson has documented a structural shift in how consumers discover, shop for, and consume food. The original blog post correctly identified mobile as a disruptive force; today, mobile is no longer disruptive—it is dominant. What has changed since the mid-2010s is not simply technology […]
5 min read
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  1. Corporate Strategy

My Favorite Marketoons of 2025

My friend Ann Handley once described my cartoons as a type of diary, which rings true to me. Since 2002, I’ve drawn this cartoon series as a kind of open diary to help make sense of whatever I’m noticing around me. As we wrap up 2025, here are some of my personal favorite diary moments […]
3 min read
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  1. Channel: Ecommerce & Digital

On Time.

Bad Weather by Martin Parr As the year ends we are all poorer in time but ideally richer in learning and experiences. Some quotes on time to understand what may have happened in the past and help prepare one to best seize the future… Time is the essential asset. “The meaning of life is that […]
4 min read
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  1. Data & Insights

The Connected Forecourt: How Fuel Retailers are Turning Stations into Shopping Destinations

Fuel and convenience retail is changing fast. The traditional forecourt is no longer just a place to fill up and leave; it’s evolving into a connected, customer-first retail hub that blends physical speed with digital convenience. As consumer expectations rise and connected technologies mature, fuel retailers are discovering new ways to transform the pump-side experience […]
4 min read
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  1. Data & Insights

Beyond Globalization: Why Federated Supply Chains are the Future of Retail Resilience

For decades, retailers have relied upon highly centralized, globally integrated supply chains. Yet the volatile macroeconomic and geopolitical environment has left them unable to plan with confidence – disrupting concentrated supplier networks and making it nearly impossible for retailers to accurately forecast supply, or even to ascertain the basic cost of goods. This overreliance on […]
3 min read
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  1. Department: Beverage

Promotional feature | Hot food meets cool refreshment: boost your winter sales with Carlsberg Britvic’s on-the-go soft drinks

Colder weather brings a golden opportunity to boost sales, and the secret lies in pairing your hot food offering with the nation’s favourite on-the-go soft drinks. https://youtu.be/IMtnXs_oOPA   New research from Carlsberg Britvic shows that nearly seven in ten consumers enjoy soft drinks at least… This story continues at Promotional feature | Hot food meets […]
< 1 min read
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  1. Trends & External Forces
  2. Shopper & Customer
  3. Technology & Innovation
  4. Trends & External Forces
  5. Associates & Employees
  6. Merchandising
  7. Stores & Formats

Walmart to Expand Digital Shelf Labels Chainwide

Walmart will deploy digital shelf labels (DSLs) chainwide this year, doubling the approximately 2,300 U.S. locations currently using the technology (Walmart U.S. operates more than 4,600 stores). With more than 120,000 items in a typical Walmart store, managing price changes manually requires significant associate hours. Additionally, these DSLs are equipped with LED lights that make […]
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