NEW YORK — A year after announcing it was acquiring Whole Foods Market, Amazon.com made a splash again, this time in the health care sector. On June 28, Amazon entered into an agreement to buy PillPack, an online pharmacy that offers presorted doses of medications and home delivery, for an estimated $1 billion. PillPack also
LONDON — Kantar, the data investment management division of advertising and PR giant WPP, has launched of Kantar Consulting, a sales and marketing consultancy designed to “switch on growth” for brand owners and retailers. Kantar Consulting brings together four of Kantar’s founding brands — Kantar Retail, Kantar Added Value, Kantar Futures and Kantar Vermeer — into
The dynamism of the retail industry’s most active, innovative and forward-thinking members is raising the stakes for everyone in the field. Major developments with potentially far-reaching implications for the way consumers shop are occurring at an unprecedented rate. In just the past few weeks, Walmart and Amazon.com Inc. have ratcheted up the pressure on their
Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc. (WBA) and Rite Aid Corp. announced on June 29 that their merger is off, which goes to show you that nothing is certain in the world of retail mergers and acquisitions, especially with the U.S. government involved. The long and somewhat tumultuous process of WBA’s proposed acquisition of Rite Aid, which
JERSEY CITY, N.J. — Retailers in the U.S. are sitting on a gold mine of health and wellness opportunities, but they need to know where and how to dig. This was the essential theme of the Kantar Retail Health and Wellness Conference held here last month. By 2025, according to Kantar, health and wellness has
NEW YORK — Southeastern Grocers LLC has become the first supermarket operator to join the Plenti coalition loyalty program operated by American Express. The program, which allows members to earn and use rewards at a number of businesses, including Exxon and Mobil gas stations and Rite Aid and Macy’s stores, will roll out to the
Although sometimes overlooked amid the swirl of activity surrounding the largest players in retail pharmacy, regional drug chains remain an integral part of the industry. The assets and aspirations of those companies — defined as operating between four and 250 stores — along with the challenges they face, were on display at the National Association
NORWALK, Conn. — Walmart and Kroger Co. finished in a virtual tie as the top retailer in the 2016 PoweRanking determined by consulting firm Kantar Retail LLC. PepsiCo and Coca-Cola Co. were at the top of the rankings of manufacturers in this year’s survey. Walmart has been atop the retailer rankings for more than a
ARLINGTON, Va. — The National Association of Chain Drug Stores has announced four companies that will participate in Vision 2027, its futuristic, interactive display at the 2016 NACDS Total Store Expo. NACDS said Friday that this year’s Vision participants include Li & Fung Business Intelligence, Kantar Retail, Nielsen and Shark Branding. The forward-looking Vision
Walgreens wants to own the grocery fill-in trip by providing its shoppers with what it calls the “ultimate convenience” — defined as helping shoppers get in, get what they need and get out. Kantar Retail assesses trip missions and cross-channel behaviors to examine how the Walgreens shopper may respond to this strategic goal. Recently, Walgreens
We at Kantar Retail believe that the May 2015 launch of Rite Aid Corp.’s new wellness+ with Plenti rewards program is an innovative step toward achieving true shopper loyalty. According to the 2015 COLLOQUY Loyalty Census, drug store loyalty program memberships rose 88% to 268 million versus a year ago, the highest growth rate of
We at Kantar Retail believe that the most disruptive retail presence in the U.S. health care environment won’t be from a drug store — it will be from Walmart. Walmart wants to become the No. 1 U.S. health care provider and is now poised to challenge the slope of drug store growth. Today, Walmart is
