Note from the editor
For grocery retail, 2017 isn’t just a new year: It’s a whole new world. December’s surprise launch of the Amazon Go checkout-free grocery store radically redefined the industry landscape virtually overnight. Beyond staples like milk and bread, meals and snacks made by on-site chefs and local suppliers, and Amazon-branded meal kits, the store enables customers to track purchases in a mobile app-based virtual cart, totaling the final cost when they exit the premises and automatically billing the card saved in their Amazon account. Many experts agree it’s an absolute game-changer.
Amazon Go isn’t the only innovation promising to reshape grocery in the months ahead. Last-mile shipping, social media marketing, product transparency and differentiated shopping experiences are just a few of the emerging trends defining the future of grocery.
Hungry for even more on the trends, news and issues impacting grocery retail? You’re in luck. Monday, Jan. 9 signals the launch of Retail Dive’s new sibling publication, Food Dive: Grocery. You can sign up to be one of the first to receive the newsletter here.
Change is coming. Don’t get left behind.
Jason Ankeny
Editor, Retail Dive
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Top news
Feature Story
Online grocery, last-mile shipping, social media marketing, product transparency and differentiated shopping experiences will highlight the year ahead.
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About 3,900 associates will be displaced as a result of store closures announced Wednesday, while additional restructuring measures may signal the loss of another estimated 6,200 positions.
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The retailer has also entered into a $500 million committed secured loan facility, maturing in July 2020, with Seritage Growth Properties.
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45% of customers say digital is essential to make in-store shopping easier. Discover 4 digital solutions to meet today’s always connected customer expectations when they shop in your stores! Get the guide.
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The faltering mall retailer appears to be holding going-out-of-business sales at stores in several states, according to local media reports.
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Next Level Apparel and Authentic Brands Group are also in talks to submit bids ahead of the Friday auction deadline, with an outcome expected next week.
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Holiday prospects seemed bright in early November, but sales were volatile and strong days few and far between in the weeks to follow.
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Former Amazon exec Kumar Srinivasan arrived last March amid a tech revamp, but it looks like the department store retailer intends further restructuring of its digital operations.
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The e-commerce giant has a penchant for developing private-label brands in many categories, using its deep intelligence from customer feedback and sales to see which categories have the most potential.
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What We're Reading
 Fortune
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 The Wall Street Journal
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 TechCrunch
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 Supply Chain Dive
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 eMarketer
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DIGITAL NATIVES ARE TAKING OVER