Shoplifting skyrockets by 24% across US even as most other crimes fall to pre-pandemic levels at NY Post. "The study reviewed crime statistics from 23 cities across the US, finding shoplifting has steadily been on the rise since the country began emerging from the COVID-19 pandemic around 2022." Read more   Tractor Supply Q2 comp store sales down 0.5% Press release   Walmart’s chief technologist reveals how Gen Z habits will define the next great retail transformation at Fortune/Yahoo. "Earlier this year, Walmart chief technologist Suresh Kumar argued that the 62-year-old retailer is in the process of transforming [...]

  Inside Best Buy’s push to get back to sales growth, cash in on AI craze at CNBC. "Best Buy on Tuesday announced new plans to try to reverse a two-year sales slump...said it would add trained sales teams to key parts of its stores, create more YouTube videos to pique customers’ curiosity and kick off a marketing campaign with a fresh tagline: “Imagine that.”  In an interview with CNBC, CEO Corie Barry said customers told Best Buy that retailers’ store experiences and the technology they offer have “lost a bit of [their] sparkle.” Read more   Listeria outbreak linked [...]

  More teens are working. Here’s why a job is ‘becoming more compelling’ for them, economist says at CNBC. "Last month, more than 5.7 million 16- to 19-year-olds participated in the labor market, Bureau of Labor Statistics data shows, marking the highest teen employment rate in June since 2007. While data shows that this is still far below the more than 8 million teen workers recorded in the late ’70s, the figures show that teen employment has steadily grown over the past decade." Read more   Petco has named former Five Below CEO Joel D. Anderson as its new CEO [...]

  US retail sales unchanged in June, beating forecasts for slight drop at Reuters. "Economists polled by Reuters had forecast retail sales...falling 0.3% after a previously reported 0.1% gain in May." Read more   Walmart retools its young adult clothing line in pursuit of fashion credibility at AP. "The company plans to relaunch its 30-year-old brand for teenagers and young adults on Tuesday with a new 130-piece fall collection aimed at Generation Z. The retooling of the No Boundaries label...includes of-the-moment styles like baggy jeans, cropped T-shirts, faux leather corsets and bomber jackets. Most items cost $15 or less. Some [...]

  Costco June comp sales (ex. gas & f/x) +6.9% / Membership fees increase "...effective September 1, 2024, it will increase annual membership fees by $5...Executive Memberships in the U.S. and Canada will increase from $120 to $130 ...the increases will impact around 52 million memberships, a little over half of which are Executive." Press release   ...is Amazon Prime next? at GeekWire   PepsiCo, After Years of Price Hikes, Sounds an Alarm on Consumer Spending at WSJ. "Shoppers are now less interested in buy-one-get-one-free promotions and want lower price points for single items, Caulfield added. Yet even as some [...]

  Instacart’s AI-powered smart carts, which offer real-time recommendations and ‘gamified’ shopping, are coming to more U.S. grocery stores at Fortune/Yahoo. "Instacart expanded its Caper Cart technology... trialing the tool in Price Chopper and McKeever’s Market & Eatery grocery stores this week. Since Instacart first acquired Caper Cart for $350 million in 2021, 1,500 retail partners including Kroger and ShopRite have implemented the time-saving tech." Read more   Even as prices stabilize, Walmart, Chipotle and others feel the heat from skeptical customers at CNBC. "Walmart, for instance, cut the number of sheets in its Great Value paper towel rolls from [...]