Walmart to launch its membership program, Walmart+, on September 15th at CNBC. “Walmart+ members…still have to meet a $35 minimum for each online order to avoid fees, whether it’s shipped to the home or dropped off at their door. It will cost $98 a year, or $12.95 a month.” Read more

 

…Members of Walmart+ will receive a savings of up to five cents per gallon on fuel transactions at Walmart, Murphy USA and Murphy Express locations Press release

 

Whole Foods Market opens first permanent online-only store for delivery orders at USA Today. “The Amazon-owned grocery store chain is officially opening its first permanent online-only store in Brooklyn, New York, to fulfill orders for grocery delivery, Whole Foods officials shared exclusively with USA TODAY Tuesday. Like other retailers’ online-only stores, also known as dark stores, the store will not be open to the public.” Read more

 

J.C. Penney sale talks stall, pushing retailer to brink at Reuters. “(JCP lawyer) Sussberg said lenders were still prepared to rescue the 118-year-old company and more than 70,000 jobs depending on negotiations over the next 10 days.” Read more

 

Old Navy will pay employees to work at voting polls on Election Day at Fortune. “According to Power the Polls, most poll workers in the U.S. are over the age of 60…Old Navy says it wanted to engage its field employees, and approximately 64% of the clothing seller’s field employees are between the ages of 18 and 29.” Read more

 

Walgreens Taps Former Rite Aid CEO Standley To Lead U.S. Operations at Forbes. “(John) Standley, who is 56 years old, replaces Alex Gourlay, 60, who will return to his co-chief operating officer role at Walgreens Boots Alliance, the parent company. Standley will report to Gourlay.” Read more

 

GameStop shares soar on Chewy.com founder’s stake at NY Post. “Ryan Cohen, whose Chewy.com was scooped up in 2017 for $3.35 billion by PetSmart, has taken a 9-percent stake in struggling GameStop via his RC Ventures fund, according to a government filing.” Read more

 

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Retail Eviction Proceedings Pick Up as Economy Restarts at The Wall Street Journal. “In Miami, a luxury-shopping-center landlord began legal proceedings to evict Saks Fifth Avenue two weeks ago for nonpayment of rent amounting to $1.9 million as of early July.” WSJ subs.

 

Some customers miss out as Marks & Spencer launches food delivery with Ocado at Reuters. “The 1.5 billion pound ($2 billion) Ocado Retail venture is a cornerstone of M&S’s latest attempt to turn itself around and offset problems at its pandemic-hit clothing business.” Read more

 

Amazon’s drone delivery ambitions hit key milestone with new FAA approval at GeekWire. “The designation allows Amazon to begin commercial drone deliveries in the U.S. under a trial program that lets small delivery drones fly beyond visual line of sight. It’s not clear where and when they will begin…Bloomberg reported that “routine deliveries are most likely still years off” for Amazon due to additional regulatory hurdles.” Read more

 

PayPal introduces a new installment credit option called “Pay in 4″ at TechCrunch. “With Pay in 4, customers can choose to pay for purchases between $30 and $600 over a six-week period. Because it’s included with the merchant’s existing PayPal pricing, they won’t have to pay more fees to offer the option to their customers…” Read more

 

Why Venture Capitalists Gave Two 27-Year-Olds $1 Billion To Build The Ultimate Online C-Store at Forbes. “With its flat $2 fee for 30-minute deliveries of junk food and booze, GoPuff is having a very good pandemic. Orders are up four-fold at the SoftBank-backed startup but hypergrowth comes with problems: high costs, low margins and unreliable drivers.” Read more

 

Tipsheet Extra

Costco samples have been spotted in stores but they look … different

Mother and daughter receive a surprise at a Wegmans, in memory of a life gone too soon

Pandemic tests shopper loyalty for clothing brands

Costco will put $25M into a fund to support social justice programs

McKinsey research: Winning over consumers for the long term

Read Tipsheet Extra Stories

 

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