Stop & Shop kiosks will be in all stores by 2025.

As of Aug. 31, Stop & Shop has ceased selling cigarettes at its 350 locations.

The supermarket chain has not yet determined just how many stores will shutter.

For the second year in a row, the Super Bowl and Valentine’s Day are within days of each other, posing challenges for grocers’ marketing teams. How should grocers thread the needle to promote both the Super Bowl and Valentine’s Day during the same time period?

Stop & Shop has launched a special section on its website spotlighting a curated selection of food items harking back to the 1990s. Do you see a bigger opportunity for food brands and grocers to tap into the nostalgia trend?

Retail Business Services, the technology services arm of Ahold Delhaize USA, has announced that its proprietary ScanIt Mobile frictionless checkout technology is being rolled out to nearly 30 of the grocer’s stores by the end of the year. Do you see ScanIt-like technology becoming common at retail in the years ahead?

A growing number of grocery stores are using anaerobic digester technology in their operations to minimize the amount of their food waste ends up in landfills. Does anaerobic digester technology show promise as a realistic solution to retailers’ food waste challenges?

Representatives of the United Food and Commercial Workers union and management at Stop & Shop announced on Sunday that the parties had reached a tentative agreement on a new labor contract. Do current models for employer/employee negotiations through collective or individual bargaining fit the needs of either party in the present-day labor market?

At NRF’s “Big Show” last week, Cisco showcased a concept called “Optimize Me” within its fictitious Stop, Shop & Go store. Will optimizing a customer’s order and setting regularly ordered items aside make BOPIS easier for the shopper and the retailer?

Walmart, which is not known for moving people quickly through the front-end of its stores, tested a mobile app that would allow people to scan items as they shopped and, in turn, use that data to speed the checkout process. But according to an Associated Press report, the “Scan & Go” app didn’t past muster with its customers. Why have programs such as Scan & Go and Scan-It! had trouble connecting with consumers?

A surprising finding from CFI Group’s Retail Satisfaction Barometer 2014 was that 41 percent of respondents said, given the choice, they would prefer a retailer provided them with a mobile device to use while shopping. Should stores provide scanning devices for those reluctant to use shopping apps on their personal devices?

With tailgating in parking lots and at home not showing any signs of slowing down, several supermarkets are actively playing up their roles as sponsors of various NFL as well as various college teams. What’s the value of grocer’s sponsorships of NFL and college teams?

Walmart is expanding its “Scan & Go” feature to include access to digital coupons. Do you think shoppers will prefer their digital coupons coming pre-selected, personalized based on purchasing history, or location-based around store zones? Which are most and least attractive for shoppers as well as stores?

Four years from now, it is likely that globally there will be close to two billion (yes, billion) smart mobile devices, outselling computers, according to Yankee Group estimates. How will the growing appeal of apps change the way brands and retailers connect with consumers and vice versa?

Consumers don’t like shopping in stores as much as they once did and that’s a problem for retailers with most of their dollars invested in brick and mortar outlets. What do you think are the biggest factors leading to consumers’ unhappiness shopping in stores?

Stop & Shop Supermarkets is testing a new program that appears to bridge the gap between pre-made and homemade meals. With key ingredients assorted in special refrigerated sections, Choose & Cook promises to give consumers the ability to make homemade meals within twenty minutes. Is there demand in the market for speedy, component-based fresh family meals sections at grocers?

The Providence Journal reports that TJX, Ross-Simons, CVS and now Stop & Shop have discovered security breaches that have put customers of those retail businesses at significant financial risk. What is the current state of data security in retailing and what was your reaction when you heard the limited details released on the Stop & Shop case?

Stop & Shop hasn’t made any major adjustments to how it merchandises its general merchandise (GM) and health and beauty care (HBC) department in nearly a quarter of a century, writes Glenn Snyder in the Sept. 2005 issue of Progressive Grocer. That, however, is changing as the chain’s new prototype gives increased attention to GM/HBC and clusters categories under illuminated valences over polished wood floors to give the department a distinct feel from the rest of the store. Are supermarkets making optimal use of GM/HBC to drive business performance?

There is no faster growing, large consumer market in the U.S. than health and wellness. But, so far, most retailers have only been passive beneficiaries, e.g., the strong double-digit growth in pharmacy sales.
The opportunity in health and wellness, however, is much broader, and retailers need to find ways to more effectively tap into this demand. What are your thoughts on the HealthSmart Rx program described by Mr. Bishop? Can it help retailers grow share in the health and wellness market?

Wi-Fi technology is being used for more than just warehouse and backroom tracking inventory by a growing number of retailers and other companies who have discovered these systems can substantially improve performance with customer interactions. Stop & Shop is using Shopping Buddy smart cart technology to help customers order products from service departments, locate products in the store and scan and keep tabs on the cost of goods being purchased. What are your thoughts on the need for retailers to use Wi-Fi and the benefits/drawbacks of the technology?

A report from the nonprofit Boston Consumers’ Checkbook says consumers are unhappy with large chain retail stores, even as they continue to shop in them anyway. Stop & Shop’s and Shaw’s Supermarkets’ prices in the Boston market were said to be higher than Demoulas and Hannaford. Large chain stores in other formats, such as DIY, also fared poorly in the Consumers’ Checkbook evaluations. If consumers are so unhappy, why do they continue to shop at the very stores they criticize?

Bad weather doesn’t leave much opportunity for outside activities, unless going outside is a means to get to the store. Retailers across parts of the rain-soaked Eastern US are finding that Mother Nature’s unwillingness to cooperate is having positive effects on business. Besides selling umbrellas, what opportunities does rainy summer weather present to retailers?

The Attorney General’s Office of Connecticut is investigating Stop & Shop for alleged “restraint of trade.” Stop & Shop (a division of Ahold) has been accused of leasing property for the purpose of keeping competitors out. Is this practice common in retailing? Should it be cause for legal action?

Stop & Shop and Marshall Field’s are the two latest retailers to announce store-within-a-store initiatives that each believes will provide them with a positive competitive point of differentiation in the minds of consumers. Do retailers risk a loss of identity by following this merchandising route?