Instacart has become a major part of how many Americans shop for groceries online. Now it is moving ahead with plans to become a fixture of how they shop in stores, as well.  Is there significant demand for scan and pay apps?

Wegmans last September reluctantly discontinued use of its popular SCAN self-checkout app because thieves were exploiting the technology. The family-owned chain is now testing smart cart technology that they hope can replace the SCAN app without the security concerns that came with it. Will self-checkout technology become a more prominent feature in retail stores over the next five years?

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?

As theft from stores continues to be a big problem for Walmart, one report says both employees and customers are pointing to one factor as a particular enabler for shoplifters. How much of a role do you think self-checkout plays in the overall shrink problem?

Macy’s and Wegmans are going for the heart strings in round six of the 2022 RetailWire Christmas Commercial Challenge. Which one will join Etsy, Kroger, Publix, Amazon.com and Aldi UK in the finals? What is your critique of the Christmas spots from Macy’s and Wegmans?

No matter which Wegmans a customer is shopping at in the U.S., they will not find single-use plastic bags available at checkout. Does Wegmans’ chainwide ban on single-use plastic bags make business sense for the grocer?

Wegmans is ending the use of its SCAN app, saying that it could no longer afford the losses associated with the app as shoplifters exploited the technology. Is Wegmans’ experience with customers using its self-scanning tech to steal an outlier in retail or is it similar to the experience in other stores?

It’s common to see “Buy 10 sandwiches get one free” program. As part of its first loyalty program, The Fresh Market is introducing not one, but five purchase frequency programs. Will The Fresh Market’s rewards program tied to purchase frequency be more effective than points-for-all-purchases programs?

Outside line monitoring, reservations, time limits and mobile checkout are some ways retailers have been managing customer queues during the pandemic. Do you see the pandemic helping to drive innovation around line management?

A new survey shows a few stores in particular, already known for their customer experience, that have managed to maintain high customer satisfaction levels even in the midst of the novel coronavirus pandemic. Why do you think Trader Joe’s, Wegmans, Costco and Publix have been able to stand out for customer service even during the pandemic?

Wegmans’ management is “rethinking how much food and how much customer experience it can offer — and how much customers will want” as the grocer adjusts to COVID-19. Does it make sense for Wegmans to trim back assortments and other parts of the store experience in response to the pandemic?

In a note to customers, Wegmans said that “retail prices on certain items in our stores will fluctuate in response” to increasing operational and food costs tied to the coronavirus outbreak. In what ways should price increases be explained, if at all, to consumers and does that change amid the pandemic?

Wegmans, one of the most respected players in the regional grocery game, is trying to stay ahead of trends by spiffing up its website and mobile app with a redesign. What separates a strong website from a weak one in the grocery channel in 2020?

On Sunday, Wegmans opened its first store in North Carolina (100th overall) and the crowds, according to the chain, were record-breaking. What accounts for Wegmans popularity with consumers in the markets it serves?

Cleanliness in grocery stores means much more than “clean up on aisle five,” according to a recent survey of Consumer Reports members. What do you think registers as cleanliness at grocery stores in the eyes of consumers?

Wegmans is closing its last WKids play center in Buffalo in another example of retailers that are discontinuing in-store child care services and kids’ play areas. What do you think is behind retailer decisions to close in-store childcare spaces?

As shopping malls try to figure out how to return to relevance, more big names in grocery are starting to see mall space as a worthwhile investment. Do you think grocery stores can help revive shopping malls?

The days when consumers made one big shopping trip to their local supermarket may be a thing of the past as households increasingly designate specific stores for items such as fresh produce and meat while stocking up on other items such as paper and plastic goods at another. What factors are driving multiple weekly trips to grocery stores?

The recent announcement that Amazon.com will acquire Whole Foods has led to speculation about what the deal may mean for the future of grocery shopping, particularly when it comes to online ordering. Do you think grocers have finally figured out how to make online work as a part of their overall business?

Americans love Publix and Wegmans best. The two chains came out tied for the top spot in a consumer survey of more than 12,700 shoppers by Market Force Information. If you were running a grocery business, how would you prioritize the factors used in Market Force’s rankings

As Publix continues expanding up the East Coast, Wegmans maintains its inexorable push south. Do you imagine Wegmans and Publix will soon be competing in Florida and New York State?

A new Fortune list of the best employers for Millennials, at least from a retailer perspective, includes many of the same companies that are regularly mentioned in other less age-specific rankings. Do you think the low expectations held by older managers may have something to do with the perceived shortcomings of Millennial workers?

According to a new NPD Group report, Millennials give grocers higher marks for freshness and quality than their quick service restaurant competitors. How do you see the demand for prepared foods changing supermarket operations in the years ahead?

Before the new Wegmans in Midlothian, VA ever opened its doors, 24,000 people had signed up for its rewards card. According to reports, the store’s lot was completely full before it officially opened for business this past Sunday. What is it about Wegmans that draws such large crowds whenever the chain opens a store in a new market?

Trader Joe’s is no longer America’s favorite grocery retailer, according to a survey of more than 10,000 consumers by Market Force Information. What factors do you think are most important in determining favorite grocer status among consumers?

In an industry that is known for high turnover and low pay, some leading retailers are working to ensure their employees are happy. In turn, they’re experiencing improved employee loyalty. What do you think are some obvious and less obvious ways retailers can show their appreciation to store associates?

Reports out of Richmond and the area around the nation’s capital tell the same story: Publix is looking to move into Virginia in a big way, and the employee-owned grocery chain is not looking to hide the fact. How will Publix’s entry into Virginia affect the various grocery markets within the state?

Publix has been inexorably moving northward up the East Coast, while Wegmans has been on a steady march south. With the news that Wegmans has found a location to open its first store in North Carolina, how long will it be before two of the nation’s top supermarkets go head-to-head? What do you expect to happen when Publix and Wegmans begin competing in the same markets?

Wegmans has funded the first National Mall exhibit tailored for children 6 and younger at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History in Washington, D.C. Does Wegmans gain much of a business benefit from the opening of Wegmans Wonderplace?

What once seemed like a violation of liquor ordinances is becoming increasingly popular. On the wave of consumer craft beer and cocktail connoisseurship, big grocery chains are installing in-store bars. A recent retailer to get in on this trend, however, isn’t an upscale “natural” grocer. What positives and negatives do you see in Target having an in-store bar at select locations?

It’s pretty common for Wegmans to appear at or near the top of various studies ranking the best supermarkets in the U.S. Now, according to a nationwide study by J.D. Power, it tops the list of the nation’s best pharmacies as well. Why do you think supermarkets are rated higher for customer satisfaction than drugstores when it comes to pharmacy operations?

Recently named America’s best supermarket — again — by Consumer Reports, Wegmans regularly receives accolades, including praise of its devotion to quality private label assortments. Naturally, some national vendors believe there’s just too much of it, thereby limiting selection. How does a conventional grocer strike the right balance between private label and national brands?

Fortune has released its annual list of the “100 Best Companies To Work For” and Wegmans, The Container Store, QuikTrip and eight other usual suspects have been recognized as employers of choice. Why do so few retailers go out of their way to promote themselves as employers of choice?

The 16th annual Harris Poll Reputation Quotient study has put Wegmans at the top of its list of companies based on corporate reputation. What elements of a company’s reputation are most important to its success in the marketplace?

Wegmans, Publix, Hy-Vee and Costco were named by consumers as the top grocery brands in the Northeast, South, Midwest and West respectively in the 2014 Harris Poll EquiTrend study. Do you find any commonality between the list of top regional grocers in Harris’ research? What grocer do you think is the best in your region of the country and why?

One thing missing from many (most) supermarkets is atmosphere. Many critics of the modern shopping experience point to restaurants as a source for new thinking when it comes to creating in-store environments consumers crave. So what would a supermarket look like if an award-winning chef designed it? What can grocery stores learn from restaurants and vice versa?

While much of the press coverage of Consumer Reports’ supermarket ratings has focused on the usual suspects getting the highest scores, a troubling point is that one-third of subscribers to the magazine said they had stopped shopping at their main grocery store over the past year. Do you think consumers are quicker to switch grocery stores today than in the past?

Wegmans has announced the end of its the seasonal price freeze program. The chain initially rolled out the freeze in 2011 in response to financial challenges its shoppers were facing coming out of the Great Recession in 2009. Are consumers more or less price sensitive today than they were in 2011?

City Grocery in Oxford, MS and American Grocery in Greenville, SC are two restaurants that source top quality ingredients for their fine dining offerings. Their names imply that if raw materials don’t actually come directly from a retail grocer, they could. Is the connotation of “grocery” an inducement to fine dining?

Shopping at Wegmans can be a very social experience. It is one of the few stores where multiple people in our household volunteer to go along when plans to go grocery shopping are announced. What is the single biggest point of difference that Wegmans has compared to all the grocers with whom it competes?

According to a holiday shopping survey, only 5.6 percent of respondents used their mobile phone to actually buy groceries during the past 12 months. Yet supermarkets continue to launch and tweak their mobile apps. Will in-store grocery shopping with mobile apps be fairly common in the years ahead?

Wegmans is known for helping its customers expand their holiday season culinary horizons through recipes, food preparation videos, its monthly Menu magazine, online chats and — for the second year in a row — Twitter. What do you think of Wegmans use of Twitter to connect with its customers on Thanksgiving?

It doesn’t take long for a relationship between a consumer and a retailer to go from good to bad or bad to worse. That’s the finding of recent research measuring the amount of time it takes for stores to answer phone calls from consumers. How important is the time it takes to reach a real person at a retail chain/store to the consumer perception of customer service?

More than a few in the vendor community — both private label and branded — are not fond of Wegmans. They say that as an account, Wegmans is high-maintenance, too wedded to an overgrown private label program and sometimes just plain arrogant. Does Wegmans apparently adversarial relationships with many national brands hold any risks for the chain?

As RetailWire readers know, George Anderson thinks pretty highly of Wegmans. But like many other American families facing rising costs in an uncertain economic environment, Wegmans, was a budget buster. How big a role does design play into consumers’ perceptions of a retail store’s product quality and pricing?

No doubt that Wegmans got some buzz when Alec Baldwin discussed his mother’s refusal to move from upstate New York because of her love for the supermarket chain on the Late Show with David Letterman. But when it comes to a dramatic expression of love for the grocery chain, nothing tops Wegmans… The Musical. What inspires shoppers at Wegmans to become such fans of the chain?

Wegmans is looking into opening up locations in the city of Boston but officials are admitting to being apprehensive about the move. In Fall 2013, a store measuring only 70,000 square feet is due to open in Newton, about eight miles outside of Boston. What challenges will Wegmans face with its smaller format that it does not with larger stores?

Wegmans, as everybody knows, is a different type of grocery chain. The company, which is regularly cited among the best employers in the country, also receives kudos for customer service. What do you see as Wegmans’ competitive strengths? What are its weaknesses?

A new paper from the Stanford Graduate School of Business finds that a promotional pricing strategy appears to be a better approach to competing against big boxes than than every-day-low price (EDLP) one. Do you agree? What consideration should be given to the costs of switching from one pricing model to the other?

Higher food prices are definitely getting the attention of Americans and Wegmans wants its customers to know that it feels their pain and is taking steps to alleviate it by freezing prices on 40 top items through the end of the year. What is your reaction to Wegmans’ price freeze?