Study finds that dollar store produce as good as supermarket produce

A study conducted by the University of Nevada Las Vegas (UNLV) concluded that the quality of fruit and vegetables at dollar stores is as good as the produce at conventional grocery stores. For the study, fruit and veggies at 14 dollar stores were compared in terms of color, cleanliness, freshness and firmness with produce at 40 traditional food retailers in the Las Vegas metro area.

"The dollar store fruits may be ripe - and you'll have to eat it soon - but it's completely good quality," according to UNLV Professor Courtney Coughenour.

The study also found that produce costs much less at dollar stores, although the variety offered at dollar stores was not as good. None of the dollar stores carried pears, for instance.

UNLV is hopeful that its findings will aid public health efforts to boost accessibility to affordable, nutritious food, since 17.3 million people in the U.S. live in "food deserts," which are defined as low income areas that are more than one mile from grocery stores.

Dollar stores continue to expand throughout the U.S., and the major chains continue to ramp up their selection of produce and refrigerated space.

Amazon may be planning to open 2,000 grocery stores

A Business Insider report earlier this week suggested that Amazon envisions having 20 bricks-and-mortar grocery stores open by the end of 2018, and as many as 2,000 in another 10 years. The report said the information was gathered from internal memos sent between 2014 and 2016. Amazon has not commented publicly.

According to Business Insider, locations for the 20 stores would include New York, Miami and Las Vegas, and would serve as tests. A rollout of as many as 200 stores per year could follow, pending the test results.

Supermarket News pointed out yesterday that Amazon's entry into bricks-and-mortar food retail would suggest that the future of grocery shopping includes a combination of virtual and physical options.

Amazon Fresh, the company's virtual shopping option, expanded this week in the Dallas and Chicago markets.

ShopRite and Samsung to allow customers to order groceries from their refrigerators

At the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas earlier this month, Samsung showed off its new Family Hub refrigerator that will allow owners to order groceries from ShopRite through the appliance's built-in screen. ShopRite plans to integrate its online grocery service with the Groceries by MasterCard app that comes with the refrigerator.

According to published reports, ShopRite customers will be able to use the appliance's integrated tablet to order groceries and schedule in-store pickups or at-home delivery.

"By partnering with Groceries by MasterCard, we can make life even more convenient for our customers with this latest innovation in on-demand grocery shopping," said Wakefern Food Corp. President and CEO Joe Sheridan. "This new technology incorporated into the Samsung Family Hub refrigerator allows families immediate access to our ShopRite stores the moment they run out of food or need immediate ingredients for a recipe or planned meal."

"This new product is really cool, although it gives humans another reason not to leave the house and talk to other humans," said at least a few people who read this blog post.

Traditional supermarkets lost stores in 2011, high-end grocers added stores

Supermarket powers Safeway, Kroger and Supervalu closed more traditional stores than they opened last year, while higher- and lower-end stores continued to add stores.

• Safeway, which includes Genuardi's in the Greater Philadelphia region, ended 2011 with 1,678 stores, a net decrease of 16 locations (22 closures and 6 openings).
• Kroger, the only chain of the three traditional markets mentioned here that has increased capital expenditures in 2012, had 2,435 stores at the end of last year, representing a net decrease of 25 units (41 closures, 16 openings).
• Supervalu, which includes Acme and Save-A-Lot in Greater Philly, ended 2011 with 2,434 locations, which is actually a net increase of 40 stores. However, taking discount grocer Save-A-Lot out of the equation and it's a net decrease of 12 traditional supermarkets. 

On the other hand, The Fresh Market added 13 new stores last year and currently operates 116 in total. Earlier this week at the annual International Council of Shopping Centers conference in Las Vegas, a company representative said their long-term goal is at least 500 stores nationwide. A significant capital investment is underway this year, representing approximately 8-9% of sales, and 14-16 new stores are expected.

Whole Foods, which added 12 net new stores last year and has about 300 current locations, has 63 stores in the planning stage and says it may eventually reach 1,000. In 2012, 24-27 new stores may open.

PREIT taking advantage of digital media tools

PREIT, the Philadelphia-based real estate investment trust that owns 49 retail properties, released its "roster of digital media efforts" in advance of the ICSC show in Las Vegas, which begins on Sunday.

The usual suspects - websites, Facebook pages and a Twitter account - are all there, as they should be. But what impresses me is the following:

Mobile App
PREIT is launching a free Apple iPhone application with information on each of its 40 shopping malls. The app will soon be available for the Android, Palm Pre and Blackberry.

Quick Response Codes
QR codes are a big deal these days. They're essentially bar codes on steroids. Perhaps you've seen them on signs or products; they are black modules arranged in a square pattern on a white background. Anyone with a smartphone can scan a QR code and boldly go where no man has gone before. Unless you've been to Japan, of course, where they've been in use since 1994.

Anyway, PREIT says they have introduced QR codes on advertisements, flyers, posters and other marketing materials for its consumer marketing programs. By scanning the codes, shoppers can receive details on fashion trends, store sales, coupons, etc.

They have also introduced the codes on leasing materials, which means real estate professionals can get instant access to aerials, leasing plans, etc. (Here at Equity Retail  Brokers we are testing the same technology.)

Apple iPads
PREIT's executives and leasing team members are currently testing Apple iPads loaded with custom apps that provide them with important facts and figures at their fingertips, not to mention the ability to bring up leasing materials during presentations.

Although I don't have an Apple iPad, I have seen firsthand how effective they are in this business. My colleague Rob Samtmann, one of the principals at Equity Retail Brokers, uses his Apple iPad on a daily basis, and it's an extremely convenient and effective tool, especially for tenant representation.

By the way, if anyone at Apple is reading this (for search purposes, I have generously and liberally inserted "Apple" in as many places as possible), I'm available to test iPhones and iPads.

See y'all in Vegas!