RETAIL NEWS

PHILADELPHIA — The stark reality that reverberated with attendees of the Emerson Group's 10th annual Retail Industry Day was simple — within a short period the entire ecosystem of how consumers seek, source and acquire products will change. And that change will accelerate thanks in large part to the coming of age of a generation of consumers who have never experienced a world without Wi-Fi.

BENTONVILLE, Ark. — Walmart is counting on the “connected customer” and strong e-commerce growth as its two competitive weapons in the ongoing digital retailing war.

Walmart has augmented its fiscal year 2019 guidance with an expectation that e-commerce sales growth in the United States will increase by a staggering 40% by 2019. Walmart also predicted that consolidated net sales will grow at or above 3%, driven by comp-sales and e-commerce growth.

SEATTLE — Bartell Drugs has become the first user of the strategic alliance between LexisNexis Risk Solutions and eRx Network for its prescriber validation. The pharmacy chain will leverage LexisNexis VerifyRx to perform real-time prescription compliance checks within their existing workflows.

CINCINNATI — Kroger is now offering associates and their immediate families pricing of $25 or less for medically necessary services at The Little Clinic locations, the grocer announced Monday.

"We are committed to helping our associates and customers live healthier lives," stated Colleen Lindholz, president Kroger Pharmacy and The Little Clinic. "Our mission is to simplify healthcare by creating affordable solutions that combine health, wellness and nutrition."

Amazon is deciding how to get a foothold into the multibillion-dollar prescription drug market.

The online giant is expected to make a decision before Thanksgiving of whether it will sell prescription drugs online. These details came from an email from Amazon, as well as a source familiar with the situation, according to CNBC.

BENTONVILLE, Ark. — Eager to streamline the often frustrating task of merchandise returns, Walmart will introduce Mobile Express Returns. Starting Nov. 9, the new service will enable online customers to use the Walmart app to begin the returns process — before even heading to their local store.

Here’s how it works: Customers follow prompts on the Walmart app to find their transaction and pinpoint the merchandise they want to return. Once completed, they can go to their local Walmart store, and enter the Mobile Express Lane.

PHILADELPHIA — It's easy to fall into the trap of thinking about e-commerce as just another store or just another channel warned Musab Balbale, VP and general manager for Walmart e-commerce, but it's not.

PHILADELPHIA — What if? What if you could break down the process of capturing lightning in a bottle into its base components — the key ingredients that you could combine to be successful over and over again?