RETAIL NEWS

DEERFIELD, Ill. - In the past week, Walgreens launched its safe medication disposal kiosk program in both Illinois and Iowa with the installation of drug take-back kiosks at 53 Walgreens locations. The launch is part of Walgreens effort, announced in February, to install safe medication disposal kiosks at more than 500 of its drug stores around the country.

Merchants "don't realize the incremental word of mouth Snapchat is creating" and there's a pile of missed marketing opportunities for retailers, according to new research from Placed. (Adweek)

BATAVIA, Ill. -- ALDI is pulling out all the stops to appeal to parents by launching its first multi-category line of baby products nationwide next week.

LEICESTER, England -- Self-service checkouts promote theft by eliminating human contact throughout the shopping process, especially during the critical payment stage, according to a new study.

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – Global Market Development Center on Monday named Troy Beeler VP member development.

“Troy is truly the right person for GMDC and this position because of his extensive association experience - which is essential to the role - and deep knowledge of our industry and members,” stated Patrick Spear, president and CEO of GMDC. “Troy brings global and international business acumen that aligns with the association’s vision for growth. We welcome him to our ecosystem of thought leaders.”

When it comes to online retailing, said a Walgreens executive, the way to win with digital is by narrowing your strategy, not broadening it.

That’s what Wayne Duan, director of digital commerce for Walgreens.com, told attendees of a panel discussion at the NACDS Total Store Expo in Boston on Sunday. Duan added that narrowing down the digital strategy is exactly why Walgreens decided to shut down drugstore.com and Beauty.com two weeks ago.