RETAIL NEWS

WOONSOCKET, R.I. - CVS Pharmacy on Tuesday unveiled plans to improve its convenient food offerings with healthier foods and beverages across more than 2,900 locations, up from an inititial 500 pilot stores announced last year. Throughout the year, 100 stores each week are being enhanced with a carefully curated selection of national and niche better-for-you brands that make healthier eating on-the-go, convenient and affordable.

NEW YORK – Members of retailers’ customer loyalty programs generate between 12% and 18% more revenue for retailers than do customers who are not members of the loyalty programs, according to new research from Accenture Interactive.

DALLAS  - The Kroger Dallas division on Tuesday invited customers to try ClickList, an online grocery ordering service, at select stores in the area.

ClickList, which is exclusive to Kroger, allows customers to shop online and pick up their order curbside at a participating store location. Kroger plans to enable 20 locations to operate the new service by the beginning of fall.  

TORONTO -- ModiFace, which creates augmented reality technology for the beauty and medical industries, has launched the world's first conversational beauty adviser for Facebook Messenger.

The ModiFace chatbot, which has expert knowledge of over 5,000 beauty products, enables shoppers to search for their perfect makeup products by conversing with ModiFace and asking questions about color, brand name or shade name. 

WOONSOCKET, R.I. - MinuteClinic, the retail medical clinic of CVS Health, has opened eight new locations inside Target stores in the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex.

There are now 50 MinuteClinic locations in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, including clinics in select CVS Pharmacy stores.

NEW YORK - More than eight in 10 affluent Americans are interested in health and wellness products and services, with 54% interested in "luxury" health and wellness offerings, according to a recent report released by Robb Report. The proportion was even higher (66%) among the "Wealthy" demographic (annual household income above $500,000).

BENTONVILLE, Ark. - Walmart and JD.com, China’s largest e-commerce company by revenue, on Monday announced that they have formed a strategic alliance to better serve consumers across China through a combination of e-commerce and retail.

For Walmart, the alliance greatly expands its opportunity in China e-commerce and provides its stores and Sam’s Clubs with potential traffic from JD.com’s significant base of online customers and same-day delivery network to serve its customers.