Top Retailers

NEW YORK — Costco Wholesale appears to be eyeing China's online commerce market, according to published reports.

The Southern Metropolis Daily, a newspaper based in the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou, reported Thursday that the Issaquah, Wash.-based club retailer was interested in entering the country's e-commerce market and was in the process of looking for local partners.

ST. LOUIS — More than 90 runners signed on to join Team Walgreens/Team Tori last month at the 2013 St. Louis Undy 5000 in support of 24-year old Tori Riley. The team raised more than $1,000 in support, half contributed to the Colon Cancer Alliance and the other half to Team Tori, through T-shirt sales, raffles for Walgreens beauty bags and silent auctions that included St. Louis Cardinals tickets, among other items.

Geoscape issued a report projecting the future buying power of both Asian and Hispanic households, respectively. Both groups will spend far more in their remaining lifetimes than white non-Hispanic households. 

This report should serve as a wake up call that multicultural marketing efforts that appeal to the diversity of a shopper base are not just innovative strategies — they're also essential. 

Empty shelves at Walmart are getting a lot of attention these days, but the situation isn’t new and can’t be blamed entirely on store staffing levels.

BEAVERTON, Ore. — Starting this month, the more than 8.6 million readers of Costco Wholesale's member magazine will be able to use smartphones and tablets to scan more than 50 digital watermarks included in articles and ads.

NEW YORK — Retail-based health clinics, urgent care clinics, telehealth and traditional physicians may be increasingly competing to serve the healthcare needs of Americans but the real winner is the patient, suggests a recent article in The Economist.

CAMP HILL, Pa. — Same-store sales at Rite Aid decreased 2% in March, including a 3.8% increase in same-store sales on the front end and a 4.5% decrease in pharmacy sales due in part to new introductions of generic drugs, the retail pharmacy chain said Thursday.

The 4,621-store chain reported total sales for the month of $1.939 billion, a 2.5% decrease compared with $1.989 billion in March 2012, while same-store prescription count increased 0.3%.

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn — Beginning today through Tuesday, April 30, Bi-Lo will host its fourth annual PAWS "Feed the Love" campaign. "Feed the Love" is a pet food drive in which food donations go to local area food banks for families in need to be able to provide food for the four-legged members of their families.