Whole Foods Market has unveiled its new retail concept, called Whole Foods Market Daily Shop, with a store in New York City. Located in the Lenox Hill neighborhood of Manhattan’s Upper East Side, the 9,101-sq.-ft. store is designed to bring the freshest, high-quality ingredients to customers with a convenience that fits their fast-paced urban lifestyles, the natural and organic foods retailer said. Two other locations are in the works, with one in Manhattan’s East Village’s StuyTown development and the other in its Hell’s Kitchen neighborhood. Whole Foods revealed in March that it planned to debut a “quick-shop,” smaller-store concept. The new format will range between 7,000 to 14,000 sq. ft., which is about a quarter to half the footprint of an average 40,000 sq. ft. store. It paves the way for Whole Foods to expand in dense, metropolitan areas. The new Upper East Side outpost features more than 400 local products from 100-plus Northeast-based…

Independent Payments Forum Australia today congratulated Australian Payments Plus (AP+) on taking three, long-awaited and necessary steps towards fairer debit card fees for small businesses and their customers – but warned there was still a very long way to go to have any meaningful impact. As debit cards are the “new cash” and Australia’s favourite retail payment method, today’s AP+ announcements are very welcome, but they also come with a lot of cryptic caveats and willmean little without regulatory and industry support. “While there is a lot more to be done, today’s announcement is a positive step which begins toaddress the massive disparity between debit card fees charged to small businesses and theircustomers compared to big business,” IPF co-founder Warwick Ponder said. “To succeed it will need commitment from both the industry and the regulator. Lower fees have been available for some time, what we really need to see is…

Lawson and its owners, major trading house Mitsubishi and telecommunications carrier KDDI, said Wednesday they will open convenience stores of the “future” that utilize digital technology in Tokyo next spring. The new stores, to be in the Takanawa Gateway City complex in Tokyo’s Minato Ward, will feature robots that can stock shelves and cook, as well as artificial intelligence signage that recommends products to customers. A booth will also be set up where customers can remotely consult on topics such as nursing care and asset management. The project aims to reduce the workload of store staff by 30% by fiscal 2030. Labor shortages are the number one issue that needs to be address, Lawson President Sadanobu Takemasu said at a news conference on Wednesday. “We aim for stores with the highest growth potential in the world,” he added. KDDI will provide technical support for the project while leveraging Lawson’s stores…

Independent Payments Forum Australia today congratulated Australian Payments Plus (AP+) on taking three, long-awaited and necessary steps towards fairer debit card fees for small businesses and their customers – but warned there was still a very long way to go to have any meaningful impact. As debit cards are the “new cash” and Australia’s favourite retail payment method, today’s AP+ announcements are very welcome, but they also come with a lot of cryptic caveats and willmean little without regulatory and industry support. “While there is a lot more to be done, today’s announcement is a positive step which begins toaddress the massive disparity between debit card fees charged to small businesses and theircustomers compared to big business,” IPF co-founder Warwick Ponder said. “To succeed it will need commitment from both the industry and the regulator. Lower fees have been available for some time, what we really need to see is…

The Australian Association of Convenience Stores (AACS) hosted its sold out Down Under Study Tour last week, with the event a resounding success. With 90 enthusiastic attendees, the two-day tour through Adelaide left attendees with a wealth of new insights and the opportunity to meet and network with industry peers. All attendees were extremely impressed with the level of maturity and offer development in the Adelaide market. The two days were packed with visits to a range of innovative convenience and grocery stores along with the state-of-the-art Drake’s Supermarket distribution centre providing attendees an understanding of the latest store formats and offers, and the chance to witness first-hand how industry leaders are pushing the boundaries of convenience retailing. Each stop was an opportunity to delve deeper into what makes these stores stand out in a competitive market. The highlight of the tour, for many attendees, was meeting and engaging with…