Here’s what large national advertisers are up to this week:
Giant Eagle is linking its in-house retail media network to the third-party Rippl data and media collective. The regional food, fuel and pharmacy retailer, which in September 2023 rolled out “closed loop” reporting for Leap Media Group, its internally developed retail media network that taps into its myPerks loyalty platform, has joined the Rippl data and media network. Rippl is a collaborative effort among regional grocers, convenience stores, and their advertisers. Leveraging cookie-less identity resolution technology from Bridg, a division of Cardlytics, Rippl provides advertisers with a single access point to a national footprint of 70 million-plus individual shopper profiles (loyalty and non-loyalty) with SKU-level purchase data and enriching attributes… Dollar General executives admitted during an earnings call that shrink during Q1 2024 was a little higher than expected. Still, the discount retailer continues to make progress in this area, mostly via tweaks to self-checkout. The retailer had already converted 9,000 stores away from self-checkout with the intention of preventing theft, and in May an additional 3,000 locations were stripped of their self-checkout lanes... Costco beat Q3 estimates as net sales were 9.1% better year over year at $57.39 billion. In the U.S., comparable sales increased 6.2% vs. Q3 2023 and e-commerce experienced a 20.7% jump. CEO Ron Vachris said consumables were a big win for the retailer during Q3 as food continued to be a solid seller... Walmart is further expanding its InHome delivery service, adding locations in Philadelphia, Boston, Detroit, Minneapolis, and San Bernardino. InHome is Walmart’s paid service that allows workers to deliver groceries into customers’ homes. In a press release, the retailer said it expects the service to reach an additional 10 million U.S. households. Walmart first launched InHome Delivery in 2019... Friendly’s Restaurants Franchising Co. has opened its newest store in Orlando, FL, but doesn’t plan on stopping there. The casual dining chain known for its ice cream and signature Fribble milkshake filed for bankruptcy in 2011 and 2020 but emerged with a new owner in 2021. Currently owned by BRIX Holdings, Friendly’s now operates more than 100 locations spanning the Eastern seaboard, including three in Florida with the newest Orlando unit. The company plans to take the brand west of the Mississippi River and into the Sunbelt in states such as Texas, Georgia, the Carolinas and more... Jack in the Box is planning to expand its footprint in two of Florida’s major cities. The quick-serve chain has announced a five-unit franchise commitment in Tallahassee, and additional 10-unit agreement for Orlando, which comes just months after Jack in the Box announced a previous 10-unit franchise deal in the theme park hub. Specific locations for each restaurant have not been identified yet... Tractor Supply Co. has reached a milestone with its Garden Center format. The rural lifestyle retailer has opened its 500th Garden Center in Lowell, Ind., marking major progress since the first opened in July 2020. Tractor Supply began outfitting selected new stores with Garden Centers and adding them to existing stores as part of its Project Fusion store format initiative, which launched four years ago.