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Retail giants like Target $TGT, Walmart $WMT, and Amazon $AMZN are duking it out on discount deals as they look to lure cash-strapped consumers. A top McDonald’s executive is pushing back on reports that the chain has jacked up its prices by 100% (he says they’ve gone up, just not by that much). Amazon is cozying up to Grubhub as it looks to expand its food delivery business for Prime members.
Meanwhile, Dollar General $DG is scooping up hundreds of 99 Cents Only Stores.
Check out those and more highlights from the week in retail news.
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Big retailers are suddenly cutting prices. Amazon $AMZN, Walmart $WMT, Target $TGT, and others are all duking it out with discount deals — and with each markdown, they hope their bargain will be the one to win over inflation-weary consumers. But who will come out on top?
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Even big box retailers are feeling the pinch of pesky inflation — and it’s pushing them into a pitched competition for bargain-hunting consumers. A slew of quarterly earnings reports and other company announcements in recent weeks have highlighted the extent to which customers are on the hunt for bargains.
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The inflation economy is even getting to fast food giants, with a top executive at McDonald’s pushing pack on reports that the chain has jacked up its menu prices by 100%.
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The bundle battle is escalating – and Burger King wants a piece of the action. Burger King is gearing up to launch a $5 meal deal before McDonald’s bundle, which is slated to run at the end of June.
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The battle for bargain hunting consumers continues — and Amazon $AMZN Fresh is joining the ranks. The retailer plans to slash prices by up to 30% on 4,000 items on a weekly rotating basis.
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The bargain battle is gaining another player. Walgreens $WBA said it is joining other big-box retailers in offering customers discounts on prices this summer. It plans to slash prices on 1,300 items.
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A lifeline has emerged for some 99 Cents Only stores. Dollar Tree $DLTR said it has purchased 170 locations of the deep discount retailer across Arizona, California, Nevada, and Texas.
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Amazon $AMZN wants to be a leading player in food delivery and its aiming to do so by by expanding its Grubhub partnership. The e-commerce giant said Prime members, who pay an annual fee of $139, will automatically get a free Grubhub+ subscription, which usually costs $120 a year.
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Bird flu was found in beef tissue from a sick cow that was sent to slaughter at a meat processing plant, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) said in a statement last week. The country’s food supply, however, remains safe.
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Starbucks $SBUX and Workers United are heading back to the bargaining table this week, the union confirmed in an email to Quartz. This week’s session picks up where the two parties left off in late April, when Starbucks and Workers United, the union that covers workers across the chain’s U.S. locations, said that they had made “significant progress.”
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Costco $COST Wholesale beat third quarter revenue expectations as customers continued to flock to the warehouse chain for groceries and discretionary items, prompting its to climb to an all-time high following its quarterly earnings release.
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The rising cost of fast food is losing its cheap appeal among consumers, who now view the option as a “luxury” when they do indulge, according to a survey from financial services platform LendingTree.
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Walmart $WMT is planning to cut thousands of corporate positions in Texas and California, the company said in filings it made to state employment officials. The job cuts start on Aug. 9 and will continue during the year and into early 2025.
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Inflation may not be so bad for some clothing retailers, like Dick’s Sporting Goods and Abercrombie & Fitch. Both companies said they’re getting a sales boost from consumers.
