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THERE IS A WAR waging over consumers' identities. Insurance companies and other financial services institutions are surrounded by relentless hostiles who have targeted their customer data and seemingly will stop […]

EVERY DAY, INSURANCE COMPANIES are bringing hundreds, even thousands, of agents from all over the world together in one classroom to earn their continuing education (CE) credits, and, typically, the […]

BUSINESS INTELLIGENCE, or BI, is a vague term that packs a lot of promise. It's right up there with "dream job," "in shape" and "perfect relationship"--few have it; most want […]

INSURANCE COMPANIES have always been "mobile"--salespeople, agents, brokers and adjusters travel to call on accounts, build relationships and service their customers. Over time, however, changing technology, growing territories, new products […]

ANY INSURANCE COMPANY trying to achieve the elusive goal of true enterprise content management (ECM) faces a rising tide of structured, semi-structured and unstructured data, as well as a wave […]

THE ROUTE FROM CARRIER to consumer often is a varied, indirect course that is full of alternatives. And the person charged with navigating the route--the producer--often is regarded as the […]

ONCE UPON A TIME, an acceptable answer to the question, "What is the sign of a great CEO?" might have been, "One who makes the job look easy." But nightmare […]

Byline: WENDY TOTH Cereals packed with simple, healthful ingredients like whole grains, fiber, calcium and omega-3s are pouring onto supermarket shelves, and consumers are scooping them up. Between concerns over [...]

Byline: Wendy Toth GIVEN THE INFLUX of cereals packed with healthful ingredients hitting Center Store, it's important for retailers to find ways to let customers know about new products, experts [...]

After years of quiet cohabitation on the shelf, the success of private labels has given way to competitive tension between retailers and national-brand marketers. But rather than wage war over [...]

Retailers have answered the call to environmental waste challenges with innovative paper product offerings. According to the 2008 Household Paper Products report from Mintel, Chicago, these new products include: Whole [...]

Paper products have traditionally posed a challenge for the average consumer looking to save money without skimping on value, retailers told SN. To remedy this, major manufacturers have offered numerous [...]

These supplement categories are poised to be leaders in the coming months: SLEEP AIDS A recent sleep survey from Hyland's, a homeopathic medicine company, find the economy is the leading [...]

WITH A SHAKY ECONOMY and unemployment numbers at a 14-year high, consumers feeling the need to buy less are inherently motivated to plan ahead. One of the biggest concerns, especially [...]

For members of the burgeoning U.S. Hispanic population, an ethnic section in an elusive corner of the store just isn't going to cut it. That's why mainstream retailers like Sam's [...]

Carrying the right product mix in a Hispanic-format store depends on the specific Hispanic nationalities prevalent within a particular area, said Luis de la Mata, president of consulting firm Churchtree, [...]

Whole Foods Market, Austin, Texas, recently developed a seal called 'Premium Body Care.' The seal marks products sold at Whole Foods that meet the retailer's private standard for personal care [...]

Personal care products that stake a claim on being natural are multiplying. Consumer demand for natural and organic health and beauty care items is growing, and manufacturers are answering with [...]

The green trend is no longer a trend, it's a movement, and housewares is the latest product category innovating to keep up. Manufacturers are working to reduce or remove harmful [...]

Even a recession won't quell the green movement, but a price reduction wouldn't hurt, industry observers told SN. 'The green trend is bigger than the current economic slowdown,' David Lockwood, [...]

HOFFMAN ESTATES, Ill. - In the latest salvo in medication discounting, Kmart Pharmacy is offering private-label over-the-counter products for $1 with a prescription purchase. Kmart, a wholly owned subsidiary of [...]

BOCA RATON, Fla. - Generic prescriptions account for more of the pharmaceutical market than ever before and will likely bring savings to retail pharmacy. Sixty-five percent of all U.S. prescriptions [...]

ROCHESTER, N.Y. - Wegmans Food Markets here welcomed the over-the-counter availability of allergy medicine Zyrtec, and its generic counterpart cetirizine, late last month. 'When the most popular allergy medicine prescribed [...]

It is apparent that American consumers have legitimate concerns about their sexual health and well-being and view this topic as part of their overall health care, industry sources told SN. [...]

If supermarkets are to continue on as sources of all things wellness while maintaining one-stop-shop status, the most sensitive health categories are not to be neglected. Manufacturers certainly don't think [...]

Depending on the climate of the area each store is in, the right time to start merchandising and promoting sun care products differs. However, as consumers become more concerned with [...]

The key word in sun care this year is quantity. The market is seeing more of everything, including more brands in more varieties, from tanning oil to anti-aging sunblock. Due [...]

BENTONVILLE, Ark. - In a move that may signal the entry of large health care entities into the in-store clinic business in a big way, Wal-Mart Stores plans to open [...]

FRANKLIN PARK, Ill. - Supervalu Pharmacies here has designed its own unified computer system to manage the pharmacy systems in over 900 stores. The new ARx technology is expected to [...]

EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn. - Supervalu's latest pharmacy strategy is focused on making traditional drug stores irrelevant to its customers. 'Our goal is to create a pharmacy within our supermarkets that [...]

Single-store Georgetown Market in Indianapolis is going back to its roots as a health food store to distinguish it from the impending entry of both a Whole Foods and a [...]

BENTONVILLE, Ark. - Wal-Mart Stores has found a way to enter the pharmacy benefit management sector without officially becoming a pharmacy benefit manager. Its move sets the stage for supermarket [...]

CINCINNATI - Kroger Co. here has teamed with Premier HealthNet, Dayton, Ohio, a network of more than 100 primary care physicians, to open in-store, nurse-staffed Premier ExpressCare clinics in two [...]

Supermarkets with digital photo gift options on their websites offer a wide array of choices. Among the offerings SN found in a check of the websites of a dozen major [...]

Although supermarkets have mostly watched digital photography dominate over film - many of them shuttering their traditional photo labs in the wake of film's demise - digital printing technology continues [...]

An older technology, single-use film cameras, is still relevant in the face of digital photography, according to industry sources. 'One-time-use cameras have carved out a niche as a complement to [...]

The high-definition format of DVD faces challenges from old and new delivery methods: standard DVD and growing online offerings. If retailers don't support high-definition movies on disc, the industry stands [...]

NEW YORK - At this year's International Home & Housewares Show, supermarket buyers can expect two trends to infuse products at every price point: style and sustainability. The show - [...]

SUPERMARKETS ENTERED the financial-service arena this year in ways as varied as the retailers themselves. Wal-Mart Stores, Bentonville, Ark., began the year by seeing its application to start an industrial [...]

Supermarkets added kiosks of all types this year, most notably DVD rental machines. Giant Eagle kicked off the year by testing DVD rental kiosks from Redbox Automated Retail, Oakbrook Terrace, [...]

DISAPPOINTED WITH slow and low reimbursement rates for Medicare Part D, cuts to Medicaid and legislation requiring medicine containing pseudoephedrine to be sold from behind the counter, retail pharmacy focused [...]

TO FIND THOUGHTFUL high-quality gifts, consumers needed look no further than the nearest supermarket this year. Nonfood gift options gained wide acceptance. A number of drivers, including convenience, the need [...]

Nonfood supermarket executives were attuned to the varied necessities of their customers this year and responded appropriately with both more and sometimes less personal service. For example, in-store financial-service centers [...]

CINCINNATI - Kroger Co. here expanded its partnership with the American Pharmacists Association, Washington, late last month by entering into license agreements for APhA's new medication therapy management and diabetes [...]

WHILE RETAIL HEALTH clinics seemed to flow freely into stores in 2006 - culminating with CVS/pharmacy's purchase of clinic provider MinuteClinic - 2007 proved that the trend is continuing, but [...]

In what retailers identified as a big victory, pharmacists were given permanent billing codes for reporting medication therapy management services in October. This gives an unofficial green light for MTM [...]

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - After a long and steady expansion of its gift card offering, Winn-Dixie Stores here has launched a major promotion in time for this year's holiday season, the [...]

From supporting sustainability to finding affordable medications, supermarkets' nonfood customers are focused on the well-being of themselves, their families and the places they live. For example, a November survey of [...]