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DALLAS — Excentus here has filed a patent and trademark infringement lawsuit against QuikTrip, Midax, and several companies operating Price Chopper grocery stores....More

LAWRENCEVILLE, N.J. — GS1 US and GS1 Germany, two of the largest member organizations of the GS1 System that oversees bar-code and other commercial standards, announced they have signed a letter of intent to combine their 1SYNC (GS1 US) and SA2 Worldsync (GS1 Germany) data synchronization subsidiaries....More

BRANDON, S.D. — In this slow-paced part of the Midwest, near the intersection of South Dakota, Minnesota and Iowa, most customers still get their grocery ads via the newspaper, TV and radio....More

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – Meijer here is the latest food retailer to join the Environmental Protection Agency’s GreenChill Partnership, according to the GreenChill website (www.epa.gov/greenchill/)....More

WEST SACRAMENTO, Calif. – Raley’s has added a space automation system from Atlanta-based Aldata, expanding its ability to create and maintain category- to store-specific planograms for high-volume categories, and enabling broader vendor collaboration....More

DALLAS — When it comes to personalizing retail approaches using technology, “it’s not how much you know but what you share with customers that defines how effective you will be,” a Bozzuto’s executive told attendees at an FMI2012 session here Wednesday. Steve Methvin, vice president, retail technology and e-commerce for the Cheshire, Conn.-based wholesaler, said retailers need to regard technology as an enabler, “to help them know their customers better.”...More

DALLAS — Conventional supermarkets are the primary choice of only 64% of shoppers, which should serve as a warning to retailers that they must adapt to “stunning changes” in consumer attitudes and technology, FMI CEO Leslie Sarasin said....More

It is an article of faith in the food retailing industry that one of the key drivers of customer satisfaction is a positive checkout experience, which generally translates into spending as little time as possible in line. While all retailers aspire to this ideal, how can Kroger actually promise shoppers they will spend less time in line?...More

Facebook’s new “Timeline” layout and its associated functionalities are allowing supermarket retailers the opportunity to expand and deepen their virtual relationship with shoppers while challenging them to craft online personas with the same care they’d give to the best display of produce in their flagship store....More

CHARLOTTE — Harris Teeter here said Wednesday that its newest store in Portsmouth, Va., set to open on May 9, will include several energy-saving features....More

ARMONK, N.Y. — IBM’s agreement to sell its Retail Store Solutions (RSS) business, which includes its POS hardware and software products, to POS system maker Toshiba TEC, Tokyo, promises to shake up the POS systems market for food retailers, and form a more level playing field for POS technology suppliers, said Greg Buzek, president of IHL Group, Franklin, Tenn....More