Target is already widely known for its affordable prices, and yet they have announced that more items, including groceries, will receive further discounts.

From cereal and baby formula to everyday toiletries and bath tissue, Target is working on offering better price points to compete in an industry that is continuously transitioning, especially with Amazon acquiring Whole Foods who have offered up to a 43 per cent price decrease on select items.

“We want our guests to feel a sense of satisfaction every time they shop at Target,” says Target vice president and chief merchandising officer Mark Tritton. “Part of that is removing the guesswork to ensure they feel confident they’re getting a great, low price every day.”

“We’ve spent months looking at our entire assortment, with a focus on offering the right price every day and simplifying our marketing to make great, low prices easy to spot, all while maintaining sales we know are meaningful to guests,” adds Tritton.

The Fresh Market has appointed Larry Appel as the new CEO. With 30 years of experience in corporate and legal strategy, as well as retail, Appel will join the 176-store chain to develop and maintain the brand’s business strategies.

Alongside Appel, The Fresh Market’s chief financial officer Brian Nicholson—who worked as the company’s temporary CEO—will be in the position of CFO.

Appel has held a number of leadership roles in his career, including the chief operations officer and head of strategy and chief legal officer at Winn-Dixie Stores Inc from 2002-2012. He then moved into a CEO position at Skeeter Snacks, LLC, a company that produces nutritious snacks. Prior, Appel was the senior vice president at The Home Depot, Inc.

“I am committed to reenergizing all that sets The Fresh Market apart as a great brand and retail store,” explains Appel. “Its heritage and history provide a strong platform in continuing to define the company as a unique ‘specialty’ grocer, offering best-in-class products and customer service. I plan to work with our teams for further elevate every aspect of our business—all with a sharp focus on delivering an exceptional customer experience every day in every store.”

According to the American Association of Naturopathic Physicians (AANP), there is a new FAQ report for consumers about the benefits of using naturopathic medicine for chronic pain relief instead of opioids that are hard to kick.

Licensed naturopathic doctors are taking into consideration an individual’s lifestyle and personalizing their treatment method for positive results that are safe, effective, and do not require addictive drugs. Naturopathic doctors are considering many factors, including diet, work, and past injuries. To assist with pain relief, these physicians are implementing botanical medications, and alternative supplements to combat chronic pain symptoms.

“Since 1999, the rate of overdose deaths that involved opioids nearly quadrupled, with over 183,000 people dying just from prescription opioid overdoses,” explains ND and Chair of the INM Board of Directors Michelle Simon, PhD,. “While strong pharmaceuticals and even over-the-counter nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) certainly have a place in treating pain, they’re not the first choice of licensed naturopathic doctors. Instead, naturopathic doctors are trained to engage the inherent healing capacities of the human body. This can include applying dietary recommendations, nutritional supplements and botanical medicines that help reduce inflammation and the pain it causes,” adds Simon.

According to a study conducted by Georgetown Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center, e-cigarettes prove to be effective in quit success depending on the number of days a person uses an e-cigarette within a particular time period.

“Both cigarette quit attempts and quit success were directly related to the number of days of e-cigarette use,” says the study’s lead author David Levy, PhD, professor of oncology at Georgetown Lombardi. “The odds of quit success increased by 10 per cent with each additional day of e-cigarette use.”

According to the study’s findings, cessation was higher for smokers who used an e-cigarette for five days within the last month, versus those who used an e-cigarette in the past.

“Our findings are consistent with randomized trials and those observational studies that measure frequency of e-cigarette use. These results support of the use of e-cigarette—especially, consistent use—as an effective smoking cessation aid. Since e-cigarettes are generally estimated to have a small proportion of the mortality risks of cigarettes, this represents an important life-saving intervention that doctors can recommend when other forms of treatment fail,” concludes Levy.

With Amazon acquiring Whole Foods, many organic food groceries are noting the significant price drop that Whole Foods is offering their customers, a strategy that the President of Organic Garage Matt Lurie has been implementing for years.

“Our goal is to continue to drive costs out of our system so that we can continue to be competitive on price,” Lurie tells SN.

When asked about Whole Foods and their strategies to target consumers who want natural products without the weighty price tag—an action plan that began in 2016 with their 365 program—Lurie commented that Organic Garage has already achieved those lower prices points. “I laughed when they launched that,” admits Lurie, “I said ‘that’s us.’ We’ve already been doing that here for 12 years.”

What began in 2006 with the first Organic Garage opening in Oakville Ontario, has now become a three-store chain that has a 60 percent organic roster—a percentage that most mainstream grocers don’t have.

“Those chain stores are just introducing organics to all of those conventional customers who were eating conventional stuff before and getting them onto the program,” explains Lurie, who believes that the organic trend in mainstream chains will only help to increase his in-store traffic with Organic Garage’s large organic selection. “Thus, I have a chance to acquire [those customers] at a very low cost.”

“They have A through B. We have C through Z,” says Lurie, who takes pride in Organic Garage’s extensive organic variety.

In order to keep his prices down, Lurie uses signs and low-cost alternatives instead of dietary experts and expensive equipment to communicate with his customers. In this way, Lurie can focus on prioritizing low prices to draw in clientele.

Consumers in Canada will soon be able to access Amazon’s Prime Now delivery service, which offers one and two-hour delivery service.

Amazon plans on launching as early as November in Vancouver, and will test launch in Toronto by January 2018. If everything goes well, Amazon announced that they may potentially expand the service to other Canadian cities. Prime Now is a free service offered to anyone who has a $99 annual Prime Membership.

These plans come after it was announced that Amazon would buy Whole Foods. During a presentation to their suppliers, Amazon declared that Prime Now would start to offer produce, dairy, frozen food items and personal care products.

While millennials are a fairly active generation, they tend to spend most of their time hunched over during the work week. With that said, millennials are the next generation expected to experience chronic pain. Even now, at a young age, many millennials are experiencing acute and chronic pain that’s affecting their everyday lives.

Unlike past generations, millennials manage pain differently. They would rather go through major lifestyle changes than use opioids to treat their pain, so much so that those who have used painkillers regret taking them. Even though this is a positive trend, it has revealed that many millennials lack the basic knowledge of what to do with opioids. Survey’s found that millennials are more likely to obtain painkillers inappropriately, more likely to think that it is okay to take an opioid with a prescription, and less likely to dispose of leftover painkillers safely.

The source of chronic pain is a result of the lifestyle that millennials have, including the use of technology and sport injuries. It is important that the pain is addressed before it interferes with their quality of life. When pain does occur, it is best to see the right specialist that has the expertise to treat you and help you manage the pain.

Living a healthy lifestyle and adapting to what your body needs is the best way to prevent chronic pain. Changes such as exercising, proper nutrition, and maintaining a good weight can keep millennials from dealing with the pain that previous generation are experiencing.

The following tips are provided by the American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) to manage your pain effectively.
• Take a break from devices and gaming
• Don’t be a weekend warrior—ease into your work out slowly and warm up your muscles.
• Remember to move when you’re in the office or studying.
• Get healthy and remove painkillers right away

Nu Grocery is a zero-waste grocery store that has just opened in Ottawa. They offer a wide variety of products, which include fresh produce, dry foods, cleaning and beauty supplies.

Nu Grocery offers free compostable paper bags and clean jars for consumers to use while they shop. However, they still encourage consumers to bring their own containers and bags.

The owner Valerie LeLoup was reading Zero Waste Home by Bea Johnson when she was inspired to open up her store. The book encourages and advocates living a waste-free life.

Environment Minister and Ottawa Centre MP Catherine McKenna was in attendance for the grand opening and told the media that Nu Grocery sends a message that is both important and necessary.

Walmart’s global online marketplace is coming to Canada.Twenty-seven third party sellers are going to offer their products on Walmart.ca. With the addition of these companies, the site will likely double its online product selection, with the hopes of quadrupling the number by the end of the year.

The twenty-seven sellers that are going to be featured at the launch have been selected because of their strong online presence, their excellent customer service, and their broad selection of quality products that Canadians are looking for.

In the coming months, Walmart Canada will continue to invite other sellers to join their marketplace.

Macy’s overall sales fell 5.4% in the second quarter, however the brand saw double-digit growth in their online sales. The brands digital sophistication is due to their omnichannel capabilities and will serve as an opportunity to grow.

According to Macy’s research, 25% of their customers who purchase online and pick them up in-store spend more. This is a clear example of why other brands must learn the basics of omnichannel capabilities. Macy’s is a clear frontrunner in these regards as they have eight of the nine key omnichannel features needed to be successful.

The retailer is encouraging customers to pick up orders in-store by offering additional discounts for their next in-store purchase. Likewise, other brands are beginning to notice the importance of having customers coming into their stores and picking up their orders. Wal-Mart is an example of a retailer who has realized the importance of in-store pickup, by offering additional discounts as an incentive to get customers through their doors.