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Feb 7 (Reuters) - Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc (CMG.N) missed quarterly comparable sales and profit expectations on Tuesday, as customers pulled back on expensive delivery orders and traffic stalled in December. Comparable sales at California-based Chipotle rose 5.6% in the fourth quarter ended Dec. 31, while analysts on average expected a 7.1% rise, according to Refinitiv IBES. Visits to Chipotle restaurants fell 10.2% in the fourth quarter, according to data from Placer.ai. Delivery transactions also tumbled 15% as in-store orders surged, and Chipotle restaurants "didn't see that pop" that they normally get in December around the holidays, Chief Financial Officer Jack Hartung said on the call. We think inflation will be reasonably tame," Hartung said, adding that the company had not yet decided whether to raise menu prices further in 2023.

☆ Chipotle misses quarterly sales estimates as traffic stalls
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Feb 7 (Reuters) - Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc (CMG.N) missed quarterly comparable sales expectations on Tuesday, in a sign that price hikes are taking a toll on demand for the restaurant's burritos and rice bowls. Visits to Chipotle restaurants fell 10.2% in the fourth quarter, according to data from Placer.ai. Comparable sales at the California-based chain rose 5.6% in the fourth quarter ended Dec. 31, while analysts on average expected a 7.1% rise, according to Refinitiv IBES. Revenue rose to $2.18 billion from $1.96 billion in the quarter, missing estimates of $2.23 billion. Some investors are worried about the cadence of falling traffic in 2022, analysts at Cowen said in a research note.

[1/3] Starbucks cups are pictured on a counter in the Manhattan borough of New York City, New York, U.S., February 16, 2022. REUTERS/Carlo AllegriFeb 2(Reuters) - Starbucks Corp (SBUX.O) missed Wall Street expectations for quarterly comparable sales on Thursday, as persistent weakness in the coffee chain's China business offset strong sales in the North American market. That resulted in a 29% fall in China comparable sales for Starbucks in its first fiscal quarter ended Jan. 1, pulling total international comparable sales down 13%. Global comparable sales at Starbucks rose 5%, compared with analysts' average estimate of a 6.75% rise, according to Refinitiv IBES data. Starbucks reiterated its previous guidance of global comparable sales growth of 7% to 9% for its fiscal 2023.

☆ McDonald's tops profit estimates, warns short-term inflation to persist
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-31 | by ( Hilary Russ | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/3] McDonald's Crispy Chicken Sandwiches and fries are pictured in New York, U.S. March 30, 2021. REUTERS/Hilary RussJan 31 (Reuters) - McDonald's Corp (MCD.N) on Tuesday beat Wall Street estimates for quarterly profit on higher menu prices, even as it warned short-term inflationary pressures would persist in 2023. McDonald's benefited from higher menu prices, increased restaurant traffic and sales in the UK, Germany and France rose despite fears of a recession in Europe. Visits to some other fast-food chains started to fall last summer as they hiked menu prices, he said. McDonald's U.S. comparable sales rose 10.3% in the quarter ended Dec. 31.

☆ McDonald's sales surge, warns short-term inflation to persist
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-31 | by ( Hilary Russ | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/2] A huge advertisement for a branch of fast-food giant McDonald's is seen on the outskirts of Berlin, Germany, April 22, 2016. The burger chain's global same-store sales increased 12.6% in the fourth quarter ended Dec. 31, compared with estimates for an 8.6% rise, according to IBES data from Refinitiv. That is compared to a 0.6% decline for fast food overall in the fourth quarter over the previous year. Visits to some other fast-food chains started to fall last summer as they hiked menu prices, he said. McDonald's U.S. comparable sales rose 10.3% in the quarter.

☆ McDonald's beats profit estimates, warns short-term inflation to persist
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-31 | by ( Hilary Russ | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

REUTERS/Hilary RussJan 31 (Reuters) - McDonald's Corp (MCD.N) on Tuesday beat Wall Street estimates for quarterly profit on higher menu prices, even as it warned short-term inflationary pressures would persist in 2023. McDonald's benefited from higher menu prices, increased restaurant traffic and sales in the UK, Germany and France rose despite fears of a recession in Europe. Even so, traffic rose 5% for full-year 2022 as McDonald's meals remained less expensive than many competitors, drawing low-income consumers. Visits to some other fast-food chains started to fall last summer as they hiked menu prices, he said. McDonald's U.S. comparable sales rose 10.3% in the quarter ended Dec. 31.

☆ Bright lights and snazzy mannequins: Walmart rolls out sleek new store designs
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-28 | by ( Melissa Repko | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

In company surveys, he said nearly every shopper said the store's displays and mannequins encouraged them to browse longer. Walmart's new store design includes displays that show off how a customer could decorate a nursery or kitchen. Melissa Repko | CNBCWashington declined to share data about Walmart's store traffic and sales at its Springdale store and other flagships that have opened in recent months. Visits to its Walmart store in Springdale, Ark. Victor Millan, of Ridgefield Park, New Jersey, makes weekly shopping trips to the Walmart in Teterboro for groceries and other items.

☆ The company Walgreens uses to target shoppers with ads on digital cooler doors is expanding its screens to more in-store locations
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-17 | by ( Lara O'Reilly | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Cooler Screens, which provides in-store ad screens on cooler doors, has detailed expansion plans. Cooler Screens, the company that provides "smart" digital advertising screens on refrigerator doors in Kroger, Walgreens, and Circle K locations, said Tuesday that plans are underway to extend its network to more screens at different areas inside stores. Cooler Screens currently offers a digital merchandising platform that brightly displays the products that sit inside a retailer's cooler units and additional advertising space. A slide from a Cooler Screens ad sales pitch deck, showcasing its plans for additional in-store billboards. Cooler Screens has raised more than $100 million in funding from investors including Verizon Ventures, Microsoft's M12 venture fund, and GreatPoint Ventures.

Bed Bath & Beyond did not take questions from analysts on its Tuesday conference call "in light of the ongoing review of strategic alternatives," said Susie Kim, head of investor relations. "It's definitely a cause for concern," said bankruptcy lawyer Daniel Gielchinsky, who does not represent Bed Bath & Beyond. Bed Bath & Beyond said it started cost reductions of about $80 million to $100 million across the business. Morningstar analyst Jaime Katz expects a Bed Bath & Beyond bankruptcy filing in the first half of 2023. The retailer reported a non-GAAP loss of $3.65 per share, wider than Wall Street's estimate of a loss of $2.23 per share.

☆ See the brands poised to crush their rivals in 2023, including Wawa, Five Below, and Whataburger
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-04 | by ( Nancy Luna | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

Data firm Placer.ai tracks where people shop, work, and live using their mobile phones. Their data shows the most promising retailers and restaurants for 2023. Chains with winning strategies are growing in underserved markets and giving shoppers value. Chains with cult-like followings like Whataburger and Wawa are among the brands to watch in 2023, Placer.ai said Tuesday. Here are the 10 brands to watch in 2023, according to Placer.ai.

☆ Retailers brace for tougher times and more frugal customers in 2023
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-02 | by ( Melissa Repko | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Sales from Nov. 1 to Dec. 24 rose 7.6%, according to data from MasterCard SpendingPulse, which measures in-store and online retail sales across all forms of payment. The next few weeks, which close out many retailers' fiscal year, could help determine whether the holiday quarter is a win or a bust. Retailers enter 2023 reckoning with the fact that store traffic already lagged during peak weeks of the holiday season. It is also retailers' last chance to sell through excess inventory and start the new fiscal year in a cleaner position. Like many other retailers, Walmart's holiday quarter includes January.

[1/2] People visit a retail store during the holiday season in New York City, U.S., December 15, 2022. So far, shopper visits to many retail segments, including apparel and electronics, are down year-over-year, according to foot-traffic data from Placer.AI. Zara, the fast-fashion chain, aggressively raised prices this year without turning off shoppers, while dollar stores including Dollar General (DG.N) expanded their array of merchandise. Dollar stores have also shown momentum as more consumers traded down. Discount and dollar stores saw visits up 1.1% year-over-year, and up 7.8% compared to Super Saturday 2019, according to Placer.AI foot-traffic data.

☆ Target hopes value-hungry shoppers will come to the rescue this holiday season
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-20 | by ( Melissa Repko | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

Melissa Repko | CNBCTarget has more than 1,700 toys that are exclusive to its stores and website this holiday season. Target is also trying to cut through the noise of a more promotional holiday season. And, as shoppers juggle holiday parties and hit stores again, Target wants shoppers' store visits to be convenient and fun, said Cara Sylvester, chief guest experience officer. She said the goal is to be a "holiday happy place" where shoppers want to stay awhile and fill up their carts. Baker said investors hope to see signs Target's sales are picking up as the holiday rush gains steam.

☆ Few stores closed in 2022. UBS says get ready for that to change in 2023, starting with department stores
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-19 | by ( Christina Cheddar Berk | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

After a record number of store closures in 2020, retailers have shuttered far fewer doors over the last two years, but that may be about to change, especially for department stores, according to UBS. He also said that he believes the lack of store closures has made it harder for retailers to grow sales. Compares got tougher in 2Q22 as the industry lapped the big store closures. Our view is tough compares remain a reason Department Store sales will remain under pressure in the 1H23." Instead, he said, many store closures that would have occurred in 2021 or 2022 were accelerated by the pandemic.

☆ Walmart shoppers are flocking to stores for cheap groceries, while website visits languish — proving how vital its stores are in a tough economy
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-14 | by ( Ben Tobin | Alex Bitter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

But while online shopping has dipped this year, more people have been flocking back to Walmart stores. According to estimates from Placer.ai, a location-data company, Walmart stores saw a 1% increase in the average number of daily shoppers through December 4 compared to the same year prior. But those customers are typically not buying food online, according to Yarbrough. Online food sales slowing across retailersWalmart is the top US grocer. The membership platform that launched in 2020 incentivizes online shopping by offering free delivery.

A Northern California teen who vanished while reportedly doing research for a school project was found dead on Thursday — though foul play is not suspected, authorities said. Dante de la Torre. The remote wooded area is about 60 miles north of the California State Capitol in Sacramento, officials said. "We offer our condolences to the de la Torre family and Dante’s friends during this unbelievably tragic time." “Colfax High School, along with the entire Placer Union High School District, is heartbroken to learn the passing of Dante de la Torre as reported by the Placer County Sheriff’s Office,” according to a school district statement.

☆ OPEC+ Gathers to Decide Output, With Russia Oil-Price Cap Looming
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-04 | by ( Benoit Faucon | Summer Said | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

The meeting of OPEC+ on Sunday, originally set for OPEC headquarters in Vienna, will now take placer remotely to avoid media scrutiny. OPEC is set to meet with Russia and other fossil-fuel producers Sunday to decide on oil-output levels amid a swarm of issues weighing on the crude market, from Covid-19 restrictions in China to a looming price cap on Moscow’s petroleum. The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and the Russia-led bloc—collectively known as OPEC+—are also grappling with oil prices that have fallen 13% in the past month. Brent crude, the international benchmark, was at $85.42 on Friday, and WTI, the U.S. benchmark, was at $80.34—far below the $90-a-barrel level where some oil-market analysts say the group wants to see prices.

☆ Walmart saw a big dip in customers shopping at its stores on Black Friday this year, study finds. Instead, they may have been flocking to the retailer's website.
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-30 | by ( Ben Tobin | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Walmart saw an estimated 5.3% decline year-over-year for in-store traffic, according to Placer.ai. Nonetheless, Walmart got more search traffic than its rivals from people looking online for Black Friday deals. Walmart saw a 5.3% dip in physical store traffic this Black Friday compared to last, according to estimates from Placer.ai, a location data company. Walmart saw searches for Black Friday discounts spike by 386% year-over-year, per the company. "But I would say overall the high-level reports I've seen have been positive for Walmart on Black Friday across (product) categories."

☆ How Ulta Beauty won Black Friday despite its site crashing on the critical shopping holiday
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-29 | by ( Alex Bitter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Beauty retailer Ulta saw its foot traffic from shoppers increase on Black Friday over last year. Foot traffic at Ulta Beauty was up 16.5% over Black Friday 2021, according to data provider Placer.ai. By contrast, most retailers saw their foot traffic remain the same or decrease slightly over last year's Black Friday, according to Placer.ai. At TJ Maxx, one of the largest off-price retailers, traffic was even with Black Friday 2021. For instance, Ulta, Sephora, and other beauty retailers have become destinations for new skincare products.

Adobe Analytics expects consumers to spend between $11.2 billion and $11.6 billion on Cyber Monday. Overall, Black Friday sales topped $8.9 billion last year, versus $10.7 billion on Cyber Monday 2021. Meanwhile, e-commerce giant Amazon said sales on Black Friday broke a record, underscoring the appeal of shopping online. Sarah Hymer, a mother of two in Utah, said she hadn’t planned on any in-store Black Friday shopping. Rega, holding multiple bags, said Black Friday prices struck her as “comparable” to a year ago.

☆ JCPenney was once a shopping giant. Can it make a comeback?
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-27 | by ( Nathaniel Meyersohn | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +14 min

People walk past a JCPenney store at the Queens Center Mall in New York in 2016. The Denver Post/Getty Images Shoppers hurry across an intersection in front of a JCPenney store in Denver in 1964. Anne Cusack/The Los Angeles Times/Getty Images Customers shop at a new JCPenney store in New York in 2009. Mary Altaffer/AP A customer goes down an escalator at a JCPenney store in Westminster, Colorado, in 2009. Don Emmert/AFP/Getty Images JCPenney CEO Jill Soltau speaks during an interview in Fort Worth, Texas, in 2019.

☆ Restaurant sales are going up. But dining out is on the decline
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-15 | by ( Danielle Wiener-Bronner | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

Restaurant traffic is dipping as consumers make food at home. In that month, traffic at fast food restaurants fell 1.2%, dipped 1.7% for fast casual and dropped 4.7% in full service eateries. Fast food traffic bounced back slightly in September and October, but fast casual and full service traffic remained negative. Restaurant prices increased by 8.6%. But groceries are generally cheaper than restaurant meals.

Nov 14 (Reuters) - Walmart (WMT.N) and Target (TGT.N) results this week are likely to show that major retailers are heading for a turbulent holiday season as rampant inflation has made everything from toothpaste to Christmas sweaters more expensive for shoppers. "We have our expectations set really low, it's a difficult environment," said Bill Smead, chief investment officer of Smead Capital Management, which owns Target shares worth more than $200 million. Smead said recent warnings around demand from FedEx and Amazon did not bode well for retailers this season. The economic slowdown has led to expectations of a more muted holiday shopping season with everyone from Amazon to Walmart kick-starting holiday deals early to clear excess merchandise. However, Walmart and Target's scale and ability to undercut smaller retailers on price may still help them fare better than others as they attract more cost-conscious consumers looking to do their Christmas shopping on a budget, analysts said.

☆ This California startup says it can predict where wildfires might start—it's using that power in a surprising way
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-07 | by ( Annika Kim Constantino | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

Nobody can predict the future, but a San Francisco-based startup called Kettle seems able to predict where wildfires could start in California. That means Kettle provides insurance for insurance companies. But Kettle's focus on reinsurance, rather than selling its software directly to insurance companies, is unique, Manning says. Most reinsurers predict wildfire risk through a decades-old technique that relies on historical data, Manning adds. In other words, reinsurance companies do benefit large insurers — but they also make sure you're able to get the money you're owed if disaster strikes.

☆ McDonald's beats sales estimates on boost from pricier menu
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Oct 27 (Reuters) - McDonald's Corp (MCD.N) beat quarterly comparable sales estimates on Thursday, helped by higher menu prices and an increase in restaurant traffic from inflation-weary customers looking for value meals. Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc (CMG.N) on Tuesday also beat quarterly sales and profit estimates as it passed on higher prices to customers. Comparable sales for McDonald's in the United States, the company's biggest market, rose 6.1% in the reported quarter helped by higher prices. Analysts have noted that an easing in gas prices also boosted third-quarter restaurant sales in the United States in general after a slowdown in June. That still beat estimates of $5.69 billion.

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