Nov 24, 2021
By Jim Dudlicek Director, Communications and External Affairs OSHA recently announced its new emergency temporary standard for COVID-19 vaccination and testing. Though the Biden administration has suspended enforcement of the ETS amid legal challenges, the new standard potentially looms large for employers including independent grocers. NGA hosted a recent members-only webinar to answer many of…
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Nov 23, 2021
Jim Dudlicek, Director, Communications and External Affairs Recent technology changes have been so fast and frequent that even veteran grocery executives are left scratching their heads about what to do next. To offer independent retailers some guidance, NGA and the Retail Solutions Providers Association (RSPA) hosted a recent webinar during which grocery and c-store tech…
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Nov 19, 2021
By Jim Dudlicek, Director, Communications and External Affairs The COVID-19 pandemic changed the way grocers think about marketing and merchandising, perhaps forever. Restrictions on in-person events and store capacity, and concerns for safety forced retailers to rethink how they showcased the best they had to offer. As NGA’s Creative Choice Awards demonstrated this year, independent…
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Nov 18, 2021
By Patrick Jones, Project Assistant Ever since the National Grocers Association Foundation Technical Assistance Center (NGAF TA Center) team began working together in 2019, perhaps the most difficult issue we have confronted is how to efficiently conduct nutrition incentive transactions. We’ve scoured the tech landscape, to varying degrees of success, and over time found several…
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Nov 17, 2021
By Jim Dudlicek, Director, Communications and External Affairs Where are the fresh opportunities for independent grocers? The COVID-19 pandemic brought a surge of business to grocery retailers, driven by an increase in home cooking and at-home food consumption. But did this boom impact all categories equally? What will be the lingering impact of supply chain…
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Nov 1, 2021
By Jim Dudlicek, Director, Communications and External Affairs As a humanitarian crisis unfolds in Afghanistan, the U.S. is preparing to welcome tens of thousands of fleeing Afghan refugees, including interpreters who worked alongside the military. In addition, the Biden administration has pledged to resettle more than 300,000 refugees over the next four years. These developments…
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Oct 19, 2021
By Patrick Jones, Project Assistant, and Ted Mason, Project Director When our team first came together and began establishing a technical assistance center for brick-and-mortar grocery stores involved in the GusNIP program, a big aspect of our game plan was travel. We planned to meet grocers in the flesh, explain the benefits of nutrition incentive…
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Oct 15, 2021
By Eric Payne, NGA Manager of Communications For much of the year, NGA has been laser focused on ending anti-competitive food tactics by dominant food retailers, urging Congress to investigate and regulators to enforce existing laws on the books. This has always been an issue that has negatively impacted community-based independent grocers; however, the problem…
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Oct 14, 2021
By Jim Dudlicek, Director, Communications and External Affairs Millions across the country fully rely on a single device: mobile. It’s our main method of communication, and consumers love nothing more than to research new products and quickly checkout from the palm of their hand. In 2021, 50 percent of Rosie customers ordered groceries directly from…
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Oct 5, 2021
By Jim Dudlicek, Director of Communications and External Affairs What resources are available for grocery retailers looking to hire employees with disabilities? The NGA Foundation recently hosted a webinar to offer guidance on recruitment and training, provide insights on the employment landscape, and make the business case for disability inclusion. The speakers – James Emmett,…
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Sep 16, 2021
AppCard, a leader in personalized marketing, loyalty, digital coupons and shopper analytics, will be present in the National Grocers Association Foundation Technical Assistance Center (NGAF TA Center) Nutrition Incentives Solutions Booth (NISB) during the 2021 NGA Show, Sept. 19-21, in Las Vegas. AppCard recently implemented a new SNAP produce incentive solution with a Shop ‘n…
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Sep 13, 2021
The National Grocers Association Foundation Technical Assistance Center (NGAF TA Center) is pleased to announce that S4 Retail Solutions and Retail Data Systems (RDS) will be a solutions partner in the Nutrition Incentives Solutions Booth (NISB) during the 2021 NGA Show, Sept. 19-21, in Las Vegas. Nutrition incentives are helping grocers all over the country…
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Sep 9, 2021
Jim Dudlicek, NGA Director of Communications and External Affairs Circulars are historically passive marketing platforms, engaging only your most loyal current customers. NGA hosted a recent webinar to explore how to harness artificial intelligence (AI) to distribute digital circulars to all grocery shoppers and then follow customers back to store, producing powerful visitation analytics. The…
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Sep 7, 2021
Jim Dudlicek, NGA Director of Communications and External Affairs It’s been all over the news lately: Hackers are targeting retailers with ransomware, paralyzing businesses until their payment demands are met. What exactly is ransomware? How does it work? What should your response be if you’re targeted, and how can you prevent ransomware attacks and secure…
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Sep 2, 2021
By Robert Yeakel, Director of Government Relations Labor Day is on the horizon but so too are some hefty changes to the tax code. Democrats have been chomping at the bit since the passage of the American Rescue Plan last March to follow up with a “Build Back Better” smorgasbord of spending priorities from healthcare to…
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Aug 25, 2021
By Molly Pfaffenroth, NGA senior director of government relations The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) last week announced that monthly Supplemental Nutrition Assistance (SNAP) benefits will increase by 27% beginning on Oct. 1, 2021. The increase is an important investment in the health of American families, community grocery stores and local economies. USDA’s announcement is…
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Aug 24, 2021
By Jim Dudlicek, NGA Director of Communications and External Affairs Congress will have a lot on their plate once they return from the August recess. From the debt limit and government funding to Democrats’ tax-and-spend agenda, Washington, D.C., will be busy after Labor Day. NGA’s Government Relations recently hosted a webinar to discuss the lay…
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Aug 17, 2021
Nutrition incentives are helping grocers all over the country increase their produce sales, retain more customers and achieve greater engagement with their store community. But creating automated POS transactions to properly process and track nutrition incentives can be challenging. With these challenges in mind, the National Grocers Association Foundation Technical Assistance Center (NGAF TA Center)…
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Aug 16, 2021
Jim Dudlicek, Director, Communications and External Affairs Independent community grocers generate more than $250 billion in sales, but their strength is felt far beyond the checkout lane. Creating more than a million jobs and generating billions in wages and tax revenues, this economic engine benefits contributing and parallel sectors, from manufacturing to technology to transportation…
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Aug 10, 2021
By Jim Dudlicek, NGA Director, Communications and External Affairs Refrigeration is the heart of the supermarket, and retailers need simple, cost-effective solutions for refrigeration monitoring and maintenance. How do you identify key refrigeration performance issues? What kind of data and analysis is valuable in preventing losses? When should you repair, update or augment refrigeration equipment?…
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