SN Top 10: Schnucks, Albertsons, Fareway top this week’s headlines

In this week’s recap of the Top 10 most popular Supermarket News articles, Albertsons testing Instacart pickup at 40 stores was ranked as the week’s top story. Among other stories in this week’s gallery:

• Curbside pickup gets sweeter at The Fresh Market
• Self-serve food bars are ready for their comeback
• Increased use of online grocery shopping ‘here to stay,’ says Acosta study

In other news, St. Louis-based grocer Schnuck Markets announced plans to expand its partnership with Simbe Robotics to bring Tally robots to all 111 Schnucks locations and, according to the two companies, making Schnucks the first grocer in the world to utilize AI-powered inventory management technology at scale.

Also last week, the Food and Drug Administration gave full approval to the Pfizer/BioNTech coronavirus vaccine, the first vaccination for the virus to earn that status. The FDA said that the Pfizer vaccine — now to be marketed under the name Comirnaty — is approved for the prevention of COVID-19 disease in people ages 16 older. Pfizer’s COVID immunization also can be given to adolescents 12 to 15, but  inoculations for that age group remain under emergency use authorization (EUA) and haven’t received full approval.

Other top stories:

• For many shoppers, a return to normal has been put on hold
• Fareway now offers curbside pickup at all stores
• 5 must-haves for retailers choosing a grocery e-commerce solution