US: Walmart is being sued for $1m after a teenage shopper hijacked the in-store PA system and announced: “Attention Walmart customers: all black people must leave the store.” Shopper Donnell Battie claimed he was left suffering “severe and disabling emotional and physical harm” after hearing the announcement. The lawsuit claimed Walmart was “negligent, reckless and showed deliberate indifference in allowing an unsafe and hostile condition” by failing to secure the PA system.

France: Carrefour convenience store arm Carrefour City has launched Mon Panier, a near-field communication mobile grocery shopping service. The service was now live at the Carrefour City outlet at St Lazare, Paris, with a second store set to roll it out soon. Customers can order and pay from smartphones, then collect their goods from stores two hours later after identifying their order by tapping their phone against a screen.

Australia: Coles and Woolworths have rejected claims that they have been increasing sales of cheaper own-label products at the expense of brands. Coles merchandise director John Durkan told a Senate inquiry that own-label sales had risen over the past four years because of their popularity with customers, rather than because of a strategic decision by Coles to increase sales margins by acting as both retailer and producer.

India: Hypercity is slowing down its store expansion and adding higher-margin goods in an attempt to break even faster. Hypercity, which currently has 12 hypermarkets in India, plans to open another two this year and hopes to achieve overall profitability by 2014/15. The retailer said many chains traditionally struggled in India because they competed with community-based independents that were more convenient and offered credit.

US: Retailer 7-Eleven has come under fire for promoting alcopops. A report by Alcohol Justice claimed 7-Eleven cut prices on supersized alcopops so they were cheaper than non-alcoholic energy drinks and beer. It also slammed the use of rapper Snoop Doggy Dogg as spokesman for energy drink Monster and alcopop Blast, and said the ads implied drinking Monster was cool, but drinking Blast elevated the drinker to “pimp status”.

Belgium: Belgian supermarket Delhaize has erected screens at Brussels Central Station with images of its 300 bestselling products. Shoppers can order the items by scanning the images using a Delhaize smartphone app and receive a text message telling them when the shopping can be picked up from a participating store.

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