The age of the omnichannel is all about options. Customers buying online should be able to receive their purchases in any way they choose — at home, work, a designated retrieval point, or direct from the store. Or so goes the theory.

Consumer preferences are shifting. More and more, shoppers are favoring the convenience of online shopping over the in-store experience. As retail tilts more toward online sales, delivery becomes one of the few remaining face-to-face touch points with end customers.

Even after winter storms left East Coast harbors thick with ice, some of the country's top chefs and trendy restaurants were offering sushi-grade tuna supposedly pulled in fresh off the coast of New York.

U.S. agribusinesses are facing lingering inventory snafus and economic pain over farm chemicals and fertilizer, as a cold, wet spring that slowed crop plantings continues to cause ripple effects across the agricultural sector.

One year ago this week, Amazon.com Inc. loudly declared its intention to become a grocery industry heavyweight by announcing its agreement to buy Whole Foods Market.