Costco emerged atop 5WPR’s 2026 U.S. Grocery Retail AI Visibility Index, the first to rank U.S. grocers by how frequently they are cited inside artificial intelligence-generated answers. The warehouse club retailer was cited most often when American shoppers ask ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity or Google AI Overviews where to buy their groceries. Trader Joe’s ranked second, […]
Category: Industry News
Posted inFinance News, Featured News, Grocery Research, National, News
Upside Report Reveals A Growing Income Divide In Consumer Spending
Upside’s new report “The Income Divide” reveals that high- and low-income consumers are making fundamentally different decisions about where and how much to spend. The findings, drawn from more than 10 billion transactions and surveys of 3,500-plus shoppers, show consumer behavior splits sharply at $75,000 in household income. Above that threshold, consumers report increased spending […]
Posted inFinance News, Hy-Vee, News, Online Grocery Technology, Raley's, West, Woodman’s
Instacart Reaches $1B In Total Revenue For First Time
Instacart achieved two first-time financial milestones in the first quarter, chalking them up to “continuously improving what matters most to consumers: selection, quality, affordability and convenience.” GTV, or gross transaction value, was up 13 percent to hit $10.29 billion on 91.2 million orders (up 10 percent), and total revenue reached $1.02 billion, an increase of […]
Posted inOnline Grocery Technology, Featured News, Giant Food, Marketing News, News, Northeast
Giant Eagle Taps Ibotta As Exclusive Digital Promotions Partner
Giant Eagle Inc. has selected Ibotta as the provider of digital promotions across its 200-plus supermarkets and platforms. The partnership represents a step forward in the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania-based grocer’s “Because It Matters” business strategy, a multi-year plan centered on delivering better everyday value and a modernized shopping experience. By integrating with the Ibotta Performance Network, […]
Posted inIndependent Store News, Hy-Vee, Marketing News, Midwest, News
Hy-Vee Boosts Support For Veterans, Active-Duty Members For America 250
Hy-Vee stores are supporting the country’s military veterans and active-duty service members through several Hy-Vee Homefront initiatives, part of the company’s broader celebration of America 250. Starting May 1, Hy-Vee customers can round up their purchases to the nearest dollar throughout May to support organizations that serve veterans, active-duty service members and their families. The […]
Posted inGrocery Research, Featured News, National, News
Whole Foods Leads Newsweek’s Most Trustworthy Grocery Companies List
Newsweek released its 2026 Most Trustworthy Companies in America rankings, with Whole Foods Market topping the grocery and convenience store category, followed by The Kroger Co. at second. The list recognizes 31 grocery and convenience store operators across the country and reflects a mix of national chains, regional players and independent operators that have built […]
Posted inGrocery Store Equipment, Stater Bros. Markets, West
In-Store Media, POS Upgrades Coming To Stater Bros.
Stater Bros. Markets is making technology investments through two new partnerships that will modernize how it engages shoppers and operates its stores. The 90-year-old grocer is working with In-Store Marketplace to bring programmatic in-store media to its locations. It also has an agreement with NCR Voyix to deploy next-generation point-of-sale and payments solutions across its […]
Posted inOnline Grocery Technology, Featured News, News, Northeast, Stop & Shop
Stop & Shop Expands Grocery Delivery With Uber Eats
Stop & Shop has begun a partnership with Uber Eats to bring enhanced on-demand grocery delivery to customers in Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York and Rhode Island. Stop & Shop’s more than 350 stores are live on the Uber Eats marketplace. The launch provides another channel for customers to access fresh foods, pantry staples, […]
Posted inOnline Grocery Technology, Marketing News, News, U.R.M. Stores, West
RSA America, URM Stores Begin Digital Transformation Partnership
RSA America has partnered with URM Stores Inc., a Spokane, Washington-based retailer-owned wholesaler supporting about 265 independent grocery retailers across the Pacific Northwest. Through the partnership, URM is deploying a centrally managed loyalty, digital marketing, retail media and artificial intelligence-enabled commerce platform designed to provide enterprise-level intelligence and execution capabilities to retailers of all sizes. […]
Posted inMarketing News, Featured News, National, News
Dear Marketers: There’s No ‘Average’ Grocery Shopper Today
These days, there is no such thing as the average grocery shopper. That’s according to three research reports released April 30 by media agency Schaefer that separate shoppers into social-first, TV-first and streaming-first food and beverage buyers. “These three categories of buyers are not a spectrum. They are three structurally different advertising problems, each one […]
Posted inOnline Grocery Technology, Featured News, Midwest, News, The Kroger Co.
DoorDash Adds SNAP/EBT Payments At 2.7K Kroger Stores
DoorDash has added SNAP/EBT payment capabilities at nearly 2,700 Kroger Family of Companies stores – including Fred Meyer, Harris Teeter, Mariano’s and Ralphs banners – on the DoorDash Marketplace. With the launch, millions of SNAP-eligible consumers can shop online for groceries, pantry staples and everyday essentials and have them delivered through DoorDash. Expanding a growing SNAP […]
Posted inOnline Grocery Technology, Ahold Delhaize, Featured News, National, News
Ahold Delhaize USA Expands Grocery Delivery With Uber Eats
Ahold Delhaize USA has expanded its partnership with Uber Eats to bring enhanced on-demand grocery delivery to customers in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic, with nearly 2,000 stores now available on the marketplace. The stores are operated by Food Lion, Giant Food, The Giant Co. – encompassing Giant and Martin’s – Hannaford and Stop & Shop. […]
Posted inOnline Grocery Technology, News, Southeast
ECRS Launches Retail Success Story Contest
ECRS has begun a Retail Success Story Contest that gives retailers in its CATAPULT community an opportunity to showcase how they have used the company’s technology to drive results. The contest is open to all ECRS customers that have a current support contract, with submissions due by May 31. The winning retailer will be announced […]
Posted inOnline Grocery Technology, Association News, Featured News, News, Northeast
MRA Pushes Back On MD Governor’s Pricing Comments
The Maryland Retailers Alliance (MRA) is challenging public comments by Gov. Wes Moore regarding so-called “predatory pricing” in grocery stores, arguing his characterization has created confusion about the law and scope of newly signed legislation. The pushback follows Moore’s signing April 28 of the Protection From Predatory Pricing Act, which made Maryland the first state […]
Posted inFinance News, Featured News, Ingles Markets, News, Southeast
Showdown Over Ingles’ Board Vote Results In Election Of Held
Asheville, North Carolina-based Ingles Markets Inc. has shared preliminary voting results from its 2026 Annual Meeting of Shareholders, with Rory Held and Dwight Jacobs elected as Class A directors. Held was the nominee put forward by activist investor Summer Road LLC. In the same vote, Fred D. Ayers, Robert P. Ingle II, Patricia E. Jackson, […]
Posted inFinance News, Featured News, Grocery Research, National, News
Ibotta Outlook: Shoppers Reallocate Spend Heading Into Summer 2026
A new 2026 Summer Outlook from Ibotta finds that the summer shopping season is starting weeks before Memorial Day, with shoppers reallocating spend away from convenience and discretionary categories toward staples and at-home consumption. The report draws on Ibotta receipt data across millions of purchases, supplemented by a survey of 500 consumers about their plans […]
Posted inFinance News, Featured News, News, Southeast
AL Grocers Face State Tax Holiday As National Rollback Accelerates
Beginning May 1, Alabama grocers will stop collecting the state’s 2 percent sales tax on food for two months under House Bill 527. But as the Alabama Department of Revenue has made clear, the temporary holiday comes with important operational considerations for retailers – and Alabama is far from alone in the push to cut […]
Posted inOnline Grocery Technology, Association News, Featured News, News, Northeast
Maryland Bans Surveillance-Based Grocery Pricing
Maryland Gov. Wes Moore signed the Protection From Predatory Pricing Act on April 28, making Maryland the first state in the country to ban perceived price manipulation practices. The legislation, House Bill 895, prohibits grocers and third-party delivery services from using dynamic pricing or a shopper’s personal data to set higher prices. The intent is […]
Posted inOnline Grocery Technology, Association News, National, News
FMI Condemns Federal Regulatory Action On State Swipe Fee Reform
FMI – The Food Industry Association condemned action April 24 by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, banking regulators under the U.S. Treasury Department, to issue two interim final rules that override Illinois swipe fee reform and prohibit other states from enacting similar measures. Leslie G. Sarasin, FMI president and CEO, framed the […]
Posted inGrocery Research, Featured News, National, News
84.51° Report: Online Shopping Grows But In-Store Remains The Default
A new Consumer Digest report from 84.51°, the retail data science arm of Kroger, examines how omnichannel shoppers move between an array of options to fulfill their grocery orders. The report finds that there have never been more ways to buy groceries. Modern shopping habits mean consumer packaged goods (CPG) companies must plan around blended […]