ECRS has released updated third-party integration and application programming interface (API) guidance, a formal framework defining how retailers and solution providers can connect with its CATAPULT point-of-sale platform through standardized, reusable API endpoints. The documentation is designed to reduce technical friction for integrators while protecting the platform’s stability across high-volume retail environments. Why standardization matters […]
Category: Industry News
Posted inOnline Grocery Technology, Associated Wholesale Grocers, Featured News, Midwest, News
AWG Rolls Out SmartMeals AI Shopping Assistant
Associated Wholesale Grocers‘ (AWG) SmartMeals, its artificial intelligence-powered meal planning and shopping assistant built in partnership with Breez AI Corporation, has moved from pilot to wide-scale deployment across its member network. Nearly 100 AWG member stores are now onboarded, with 85 stores going live in January and additional rollouts under way. The announcement comes as […]
Posted inOnline Grocery Technology, National, News
Afresh Expands AI Platform To Cover Full Store
Afresh, a grocery artificial intelligence company that built its platform around fresh department complexity, has announced that its system now covers every department in the store, including center store, frozen, general merchandise, health and beauty and the full fresh perimeter. The expansion makes Afresh the only grocery AI platform capable of managing replenishment, demand forecasting, […]
Posted inOnline Grocery Technology, Featured News, Finance News, National, News
Instacart, NVIDIA Build AI Platform to Unify In-Store, Online Grocery Retail
Instacart is building what it calls a “grocery world model” – a continuous learning artificial intelligence system that connects physical store data from its Caper Cart smart shopping carts with its online commerce platform in collaboration with NVIDIA. The initiative represents how it intends to use its scale across 2,200-plus retail banners and 100,000-plus locations […]
Posted inIndependent Store News, Featured News, Finance News, Harps Food Stores, News, Southeast
Harps Food Stores To Acquire 18 Stores From Dyer Foods In TN, KY
Harps Food Stores has entered into a purchase agreement to acquire 18 stores from Joey and Jeanie Hays, owners of independent grocery operator Dyer Foods, with 17 of the locations in western Tennessee and one in Kentucky. Both parties anticipate completing the transaction by this summer, with store banners, employment and operations continuing with minimal […]
Posted inIndependent Store News, Featured News, Finance News, Meijer, Midwest, News
Meijer To Open 3 New Stores On May 6
Meijer will open three new stores May 6 – 159,000-square-foot supercenters in Bainbridge Township, Ohio, and Brownsburg, Indiana, and a 47,000-square-foot grocery store in Rochester Hills, Michigan. The openings bring Meijer’s Ohio store count to 59, Indiana to 44 and add a third grocery location in Michigan, where it has 125 supercenters and market format […]
Posted inMeat/Seafood/Poultry, Featured News, Grocery Research, National, News
FMI Report: Frequent Seafood Shoppers Drive 40% Of Category Sales
Just 10 percent of shoppers account for 40 percent of all seafood purchases, according to The Power of Seafood 2026, a new report from FMI – The Food Industry Association that debuted March 15 at Seafood Expo North America. The finding points to a category that looks stable on the surface but is dependent on […]
Posted inMeat/Seafood/Poultry, Marketing News, National, News
BAP Launches Responsible Seafood Campaign With Save Mart
Best Aquaculture Practices (BAP) has launched its “Seafood You Can Trust” marketing toolkit with The Save Mart Companies, deploying the campaign across all Save Mart and Lucky stores in California. What the toolkit includes The toolkit is a customizable campaign with a suite of assets – including in-store signage, digital banners, social media content and […]
Posted inDairy News, Executive News, Featured News, Finance News, National, News
Schuman Cheese Begins Fourth-Generation Leadership Transition
Schuman Cheese has begun a leadership transition, elevating three fourth-generation family members into senior roles 81 years after the company’s founding. Allison Schuman has been named CEO, moving up from her previous role as chief revenue officer. Neal Schuman, who previously served as CEO, becomes chairman. Ian Schuman will serve as president of global, overseeing […]
Posted inGrocery Store Equipment, National, News
TRUNO Becomes First Certified Partner Of Toshiba’s ELERA Commerce Platform
TRUNO Retail Technology Solutions has become the first certified partner authorized to sell and deliver the ELERA Commerce Platform by Toshiba Global Commerce Solutions, giving retailers across North America a new channel to access Toshiba’s AI-driven POS and commerce architecture. TRUNO can implement ELERA with retail customers without requiring a traditional rip-and-replace of current store […]
Posted inDairy News, Featured News, Grocery Research, Midwest, News
Land O’Lakes Voted Most Trusted Butter Brand In Newsweek Survey
Land O’Lakes has been named the most trusted butter brand in the U.S., according to Newsweek‘s 2026 Most Trusted Brand Awards, conducted by market research firm BrandSpark. The designation is based on an unaided survey of more than 35,000 American shoppers asked to name – without prompts or lists – the brands they trust most […]
Posted inGrocery Research, Featured News, National, News
Numerator Finds Consumer Goods Prices Up 2.7% In February
Prices for everyday household goods rose 2.7 percent year over year in February, according to Numerator’s monthly Consumer Goods Price Index (CGPI). Month-over-month, prices increased 0.26 percent in February after a 0.24 percent decline in January – signaling that inflation’s cooling trend has not held steady. The CGPI tracks verified, item-level purchase data from a […]
Posted inIndependent Store News, Executive News, Featured News, Finance News, News, West
HGG Appoints Hinojosa CEO Following National Search
Ontario, California-based Heritage Grocers Group (HGG) appointed David Hinojosa as CEO following a board-led national search. Hinojosa, a 30-year retail veteran with experience across the U.S., Australia and Asia, will lead the 115-store ethnic grocery operator’s next phase of growth. He most recently served as COO at Vallarta Supermarkets, which he joined in 2023. His career includes […]
Posted inGrocery Store Layout, News, Southeast, Southwest, Walmart
Walmart Tests Neighborhood Market Rapid Remodels
Walmart will begin testing a rapid remodel process at select Neighborhood Market stores in April, temporarily closing main sales floors for four weeks while keeping pharmacies and fuel stations open. The pilot spans stores in Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Oklahoma, South Carolina and Texas. The accelerated timeline compresses a process that traditionally stretches several months, with […]
Posted inOnline Grocery Technology, Fareway, Featured News, Midwest, News
Fareway Launches Online Pickup Through Instacart Partnership
Fareway, the Iowa-based grocer with more than 140 Midwest stores, has partnered with Instacart to launch an updated e-commerce experience powered by Storefront Pro, its enterprise commerce platform. Fareway orders are available for pickup through the Instacart Marketplace with no markups and customers can shop at Shop.Fareway.com or through the Instacart app. The partnership gives […]
Posted inSupply Chain News, National, News
NRF: Import Cargo Volume Expected To Be Down In First Half Of 2026
Imports at major U.S. container ports are expected to remain below last year’s levels for the first half of 2026 amid ongoing tariff uncertainty, but it is too soon to gauge the impact of the conflict in Iran, according to the Global Port Tracker report released by the National Retail Federation and Hackett Associates. “The […]
Posted inSustainability News, Corporate Store News, Finance News, News, West
Sprouts Invests In AZ Solar, Battery Storage Project
Sprouts Farmers Market has signed a tax credit transfer agreement with Schneider Electric, U.S. Bank and Longroad Energy to help finance the Sun Pond Solar + Battery Energy Storage System project in Maricopa County, Arizona, where the grocer is headquartered. The 111 MWdc solar and 85 MWac / 340 MWh storage project is operational. It […]
Posted inIndependent Store News, Corporate Store News, Featured News, Grocery Research, National, News
Study Finds 81% Of Americans Open To Switching Grocery Brands
Loyalty in the grocery aisle is softening, according to a new national study from Reach3 Insights that found 81 percent of Americans are open to trying new brands – a signal that routine, habit-driven CPG purchases are giving way to more deliberate in-store decision-making. The study, “Rethinking Routine: What’s Really Happening in the Grocery Aisle,” […]
Posted inOnline Grocery Technology, Grocery Store Equipment, National, News
Birdzi Launches Natural Language BI Tool, AskKea
Birdzi has released AskKea, a generative business intelligence (BI) assistant that lets grocery retailers query their data using plain-English questions and receive decision-ready answers in minutes instead of days. AskKea is designed for non-analysts. Store managers and marketing teams can ask questions directly and receive clear answers, visual summaries, exportable data files, methodology explanations and […]
Posted inOnline Grocery Technology, Association News, Featured News, Finance News, National, News, Nonfood Items
AI Experts Urge Retailers To Move Beyond Simple Automation
Artificial intelligence (AI) can help retailers unlock hidden revenue in underperforming inventory, improve customer targeting and streamline operations — but only if companies stop treating it as a time-saving shortcut and start using it as a strategic tool. That was the message from two digital commerce experts during a keynote at The Inspired Home Show […]