Retail sales grew for the seventh straight month in April despite rising gas prices and persistent inflation, according to the CNBC/NRF Retail Monitor released May 13 by the National Retail Federation. Total retail sales, excluding automobile dealers and gasoline stations, rose 0.34 percent month over month on a seasonally adjusted basis and 5.73 percent year […]
Category: Grocery Industry
Posted inOnline Grocery Technology, Executive News, Featured News, National, News
Gopal Joins Ahold Delhaize USA To Lead Data, AI Strategy
Ahold Delhaize USA has appointed Vipin Gopal as SVP, serving as chief data and artificial intelligence officer for the U.S. businesses. Reporting to Chief Information Officer Ann Dozier, Gopal will lead data, analytics and AI strategy and advance Ahold Delhaize USA’s efforts to further embed data-driven decision-making and AI capabilities into its business. He will […]
Posted inOnline Grocery Technology, Featured News, National, News
Amazon Now Expands Ultra-Fast Delivery Across The U.S.
Amazon has rolled out its ultra-fast delivery service, Amazon Now, to customers throughout the U.S. Amazon Now provides thousands of fresh groceries, everyday household essentials and locally-relevant items in about 30 minutes or less. It is widely available in Atlanta, Dallas-Fort Worth, Philadelphia and Seattle, and is expanding in dozens more cities, including Austin and […]
Posted inFinance News, Association News, Featured News
Report: Independent Grocers Generate $557.5B In Annual Economic Activity
According to a new economic impact analysis released today by the National Grocers Association, independent supermarket operators generate $557.5 billion in total annual economic activity, representing nearly 2 percent of U.S. gross domestic product. The report, conducted by Arizona State University using store-level retail sales data from NielsenIQ’s TDLinx platform, found that independent grocers account […]
Posted inGrocery Store Equipment, National, News
Vori Raises $22M Series B To Build Operating System For Grocery Stores
Vori announced a $22 million Series B funding round led by Cherryrock Capital, with participation from Greylock Partners and The Factory, including Stanford AI researcher Chris Ré. The company is building an operating system designed to manage a grocery store’s entire operations. It handles checkout and payments at the register, tracks every item on shelves, […]
Posted inGrocery Research, Costco Wholesale, Featured News, National, News
5WPR Index Finds Costco Tops AI Citation Rankings, Walmart Trails
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, […]
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 […]