Recent research by Incisiv, conducted in collaboration with FMI – The Food Industry Association and in partnership with RELEX, highlights the importance of strategic fulfillment in achieving digital profitability. With 69 percent of grocery sales in 2023 being digitally influenced, the grocery shopping experience has become firmly omnichannel. However, despite this boom, profitability […]
Category: Online Grocery Technology
Grocery technology news: e-commerce, AI, checkout, data and the tools retailers use to run stores and reach shoppers.
See all our technology coverage in Grocery Tech & Retail Media.
June Online Grocery Sales Slip From Last Year
The U.S. online grocery market finished June with $7.1 billion in total sales, down 1.2 percent compared to last year’s $7.2 billion, according to the latest monthly Brick Meets Click/Mercatus Grocery Shopping Survey. Although more households bought groceries online in June than last year, these users completed fewer orders during the month and average order […]
Tastewise Introduces Generative AI Solution, TasteGPT
Tastewise, an AI-powered market intelligence platform based in New York, is launching TasteGPT, its next evolution of generative AI solutions. While Tastewise already incorporates generative AI to help users at companies like Nestlé, Campbell’s, Mars, Givaudan and PepsiCo discover dish concepts, validate new product ideas and generate market research reports, the company is expanding its […]
Research Reveals Changes In Online Shopper Behavior
Palo Alto, California-based SymphonyAI Retail CPG has released new global shopper research that highlights a rapid decline in online grocery shopping behavior. The analysis of more than 58 million shopper baskets of purchase data across the U.S. and Europe found that 52 percent of e-commerce grocery shoppers left the online channel over the last year. […]
Insite AI Adds Joji As EVP Of Strategy Consulting
Bentonville, Arkansas-based Insite AI, an AI-enabled category and revenue growth partner for large consumer brands, has named Kristine Joji as EVP of strategy consulting. With a primary focus on consumables and secondary focus on grocery, Joji will focus on enabling major brands to price strategically, promote efficiently and grow category and market share. Joji is […]
Festival Foods Taps Upshop To Optimize Fresh Ops
With the goal of revolutionizing its fresh perimeter, Green Bay, Wisconsin-based Festival Foods has partnered with Upshop, a provider of AI-driven retail software, for store operations. This partnership is timely for Festival Foods as the organization gears up for growth and requires systems that can rapidly scale. With Upshop, store employees gain the ability to […]
DoorDash Launches SNAP/EBT Online Payments
DoorDash will begin accepting SNAP/EBT payments on the platform with multiple grocery partners including Aldi, Albertsons, Safeway, Meijer and participating 7-Eleven stores. With these partnerships, more than 4,000 grocery and convenience locations nationwide will soon offer SNAP/EBT payment capabilities on DoorDash for on-demand delivery of eligible grocery items. DoorDash will offer SNAP recipients the benefits […]
ECRS Introduces SNAP Balance Management Tool
Boone, North Carolina-based ECRS has created SNAP While You Shop, an industry-first, patent-pending balance management tool for EBT customers. After consulting with retailers in the CATAPULT Community, ECRS heard stories of EBT/SNAP shoppers having insufficient funds at checkout, causing them to make difficult decisions about what to put back. This was complicated by the fact […]
Albertsons Media Collective Seeks To Standardize Retail Media Networks
In a new whitepaper, Albertsons Media Collective has shared a preliminary framework to standardize specifications, methodologies, terminology and disclosures across retail media networks. The collective, the retail media arm of Boise, Idaho-based Albertsons Cos., is hosting a discussion on the topic – Transforming Retail Media Through Standardization – alongside leaders from Omnicom Media Group, Pinterest […]
UNFI Ups Buying Systems With RELEX Solutions
Providence, Rhode Island-based United Natural Foods Inc. has partnered with RELEX Solutions, a provider of unified supply chain and retail optimization solutions, to implement its cloud-based procurement solution. When delivered, the system will consolidate and replace multiple UNFI buying systems and drive efficiencies in demand planning and replenishment. The platform is expected to become operational over […]
Enhanced Smart Shopping Carts To Debut At Two Stores In Northeast
Instacart has announced the arrival of enhanced smart shopping carts at the ShopRite of Spotswood in New Jersey, with a planned launch in the coming weeks at Fairway Market in Kips Bay/Manhattan, New York. The updated Caper Cart recognizes and rings up groceries, provides tailored shopping recommendations and lets customers check out from the cart. […]
Cub Implements Upshop For Total Store Freshness
In a partnership that is expected to deliver more than $1.5 million in annual shrink savings, Stillwater, Minnesota-based Cub Foods has implemented Upshop’s Expiration Date Management product across 55 stores. Following an initial pilot in the Stillwater store last fall, Cub began deploying it in March, with the rollout completed in less than four weeks. […]
AWG, University Of Illinois Collaborate On Digital Coupon Analytics Project
Thanks to a partnership with Kansas City, Kansas-based Associated Wholesale Grocers (AWG), graduate students at the University of Illinois’ Gies School of Business are researching the effectiveness of digital coupons on customer behavior. The company shared a statement on LinkedIn, stating “the students’ findings are helping to guide [our] digital coupon strategy.” Kate Favrow, director […]
Online Grocery Sales Decline 3.4 Percent In May Versus Year Ago
The U.S. online grocery market finished May with $6.9 billion in total sales, down 3.4 percent compared to last year’s $7.2 billion, according to the latest monthly Brick Meets Click/Mercatus Grocery Shopping Survey fielded May 30-31. The dip in overall sales for May was driven by a combination of fewer households buying groceries online during […]
Giant Eagle Introduces Leap Media Group For Brand Engagement
Pittsburgh-based Giant Eagle announced the launch of Leap Media Group, an internally-developed retail media network that taps into the retailer’s engagement with more than four million households driven by its myPerks loyalty platform. Leap Media Group allows brands to leverage the insights garnered through its loyalty programs to reach consumers during decision-making moments. After more than […]
Instacart Introduces AI-Powered Food Inspiration Search Tool
San Francisco-based Instacart has launched Ask Instacart, an AI-powered search tool designed to assist with customers’ grocery shopping questions by offering personalized recommendations throughout the shopping experience. By using the language understanding capabilities of OpenAI’s ChatGPT API and Instacart’s own AI models and catalog data that spans more than a billion shoppable items across more than […]
Aldi Introduces Instacart-Powered Virtual Convenience Store
Batavia, Illinois-based Aldi has partnered with Instacart to introduce Aldi Express, a virtual convenience store. From convenience items such as prepared foods, snacks and drinks to grocery staples and household essentials, Aldi Express gives customers access to about 2,000 popular ALDI items, delivered in as fast as 30-minutes. Aldi Express convenience delivery is available to […]
Five Issues Omnichannel Grocers Need To Address This Year
Sponsored content By Mark Fairhurst, VP of marketing, Mercatus Technologies Inc. As VP of marketing at Mercatus, Fairhurst leads the development of the company’s overall marketing and brand strategy and related programs. He’s also co-host on “The Digital Grocer” podcast and brings to the show a marketer’s perspective on the rapidly evolving grocery tech landscape. […]
New Seasons Market To Accept EBT SNAP Through Instacart
Portland, Oregon-based New Seasons Market is accepting Electronic Benefits Transfer Supplemental Nutrition and Assistance Program for same-day delivery and pickup through Instacart. With this program, EBT SNAP participants will be able to use the benefits to access groceries online for delivery or pickup from New Seasons Markets’ 18 locations across metro Portland. The program will launch at the […]
The Save Mart Companies Launches Retail Media Network
The Save Mart Companies is broadening its digital footprint by launching a retail media network with an expanded strategic partnership with Swiftly, a retail technology company that delivers omnichannel tools for enterprise retailers. The deepened partnership will accelerate and enhance The Save Mart Companies’ CPG relationships, creating advertising opportunities for supplier partners and benefiting shoppers with […]
