Electronic Shelf Labels (ESL) are taking off. Walmart recently announced that it plans to switch over to 100% electronic shelf labels by 2026, citing a need for increased productivity and reduced walking time as well as simplified stock replenishment and faster order picking and fulfillment. ESL is transitioning past the early adopter phase — the tech is now becoming more and more a necessity that gives retailers a leg up.

The cost on electronic shelf labels has also been dropping in recent years and, simultaneously, labor costs have been rising. All of which has industry analysts speculating that ESL tech is going to begin to quickly scale.

On this special tech edition of our podcast, “SN Techwire,” Supermarket News editor Chloe Riley sat down with Tighe Renner, senior manager, new business development with Aperion (a retail technology arm of the Hussmann Corporation) whose primary product is ESL offerings from digital store solutions company Hanshow.

Whether they have the local benefits of an independent or the scale of a chain, supermarket operators need as much information as they can take in about their guests’ buying patterns, preferences, and demographics. But which sources help them the most?

Supermarket News Intelligence recently investigated where more than 100 retailers turn to collect data on customers and their spending habits in our 2023 Tech Market Leader Report.

“It’s still an AI story,” Perrier told SN recently at the FMI Midwinter Conference in Marco Island, Fla. “ I think the big difference is…years ago we were talking about personalization and targeting…now we’re actually seeing real use cases, real demos. Large scale language models are being used to help retailers generate revenue and it’s quite powerful.”

In this special edition of our SN Off the Shelf podcast — SN TechWire — SN spoke with Sylvain Perrier, president and COO of grocery ecommerce software company Mercatus, about how grocers can smartly use personalization to drive loyalty and customer retention.

On today’s TechWire podcast, you’ll learn:

• How can grocers can be leveraging personalization to get the whole basket
• What’s more important today: ecommerce or engagement?
• Why AI isn’t going anywhere anytime soon (and how you can best leverage it)

Take a listen.

When given the chance, those opposing the Kroger, Albertsons merger have let themselves be heard. It happened again in Colorado, where a number of people stood up during a meeting attended by Federal Trade Commission Chair Lina Khan and urged the agency not to approve the deal.

Grocery price increases and job security are the two top concerns expressed by consumers, workers, and unions.

But what if grocery prices remained competitive after the merger and a minimal number of jobs were lost? It most likely will happen, according to Eric Fruits, senior scholar at the International Center for Law and Economics. Fruits is the co-author of the white paper titled, “Food-Retail Competition, Antitrust Law, and the Kroger/Albertsons Merger.”

In the latest episode of SN Off the Shelf, Supermarket News Senior Editor Bill Wilson talks with Fruits about the Kroger, Albertsons merger which, according to Fruits, enough has been done to satisfy the parameters of a fair deal.

Take a listen.

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A little over a year ago Ahold Delhaize USA made a major move in the retail media game.

Peapod Digital Labs, the e-commerce and digital innovation arm of Ahold Delhaize USA, announced plans to grow its AD Retail Media network into an end-to-end, in-house retail media business. That will enable consumer packaged goods partners to better leverage the long reach of Ahold Delhaize grocery retail brands, which encompass more than 2,000 stores, process over 23 million transactions weekly, engage nearly 24 million active loyalty card users and generate more than $51 billion in annual sales.

In this episode of SN Off the Shelf, Supermarket News Senior Editor Bill Wilson had the chance to check in with SVP of Retail Media at Ahold Delhaize USA Bobby Watts at Groceryshop 2023 in Las Vegas.

Watts believes retail media has not reached its peak yet and cautioned that retailers need to keep the consumer in mind when executing a plan.

Take a listen.

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The landscape for center store beverage categories has been shifting dramatically, as consumers gravitate toward newer players that provide functional benefits, like prebiotic and probiotic sodas, as well as old standbys like energy drinks.

Supermarket News Executive Editor Chloe Riley sat down with Numerator’s Mike Scavuzzo at the recent EXPO East Natural Products show in Philadelphia, Penn. to talk about the significant growth in functional beverages. 

Highlights from Scavuzzo’s 2022 recap on the prebiotic and probiotic soda category:

• Just shy of $162 million in category projected sales on 107% growth vs 2021
• Total households, up 71%
• Average spend per household, up 22%
• Purchase frequency, up 12%
• Spend per trip, up 9%
• Spend per unit, up 2%
• Units per trip, up 7%

“The brilliance of these brands is that they took a high penetration, mainstream category and made it ‘better for you.’ Mainstream means consumer approachability and little education needed to understand what the product is.. Better for you is self explanatory. That deadly combo is making a dent in CSD (carbonated soft drink) sales and you better believe Coke and Pepsi are on high alert.”

Take a listen.

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Retail media has been exploding over the last year, and Dollar General is right there riding the wave.

However, the discount retailer is taking a different approach. Rather than doing retail media in-house, Dollar General is partnering with third parties to deliver the message to consumers.

In this episode of SN Off the Shelf, Supermarket News Senior Editor Bill Wilson talks with Chad Fox, who is vice president and chief marketing officer at DG. Hear how Dollar General has taken on the world of retail media with its own flair.

Take a listen.

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Have a pitch for the podcast? Reach out at [email protected]. And thanks for listening.

The plant-based category has had its share of ups and downs. A year ago, The Guardian asked whether the plant-based sales phenomena of the last decade was finally starting to be on the outs. But recent data from Kroger data arm 84.51° suggests that consumers are still choosing plant-based, especially in the plant-based dairy category.   

Some key findings from the 84.51° data: 

Shift in spend: Shoppers who engage with plant-based foods generally reduce their engagement with animal-based foods. Shoppers who increased their plant-based engagement overall increased their dollar spend in total plant-based foods by 92%, while only increasing animal-based spending by 9% in the same period

Consumers are choosing plant-based: 38% of surveyed shoppers indicate they are choosing plant-based milk instead of animal-based milk; 25% are choosing plant-based meats instead of animal-based meat; and 22% are choosing plant-based yogurt instead of animal-based yogurt

Ecommerce as growth engine: Plant-based foods hold a higher market share in ecommerce likely due to easier searchability and increased variety of products 

Over 1.4 million Kroger households engaged with plant-based categories on their ecommerce platforms during the 12-week study period. While Millennials were the most engaged, all generations were represented, illustrating a broad opportunity to optimize omnichannel strategies based on consumer buying preferences.

At the recent EXPO East natural products show in Philadelphia, Penn., Supermarket News Executive Editor Chloe Riley sat down with 84.51° Lead Consultant, Insights Account Manager Shannon Weis, to talk about how consumers are actually shopping plant-based today. 

Take a listen.

After nearly four decades of serving the natural and organic CPG industry, natural products media group New Hope Network has announced that the 2023 Natural Products Expo East will be the trade show’s final edition. 

Natural Products Expo West will continue to take place annually in Anaheim, California. And springing up in place of EXPO East is a new show called Newtopia Now — which will be designed to provide more opportunities for brands to meaningfully participate, regardless of where they are at in their lifecycle.

Supermarket News Executive Editor Chloe Riley spoke with Jessica Rubino, vice president, content at New Hope Network, about trends on the show floor at the final EXPO East, as well as taking a look ahead, for an exciting preview of the group’s latest trade show: Newtopia Now.

Take a listen.

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Ahold Delhaize USA CEO JJ Fleeman was at Groceryshop 2023 in Las Vegas last week talking about omnichannel strategies.

However, you must know how customers are responding to a given channel to come up with an effective overall experience. In that regard, Ahold Delhaize has insight research teams and work with CPGs. Analysts and economist teams also provide input, and shop-a-longs are another way the grocer monitors trends and changes in shopper behavior.

Supermarket News Senior Editor Bill Wilson had the chance to catch up with Fleeman at the show, and talked about everything ranging from the omnichannel experience to shrink inventory and retail theft.

In this episode you will hear about:

• Ahold Delhaize’s omnichannel strategy
• Acting quickly on shopper trends and behavior
• Digital media growth
• Technology at fulfillment centers
• Market consolidation
• Retail theft

Bold is certainly one word to describe the strategy of the West Des Moines, Iowa-based Hy-Vee over just the past five years. In that amount of time, the retailer has continued to ramp up its growing expansion in pharmacy and health care; rebranded its Hy-Vee Gas convenience concept to Hy-Vee Fast & Fresh; and continued to lead the market with its foodservice and prepared foods strategies.

Hy-Vee’s foray into health care and pharmacy over the past decade (and even just the past five years) has been extensive. In 2014, the retailer acquired Amber Pharmacy, one of the largest privately owned specialty pharmacies in the country and a driving force behind Hy-Vee’s national health care strategy. That acquisition allowed Hy-Vee to move forward with providing specialty pharmacy services in all 50 U.S. states and Puerto Rico. 

Perhaps the retailer’s most ambitious step into health care would be the launch of the first Hy-Vee Health infusion clinic, opened in April in West Des Moines. (A second opened in Chicago in August)

“We’re viewed as a food company, but our largest department is pharmacy,” said Jeremy Gosch, Hy-Vee CEO since 2022. “So health care plays a massive, massive role in Hy-Vee, and I think we’re just scratching the surface of what we’re going to be doing with health care moving forward.” 

Supermarket News Executive Editor Chloe Riley sat down with Gosch at Hy-Vee headquarters, and talked with him about foodservice at retail, the company’s continued branding around fresh, and how health care is the future.

Take a listen.

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Have a pitch for the podcast? Reach out at [email protected]. And thanks for listening.