It’s a hot time for the bots, digital and otherwise. In March, Instacart announced it would be adding OpenAI’s ChatGPT chatbot technology to its app, jumping on the bandwagon of many companies doing the same. Salt Lake City-based Associated Food Stores is now bringing AI robots into its distribution center, and SpartanNash is expanding the use of its autonomous inventory robot ‘Tally.’

ChatGPT and AI tech is almost everywhere you look in grocery. And the technologies aren’t cooling down anytime soon. 

Supermarket News editor Chloe Riley spoke with Prashant Agrawal, CEO of the AI solution company Impact Analytics,  to talk about the importance of AI (and the emerging importance of ChatGPT) in grocery.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• How grocers be thinking about ChatGPT and how they can be regularly putting it to use
• Some of the pain points AI can help retailers solve
• How can AI help with inventory management
• AI and pricing — What assumptions are grocers making about their pricing and how AI aids with pricing strategies
• Whether AI is an available solution for independent grocers
• How we’re going to see the AI trend continue in 2023

Take a listen.

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Have a pitch for the podcast? Contact the SN team at [email protected]. Thanks for listening.

As far as grocery goes, it’s all a go for delivery king Amazon.

Amazon, which has brick-and-mortar stores under the Whole Foods, Amazon Fresh and Amazon Go names, has made physical food stores one of the cornerstones of its corporate strategy in 2023. CEO Andy Jassy emphasized grocery during Amazon’s Q1 financial call in late April. During the meeting, he said Whole Foods Market continues to grow nicely and that there were a number of changes in the past year that have changed the profitability trajectory. As for Amazon Fresh, Jassy hopes the pause in establishing new brick-and-mortars will pay off down the line. The CEO said a set of experiments and concepts are being worked on across a number of stores and the hope is to continue with an expansion strategy.

According to Business Insider, analysts at Bernstein have put together a comeback strategy for Amazon in grocery and the main component is purchasing existing stores that are on the chopping block due to the proposed Kroger, Albertsons merger. The grocers are expected to shed up to 500 stores, and many are in areas that could be favorable for Amazon. The price to acquire is another selling point. Bernstein analysts also are proposing that Amazon quickly rebrand stores or focus on stores in targeted regions. 

However, the waters continue to be rough. As noted earlier, Amazon has put a pause on constructing or opening brick-and-mortar grocery stores, and in Minneapolis the company announced it will be sub-leasing space that was originally marked as Amazon Fresh or Amazon Go stores. In addition, Whole Foods announced layoffs in April while Amazon restructures the organization.

So where exactly is Amazon heading with its grocery initiative? Supermarket News Senior Editor Bill Wilson talked to Jennifer Bartashus, senior analyst, Retail Staples and Packaged Food, for Bloomberg Intelligence about the road that lies ahead for Amazon grocery.

Take a listen.

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

Joe Canfield just wants to let people in so they could see for themselves.

The opening of a Save A Lot in the Englewood neighborhood of Chicago has been on pause for months due to concerns from residents, and there are no signs Canfield, who is the CEO of Yellow Banana, which owns the store and is rehabbing the premises, will be able to make that one final, convincing point any time soon.

A Town Hall meeting was held on May 3, and shoppers in the neighborhood are still fired up over the decision to replace a Whole Foods with a Save A Lot at West 63rd and Halsted.

“We are new owners of Save A Lot and we’re more than willing to be judged on how we operate that store in Englewood,” Canfield said on the SN Off the Shelf podcast. “We just want to get the doors open to do it.

“We run a model by which we can deliver affordable, healthy, safe options to people,” he continued. “And we know they need it, we know they need our help and we want to open the doors and get that done.”

Canfield admits he is not sure how it “all went sideways.” The Yellow Banana team and Save A Lot (Saint Ann, Mo.) officials were getting ready to open the Englewood store earlier in the year, and on Jan. 10 a meeting took place with community leaders that had engaged with the new owners about the grocery shift. Protestors, however, prevented the store from officially starting the business, and that is when the community involvement pulled back.

“We kept reaching out, we kept asking for involvement,” remarked Canfield. “We did not get a lot of engagement from groups and we had to keep pressing forward because at some point you got to get the store open. You’re paying the electric bill and you got expenses and you’re bringing inventory in, and you have got to sell that inventory.

“So we’re really trying to look forward and not look backwards, and we are hopeful that we can get there pretty quick.”

But the situation has to be perfect, and all of the neighborhood concerns need to be addressed. As anxious as Canfield is to get the operation running, he knows exactly what lays in front of him.

“As of now we’re still voluntarily pausing to try to work through any open issues that folks have.”

Listen to this interview, which also includes questions about Yellow Banana’s $26.5 million deal to rehab a number of stores in Chicago, in its entirety.

Have a pitch for the podcast? Contact SN Executive Editor Chloe Riley at [email protected], or reach out and say hi on LinkedIn. Thanks for listening.

It’s no secret private label brands are experiencing a strong surge during these times of high food prices.

During the first three months of this year, store brands picked up right where they left off in 2022, with double-digit sales increases and greater market share in both dollars and units, according to nationwide data provided to PLMA by Circana (formerly IRI and NPD). The figures include 2023 food and non-food sales in all outlets as of March 26.

“The Q1 results are particularly impressive since they are compared to 2022 sales figures, which were historically high for U.S. store brands,” said PLMA President Peggy Davies. 

But how long will this growth continue? In this episode of SN Off the Shelf, Senior Editor Bill Wilson talks with Tom Prendergast, who is the director of Research Services for PLMA, about the current rise in private labels and if it is sustainable beyond inflation.

Take a listen.

Have a pitch for the podcast? Contact SN Executive Editor Chloe Riley at [email protected], or reach out and say hi on LinkedIn. Thanks for listening.

Thrive Market, headquartered in Los Angeles, is a mission-driven grocery store, and it truly has boots on the ground. The natural and organic market is TRUE certified for zero waste and also is climate-neutral certified. For every paid membership a portion is donated to families who cannot afford healthy food, those in the military and to emergency responders.

Thrive Market has reduced plastic use by 70%, and the suppliers and vendors it works with also have done their part in reducing plastic use, and so far in 2023 the company is experiencing double-digit growth, and is even setting records in some categories.

Bill Wilson, senior editor for Supermarket News, talked to Jeremiah McElwee, Chief Marketing Officer for Thrive Market, about the mission of Thrive Market and how it has navigated through the COVID-19 pandemic and the current era of inflation.

Take a listen.

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Have a pitch for the podcast? Contact SN Executive Editor Chloe Riley at [email protected], or reach out and say hi on LinkedIn. Thanks for listening.

According to research by Incisiv, in collaboration with The Food Industry Association (FMI) and in partnership with Loyal Guru, 74% of grocers believe digital shopping has made customers less loyal.

That is a troubling stat, especially during the high heat of inflation where price has become critical. The report, “Shopper Loyalty in the Digital Age,” looks at the importance of offering a seamless omnichannel experience for shoppers to foster loyalty, including providing a well-designed digital platform, integrating with digital channels, and offering personalized experiences.

Key take-aways from the report include:

• 74% of grocers believe that digital shopping has made shoppers less loyal
• 88% believe that a poor third-party experience negatively impacts shopper loyalty
• 76% of grocers believe that a poor web and mobile experience reduces shopper loyalty

Supermarket News Senior Editor Bill Wilson talked with Doug Baker, vice president, Industry Relations at FMI, about digital’s takeover among consumers as well as what grocers can do to bring the customer loyalty back to where it was before the technology takeover.

Take a listen.

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Have a pitch for the podcast? Contact SN Executive Editor Chloe Riley at [email protected], or reach out and say hi on LinkedIn. Thanks for listening.

Some stats from the recent “Power of Meat” report from analytics firm 210 Analytics: 

With $87.1 billion in annual sales, 98.3% household penetration and nearly 50 shopping trips per year, meat is the most powerful of the perimeter departments. Sales reached another record, up 5.7% versus a year ago and retailers continued to move more pounds than they did prior to the pandemic. Beef is the biggest seller in fresh, followed by chicken. In processed, bacon and pre-packaged lunch meat are the top movers.

Meat is hot. Case ready is on the rise, and 87% of home-prepared dinners (still very much a trend) contain a portion of meat or poultry. Shoppers are hungry for meat, and grocers who are smart about tapping into that hunger and optimizing their offers in this category are sure to benefit from a sales perspective. 

Other trend highlights from Power of Meat:

• Meat department sales and engagement remained strong in 2022. With $87.1 billion in sales, 98.3% household penetration and 50 shopping trips per year, meat is the most powerful of the fresh departments. Sales grew 5.7% vs. 2021 and pound sales remained above pre-pandemic levels (IRI).  
• Shifts in channel choices are prompting changes in the meat/poultry dollar distribution. Demographic and inflationary forces have resulted in a loss of share for traditional grocery from 42.8% of meat and poultry sales in 2019 to 40.3% in 2022 (IRI) — a shift of several billions of dollars. Supercenters, clubs and online outlets, all over indexing for Millennials, gained in share. Online meat sales grew on better conversion and more frequent orders. 
• A strong meat department reputation helps drive traffic for the entire store. Price, location and assortment dominate the grocery store choice, with meat being the most influential department. Prices, quality and reputation decide where people buy most of their meat/poultry. A strong meat reputation is driven by freshness and quality of the product itself, a clean and well-stocked department with good prices and service excellence.

Supermarket News spoke with Anne-Marie Roerink, president of 210 Analytics, for a breakdown of Power of Meat, as well as another recent monthly meat report from the firm, in addition to looking ahead at trends and predicted growth for meat in 2023. 

Take a listen.

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Have a pitch for the podcast? Contact SN Executive Editor Chloe Riley at [email protected], or reach out and say hi on LinkedIn. Thanks for listening. 

More food is fulfilling its life’s mission these days. Dealing with food waste is a top priority among grocery retailers, so instead of just dumping produce into a landfill the process has become more detailed and complex. However, the end result remains the same: To nourish as many as possible.

Earlier this year a group of food waste experts gathered at the 2023 Southeast Produce Council’s 2023 Southern Exposure event to talk about the issue and share strategies. Justin LaCroix, director of sustainable operations and brand lead for health and sustainability at Ahold Delhaize USA, was on the panel and shared some of the things his company was doing to cut down on the waste.

Ahold Delhaize is part of the 10x20x30 initiative which features 10 of the world’s biggest food retailers. The power grocers are engaging with 20 of their priority suppliers to cut the amount of food waste in half over the next seven years. Ahold Delhaize wants to cut food waste by 32% at its stores by 2025 and 50% by 2030. To help do this, the company is launching a HowGood label program to provide product sustainability ratings, and the retailer also wants to advance traceability.

It's not a simple pivot. For example, a produce manager on the store floor needs to engage in constantly rotating items like plums and tangerines with the goal of selling as much as possible on a daily basis. Then at the end of the day a determination needs to be made as to where food past their sell date could be most useful. The tasks demand constant attention and action.

In this episode of SN Off the Shelf, LaCroix talks with Supermarket News Senior Editor Bill Wilson on the goals of food waste moving forward and greener practices that can be done at the market.

ChatGPT. Instacart is planning to add the tech to its app later this year, and a majority of grocers recently indicated that they also plan to test an AI or ChatGPT solution in 2023. Are you one of those?

In this special live edition of SN Off the Shelf, Supermarket News editors Chloe Riley and Bill Wilson talk about the real-life uses of ChatGPT in grocery, as well as Instacart’s plan for the tech. (Plus a bonus segment on “The Dollar Store Invasion” — a new study which shows how dollar establishments are levying a heavy toll on communities.) Take a listen.

Have a pitch for the podcast? Contact SN Executive Editor Chloe Riley at [email protected], or reach out and say hi on LinkedIn. Thanks for listening. 

In a scathing new study, dollar discount stores like Dollar Tree and Dollar General are accused of being harmful to the local environment.

Titled the Dollar Store Invasion, which was released by the Institute for Local Self-Reliance (ILSR), the study shows how dollar establishments (more than 34,000 in the U.S.) are levying a heavy toll on local communities, especially those of race. The negative impact is so great that at least 75 cities and towns have successfully blocked new store projects since 2019, and the ISLR is calling for more anti-trust regulation.

Supermarket News Senior Editor Bill Wilson sat down with one of the co-authors of the report, ISLR Senior Researcher Kennedy Smith, and dove deeper into these accusations in the latest episode of the SN Off the Shelf podcast. Have a listen.

Have a pitch for the podcast? Contact SN Executive Editor Chloe Riley at [email protected], or reach out and say hi on LinkedIn. Thanks for listening.