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 abo ..read more

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 ..read more

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 t ..read more

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 sale ..read more

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. ** Have a pitch for the podcast? Reach out at c ..read more

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 t ..read more

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 Rubin ..read more

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 ..read more

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 ..read more

A recent monthly category report indicates that, when it comes to groceries, consumers are very much fluctuating between what, how much, what brand, and where they purchase — all as a reaction to the impacts of inflation. Along those lines, the July category update from 210 Analytics (with data provided by Circana) found that during the same visit, consumers might purchase some premium products, while going ultra-value on other items. So it’s a toss up. Consumers have all kinds of purchase intents when they arrive at the grocery store, and their baskets reflect that.  Supermarket News Exe ..read more