The grocery industry had a bright spotlight at the National Retail Federation’s annual show in New York this year.

From keynotes with the CEOs of Kroger and Whole Foods Market to featured sessions with the head of Sprouts Farmers Market, Albertsons’ senior vice president of retail media and Target’s chief food and beverage officer, the state of the grocery industry — and the key trends expected to influence its future — took up ample stage time.

On the expo floors, numerous vendors from Google to fresh startups showed off technologies, like smart carts, food waste solutions and checkout devices, that grocers can tap into. One notable retailer-enablement company was missing from the booths: Instacart.

Over the course of the three-day conference, the topics of frictionless checkout, retail media and digitizing the store as both an omnichannel play and reinvestment in experiential retail repeatedly came up in sessions and Grocery Dive’s conversations with vendors. The opportunities and challenges of sustainability facing grocers graced several sessions as well.  

In case you missed it last week — or you want to refresh your memory — here’s a recap of Grocery Dive’s NRF coverage: