UNFI completes 8th and largest solar array installation

The solar array is part of a green-energy project that also includes LED lighting retrofits at 33 distribution centers to support the company’s Better for All initiative.

By Peyton Bigora • April 6, 2023

Walmart banks on stores, robots as it stokes e-commerce

The retail giant expects that within three years, 55% of its fulfillment center volume will move through automated facilities and a whopping 65% of its stores will be automated to some extent.

By Daphne Howland • April 5, 2023

Explore the Trendline➔

Grocery loyalty

Food retailers are depending on techniques designed to build and maintain connections with customers as they strive to stand out.

By Grocery Dive staff

Albertsons expands health benefits card partnerships

The grocer is now working with fintech company FIS, which has several supplemental health benefits administrators on its payment platform, and is starting to accept benefit cards from Soda Health.

By Catherine Douglas Moran • April 3, 2023

London court dismisses AutoStore patent suit against Ocado

The ruling by the U.K. High Court last week represents a key victory for Ocado, which is developing robotic order-fulfillment centers for Kroger and other grocery chains.

By Sam Silverstein • April 3, 2023

Dollar General launches new retail media capability with Meta

The partnership allows advertisers to discern how messages they deliver to shoppers via the social networking company’s platforms relate to in-store sales.

By Peyton Bigora • March 30, 2023

Kroger has reportedly slowed Ocado robotic tech rollout

The grocer wants to be sure the automated customer fulfillment centers it has brought on line so far work “as well as they can before they roll out loads,” Ocado CEO Tim Steiner said, according to a Reuters story Tuesday.

By Sam Silverstein • March 29, 2023

Organized retail crime is growing. Here’s what grocers are doing about it.

Retailers have seen a recent increase in these incidents, and grocers are particularly at risk because of the wide variety of sought-after items they sell.

By Peyton Bigora • March 27, 2023

DoorDash to offer SNAP online purchasing for grocery orders

The e-commerce and delivery provider is also planning to grow the availability of produce on its marketplace and promote healthy products there. 

By Catherine Douglas Moran • March 27, 2023

Instacart scaling food as medicine with tools for health providers

The company also announced new ad capabilities for weighted products and four new research studies in conjunction with a White House event focused on hunger and nutrition. 

By Catherine Douglas Moran • March 24, 2023

The Friday Checkout: Giant Eagle pushes out its tech-minded leader

The retailer brought robots to its stores, became a cashierless-checkout pioneer and hatched plans for a tech campus during more than a decade under CEO Laura Shapira Karet’s leadership.

By Grocery Dive Staff • March 24, 2023

Sam’s Club bridges online and in-store data gap

Through the retailer’s new feature, advertisers can now gather real-time, first-party insights on members’ in-store purchases. 

By Peyton Bigora • March 22, 2023

Walmart ramps up connected TV ambitions

The retailer is integrating solutions from Innovid, including a creative optimization tool, with Walmart DSP as premium video becomes a retail media battleground.

By Peter Adams • March 21, 2023

Schnucks rolls out tech-enabled salad bars as it jumps back into self-service

In March, the grocer opened the first of 22 AI-driven self-service stations from Picadeli that it plans to install, a company official said.

By Sam Silverstein • March 20, 2023

Automation drives retail labor efficiencies

Labor challenges affect the whole store, especially production and service-intensive departments such as bakeries.

March 20, 2023

The Friday Checkout: Automation takes center stage

Grocers have been turning to a variety of tech, robotics and AI to boost customer experience, speed up processes on the retail floor and streamline supply chain management.

By Grocery Dive Staff • March 16, 2023

Kroger sees e-commerce as future profit engine

The retailer is looking to its automation partnership with Ocado and its young retail media business to help achieve its goal of making money online, Chairman and CEO Rodney McMullen said Wednesday.

By Sam Silverstein • March 16, 2023

UNFI adds robots, scanning tech to its ‘transformation agenda’

The wholesaler and retailer unveiled plans for new digital capabilities at a Washington state distribution center a week after reporting that its profits took a nosedive in the second quarter.

By Peyton Bigora • March 15, 2023

Kroger to deploy driverless trucks in Dallas

The grocer plans to begin using vehicles from autonomous-vehicle supplier Gatik to transport products between an e-commerce warehouse and several stores during the second quarter of 2023.

By Sam Silverstein • March 15, 2023

BJ’s to roll out inventory robots chainwide

The club retailer is following grocers including Schnuck Markets, Hy-Vee and The Save Mart Companies in deploying Simbe Robotics’s automated vehicles, which use computer vision-driven cameras to scan shelves.

By Sam Silverstein • March 14, 2023

Bye Bye Twitter: Hannaford revamps its social media strategy

The Ahold Delhaize banner is focusing on Facebook, Pinterest and TikTok — platforms where it has seen customer engagement grow. 

By Catherine Douglas Moran • March 14, 2023

Amazon-powered c-store opens at Virginia college

Marymount University opened a 24-hour shop last week that marks the first campus location to integrate Amazon’s frictionless checkout technology.

By Jessica Loder • March 13, 2023

Wegmans rolls out in-store pharmacy aids for shoppers with sensory disabilities

The grocer is now providing auxiliary aids and accessibility options like video remote interpretation services in American Sign Language as well as large-print prescription labels. 

By Catherine Douglas Moran • March 10, 2023

Instacart teams with nonprofit on nutrition initiative

The program, which launches in Indianapolis before expanding to more cities, offers stipends as well as a complementary Instacart+ membership for families in need.

By Peyton Bigora • March 10, 2023

USDA picks 5 states for mobile contactless SNAP payments pilot

Illinois, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Missouri and Oklahoma are working with the government agency to expand purchasing options for SNAP consumers. 

By Catherine Douglas Moran • March 9, 2023

UNFI’s profits plunge as sales hit a record

The grocery retailer and wholesaler has slashed its outlook for fiscal year 2023 and is implementing a “transformation agenda” to improve its performance, CEO Sandy Douglas said during an earnings call Wednesday.

By Sam Silverstein • March 8, 2023