Everyone was talking about these three things at Groceryshop

Over three packed days in Las Vegas, Groceryshop speakers covered a lot of ground, from consolidation to consumer loyalty, but three topics were clearly top of mind for those at the show. Here’s what everyone was talking about.

AI

It will come as a surprise to no one that the show was buzzing about applications for AI in grocery, particularly generative AI (we already told you about the new trend of brands naming their ChatGPT programs, and how Instacart is using AI).

Surabhi Pokhriyal, chief digital growth officer at Church & Dwight, noted the tech has many applications across sales and marketing, like the creation of product detail pages for e-commerce, while Veeral Shah, chief digital and e-commerce officer at Nestlé USA, noted that the food giant is using it for things like writing job descriptions and predicting when stores will be out of stock of its product.

But while AI is “going to be one of the biggest technological advancements of our lifetime,” Shah noted that most brands are feeling a similar pressure that they’re “getting left behind” and warned brands to be wary.

“I always say, ‘Read both sides of the coin,’” he said. “No question that there are things that generative AI can solve and you absolutely have to be all over it. But really be stewards of what you’re doing, read, learn both sides to understand and then help your organizations understand and make the best decisions.”

Retail media networks

Nearly every retailer or brand that took the stage had something to say about retail media. Grocery chain Hy-Vee even introduced its new retail media network, Hy-Vee Red Media, ahead of the show. Hy-vee president Donna Tweeten noted that she didn’t know “how you will exist in the future without” participating in the evolving B2B space.

Tweeten referenced a recent interview with Zenith Media CEO Lauren Hanrahan, who noted that the WGA and SAG strikes will delay fall TV lineups, leading to a drop in viewership, and impacting media buying and planning. Tweeten said this could drive more advertising to retail media networks. “We’re structuring our retail media networks to not just compete with Walmart Connect, or Albertsons or Kroger or whatnot—we’ve got to compete with true media networks.”

But there’s still work to be done to improve retail media networks. Ahold Delhaize USA CEO JJ Fleeman, who said the grocery giant’s digital media income is up 70% year over year, noted that “standardization of measurement” will be an important topic for the industry.

“It’s important that we not think about these as separate from our business at the end of the day,” he said. “If we’re doing retail media, well, we’re giving our CPGs a better return on their investment, and we’re giving our customers a better shopping experience by providing him or her with the products that they’re looking for.”

CPGs echoed this sentiment. In a panel on brands’ perspectives on retail media strategies, Jie Cheng, VP and global head of digital commerce at Mondelez, noted a need for standardized reporting metrics, so brands can better determine their return on ad spend. Simon Miles, VP of global omnichannel commercial strategy at The Coca-Cola Company, noted there’s a need for “transparency and trust” between brands and retailers, as well as an “alignment of objectives.”

Unified commerce

Mentions of “unified commerce,” which is apparently the new way to say “omnichannel,” weaved their way into conversations about the above topics and beyond.

While brands and retailers have been establishing omnichannel businesses for years, many shared fresh examples of how they’re ~unifying~ online and brick-and-mortar shopping experiences.

Steve Henig, chief customer officer at ShopRite-owner Wakefern, noted its ShopRite uses past purchases to help shoppers build their shopping lists and once they’re made, organizes the lists by in-store aisle. Similarly, Instacart’s COO Asha Sharma shared shoppers can build a grocery shopping list via Instacart and connect it to their Caper Cart in store, which will then instruct them on where to go.

On the brand side, Manish Sharma, VP and GM omnicommerce at The Kellogg Company, noted the importance of the “omni experience” when introducing new products, like its Cheez-it Puffs last year. He said the company built awareness around the products through online channels, and replicated those narratives in stores with in-store sampling.

“This connected commerce, omnicommerce, is a journey because the space is evolving and evolving very fast. And none of us know exactly what the playbook is,” he said. “We don’t have a GPS, but we have a compass. And the compass is consumer centricity and that guides us towards that destination.”