We’ve said it before, and we’ll say it again. More tech at the grocery store is fine, but let’s make sure it actually solves the industry’s most urgent problem: the smell at the seafood counter.
Unfortunately for us, it appears America’s food retailers have other (much better) ideas.
AI-ron chefs
The industry spent 1.3% of its total sales, or $13B+, on technology investments in 2022, per Grocery Dive.
The numbers come from The Food Industry Association’s 74th annual report, which we’re gonna guess looks quite a lot different than its 4th — and probably even its 64th:
- A quarter of food retailers and over one-third of suppliers are now using AI to track and predict consumer interests and spending.
- Last year, 85% of retailers were trying new tech to improve customer experiences, up from 2021’s 73%, and 83% say they’ll increase their tech spending this year.
Where’s that money going?
Innovation in brick-and-mortar food retail has generally been hot — outside of grocery shopping with VR goggles, which thankfully has not.
- We’ve previously written about Instacart’s smart Caper Carts and e-ink price tags.
- Last fall, startup Swiftly raised $100m to grow its app-building service for groceries.
- Just last week, Amazon said it plans to bring palm scanning to all Whole Foods stores, which we will: a) definitely try out, and b) nervously laugh every time we do.
Topics:
Grocery
