Introduction

Coresight Research is a research partner of Groceryshop 2025, which is taking place during September 28–October 1 at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas, Nevada. Groceryshop is an annual conference that brings together global retailers, brands and technology leaders to discuss trends, innovations and strategies shaping the future of grocery and CPG.

The sessions at Groceryshop 2025 are categorized into four major themes, which we presented in our guide to the event:

• Efficient and AI-Powered Grocery Operations
• Understanding, Captivating and Retaining Shoppers
• The Next Frontier for Retail Media (and New Revenue Streams)
• Building Unified and Future-Ready Organizations

In this report, we present key insights from the first day of Groceryshop 2025, which mainly covered the themes of Efficient and AI-Powered Grocery Operations and Understanding, Captivating and Retaining Shoppers.

Groceryshop 2025 Day One: Coresight Research Insights

1. Efficient and AI-Powered Grocery Operations

The Rise of GenAI in Search and Discovery

GenAI is fundamentally changing the way products are discovered and purchased. Shoppers are now finding products directly inside AI platforms such as ChatGPT and Perplexity instead of clicking through websites. To win, brands need to make sure AI systems can easily “read” and use their content. This means creating clear, consistent product information across all channels and feeding that directly into AI models.

Elena MacGurn, SVP, Search, Digitas, described how consumer journeys are no longer linear or confined to specific channels. Instead, AI-powered search engines now evaluate signals across commerce, social, search and more to determine which brands surface in AI-native search platforms such as Perplexity and ChatGPT. Importantly, whether a brand “wins or loses” is increasingly decided before a shopper clicks on a website or visits a store.

MacGurn explained that AI users are highly qualified, with AI-driven website visits converting at a rate 23 times higher than traditional search. This makes AI search one of the most powerful new sources of engagement and conversion for retailers and brands. She emphasized that traditional keyword optimization is no longer sufficient; the future requires creating a consistent, contextual and multi-channel content ecosystem that AI systems can ingest. This includes not only blogs and product detail pages, but also comparison pages, occasion-driven content and direct syndication of product data to large language models (LLMs).

Prasanna Kumar, Global Digital Commerce Experience Director, Diageo, brought these concepts to life by sharing real-world applications. He framed AI as “the new shelf”—the space where consumers now discover and decide on products. To adapt, Diageo is experimenting with how different product descriptions, signals and contextual content affect brand visibility across AI platforms, such as Gemini and ChatGPT. The company is also investing in occasion-led content strategies, where discovery is tied to consumer intent and context (for example, what to drink for certain events or celebrations).

Measurement has also evolved. Diageo now tracks share of shelf within AI answers, referrals from AI platforms to retailers, and incremental conversions from AI-driven traffic. With AI already accounting for a significant portion of traffic—MacGurn cited that 20% of Walmart’s referrals now come from AI platforms—these new metrics are critical for understanding performance. Kumar further highlighted the need for strong cross-team collaboration across media, retail media and digital commerce teams, using shared scorecards and syndication strategies to align signals across all touchpoints.

Looking forward, both speakers stressed that future-proofing requires brands to think like AI engines themselves. Feeding LLMs with structured product content and credible, authentic voices will be essential to establishing a brand presence in an AI-driven discovery landscape.

Elena MacGurn, SVP, Search, Digitas (Left); and Prasanna Kumar, Global Digital Commerce Experience Director, Diageo (Right)
Source: Groceryshop

 

Building for Agentic AI and Data Readiness

The transition to agentic AI will only succeed if enterprises solve their foundational data challenges. Retailers must shift from siloed systems to real-time, structured and trusted data pipelines that AI agents can act on. This transformation is as much a cultural change as a technical one—requiring new roles, new processes and greater cross-team collaboration to ensure data can be consistently trusted and scaled across the enterprise.

Jason Cottrell, CEO & Founder, Orium, explained that AI agents should be thought of not as “lone geniuses” but as teams of employees—each one able to run different business functions such as inventory planning, marketing execution or replenishment. For example, an inventory agent might pull in warehouse data, apply replenishment rules and even factor in weather forecasts before making supply decisions. Cottrell shared an “agent framework” made up of several elements: a core agent engine (the “brains” of the system), memory and context (customer and supply chain data), decision logic (rules and reasoning), operational oversight (supervision and feedback loops), guardrails (for safety and trust) and application programming interface (API) integration with workflows like order management systems (OMS) and enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems.

He suggested that if a task is repeated three times, it should be automated. He stressed companies need to start capturing their own decision-making processes in structured ways (for example, transcripts, decision logs), so agents can learn from them just as employees do.

Brian Bell, VP, Strategy & Planning, Church & Dwight, added that poor data quality is the single biggest risk for AI adoption. He cited research showing that as many as 95% of AI projects underperform because enterprises lack clean, trusted and usable data. Bell warned that companies risk what he called “work slop”—a hidden productivity drain caused by employees constantly cleaning up unstructured data before AI systems can use it. To address this, he proposed creating new roles such as data librarians—people dedicated to curating and maintaining enterprise data so agents can access it reliably.

Bell also noted that many enterprises are still unsure who should “own” agentic AI. Polling during the session revealed that 42% of attendees believe it should be managed by a new cross-functional AI team, ideally reporting into the CIO, CTO or CEO. He cautioned against “AI sprawl,” where experiments proliferate without governance, leading to wasted effort and inconsistent results.

Both speakers agreed that readiness for agentic AI requires more than technology investment. Companies need to build new architectures as a foundation, restructure data and context so agents can use it, shift staff mindsets from fear to excitement and deliberately redesign processes rather than letting them evolve by accident.

Jason Cottrell, CEO & Founder, Orium
Source: Groceryshop

 

Rapid AI Applications in Commerce, Supply Chain and Media

AI is already helping companies develop products faster, shorten supply chains and personalize marketing. Yet alongside these opportunities are risks—hallucinations, governance gaps and data quality issues.

Marisa Perez, SVP, Digital Commerce, PepsiCo, described how AI is being applied to product development. By simulating consumer insights, testing packaging variations in virtual environments and running faster iterations, PepsiCo has been able to accelerate development timelines significantly. Perez emphasized that this process not only drives efficiency but also makes innovation “more fun,” encouraging teams to embrace rapid experimentation, fast failures and quick pivots. She also pointed to personalization as a major growth area, sharing how Gatorade is experimenting with AI-driven, custom-designed bottles—an example of how shoppers’ desire for unique, personalized products is shaping marketing and product strategy.

Manuel Queiroz, Partner, Bright Pixel Capital, discussed how AI is making supply chains and procurement more efficient. He explained that AI is helping companies cut time-to-market by as much as 50% by using synthetic data to simulate customer feedback and by integrating platforms across sourcing, spend optimization and demand sensing. Queiroz also touched on procurement automation, noting that large organizations with long tails of suppliers are beginning to test agent-based negotiation systems. While humans will remain in the loop for sensitive supplier relationships, AI is already handling much of the “heavy lifting” in these processes.

Lauren Sanvidge, Executive Director, Head of Commerce, PHD Media, described how AI is changing personalization in media. Gen Z and millennials are treating GenAI as a conversational partner—using polite, human-like language (“please” and “thank you”) and expecting personalized responses. Sanvidge noted this behavior is driving a massive opportunity for AI-driven personalization in retail media, where brands can tailor content, offers and creative to individual consumers in real time. However, she cautioned that hallucinations remain a serious issue, especially when applying AI to deep datasets. Her team has tested bespoke LLMs and dummy data, but hallucinations persist, underscoring the need for stricter governance and oversight.

The panel also raised challenges around data quality. Perez said teams spend huge amounts of time cleaning data because bad inputs lead to bad results. Sanvidge also raised concerns about data privacy, noting that many brands are starting to build their own private AI systems to reduce risk. Still, the pace of adoption is moving faster than the creation of clear rules or safeguards.

The speakers concluded with a provocative thought: as AI agents proliferate across retail, we are moving toward a world where brands may increasingly create content for machines rather than humans—optimizing how their products show up in AI-powered search and recommendation systems. This future, while exciting, makes the need for clean data, brand safety standards and governance more urgent than ever.

Marisa Perez, SVP, Digital Commerce, PepsiCo
Source: Groceryshop

 

Automation and AI Driving Smarter Fulfillment

The future of fulfillment is about flexibility—balancing immediacy, cost efficiency and consumer expectations. Shoppers want both speed and choice, which means no single model will win. Companies are turning to AI and robotics to lower costs, predict demand and personalize the experience. The winners will be those who can offer many options—on-demand delivery, scheduled delivery, store pickup and automated fulfillment.

Susan Anderson, Global Head of Delivery, Uber, explained how Uber is expanding beyond restaurants into grocery and general retail. In just the last year, Uber added over 1,000 retailers worldwide and now powers 50,000 storefronts in the US, with Aldi as the newest partner. Unlike delivery-only competitors, Uber’s advantage lies in its ability to combine both rides and deliveries. For example, Walmart customers use Uber not just for last-mile delivery but also for rides to the stores.

Anderson also explained how Uber is using AI to make shopping more personal. Features like “freshness guarantees” ensure quality in grocery orders, while personalized carousels help shoppers discover relevant items for holidays, events and last-minute gifting. Valentine’s Day, for instance, was Uber Eats’ biggest day ever, with 150,000 flower deliveries—most after 11 p.m.—underscoring how AI-driven merchandising can anticipate and serve urgent, time-sensitive needs. Uber is also testing deeper personalization based on customer history, time of day and occasion (for example, “back-to-school” or “weeknight dinners”). Anderson framed Uber as a “super-app in the making,” where ride-hailing, grocery, gifting and retail all connect in one ecosystem.

Tim Steiner, CEO of Ocado, explained how automation is helping grocers make online shopping profitable. Large automated warehouses are still the cheapest way to handle scheduled deliveries, but they are expensive if not fully used. Ocado has developed smaller automated centers that can break even at much lower sales volumes. Advances in robotics, such as picker robots that can operate alongside box-moving robots, are enabling more efficient micro-fulfillment and reducing space requirements.

Steiner pointed out that shoppers’ needs vary by country. In the UK, 95% of online grocery orders are delivered to the home, while in France, 90% are pickup. Customers do not want slower service, but they do not always need instant delivery either—sometimes they prefer lower prices or bigger baskets. That means retailers must offer a mix of fast same-day services and cheaper scheduled deliveries. Ocado’s technology supports all these models, from picking in-store to dark stores to fully automated warehouses.

AI plays a big role in Ocado’s operations. It helps forecast demand, schedule workers, optimize delivery windows and manage costs. With labor and delivery costs rising, Steiner noted automation and AI will be essential to meeting consumer expectations while keeping costs down.

Susan Anderson, Global Head of Delivery, Uber (Left); and Jordan Berke, CEO & Founder, TOMORROW (Interviewer)
Source: Groceryshop

 

2. Understanding, Captivating and Retaining Shoppers

Cautious Consumers and the Rise of Value-Driven Shopping

Shoppers are more cautious and price-conscious than ever. Inflation, higher living costs and regulatory changes are forcing consumers to rethink how and where they shop. Many are trading down to private labels, seeking more deals and moving their spending online or into social commerce channels. Retailers that can respond quickly with the right value propositions—through pricing, promotions and private brands—will be best placed to capture loyalty in this environment.

Jennie Bell, Managing Director, Snacks & Beverages, NielsenIQ, presented research showing just how much consumer behavior has shifted. Since 2021, grocery prices have increased by 28.5%, and nearly three-quarters of shoppers (73%) say they feel the impact of these rising costs. As a result, 50% of shoppers are seeking deals more often, with coupon use rising and trade-down behavior accelerating.

Private label products are becoming a clear winner in this shift. Bell explained that private label share, with growth rates (5.1%) more than double those of national brands (2.3%). Retailers are no longer just positioning private labels as budget options—they are expanding into premium ranges and creating strong brand portfolios to cover both value and quality segments. This allows retailers to capture both ends of the cautious consumer spectrum: those who want low prices and those who want affordable premium alternatives.

At the same time, shopping habits are shifting across channels. Online sales are up 15% year-over-year, with 1.2 billion units—worth $4.7 billion—moving away from brick-and-mortar stores into digital channels. This trend is especially strong in categories such as general merchandise, baby and health and beauty, which are seeing double-digit online growth. Social commerce has emerged as a powerful force in this transition. TikTok Shop, for example, generated nearly $6 billion in sales, with categories like snacks, beverages and health products up 100% year over year and each category averaging $50 million–$100 million in sales. Bell summed up that “digital is at the heart of every consumer decision,” underscoring the need for retailers and brands to adapt to a consumer base that is more price-sensitive, convenience-driven and digitally engaged than ever.

Regulatory shifts, particularly around SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program), are also driving major behavioral changes. SNAP households, which make up a large segment of US grocery shoppers, are responding to reduced benefits in two ways: by reducing consumption (31% say they will buy less food, 26% say they will skip meals, 27% plan to cut non-essentials) and by changing habits (28% will shop at lower-cost retailers, 26% will buy more private labels and 26% will use coupons more often). Planned reductions in SNAP funding over the next decade are expected to further accelerate these shifts.

Bell concluded with the following key takeaways:

1. Consumer Behavior is Shifting Rapidly

• Shoppers are cautious, value-driven and adapting their buying habits due to economic pressures and regulatory changes.
• Retailers and manufacturers must respond quickly to remain relevant.

2. Omnichannel Strategies Are Essential for Growth

• E-commerce and digital channels are taking share from brick-and-mortar.
• Retail winners will be those who connect channels seamlessly and meet consumers wherever they shop.

3. Anticipate Emerging Trends Before They Disrupt

• Growth depends on spotting and acting early on shifts like health & wellness, private labels and digital commerce.
• Early movers will capture growth and avoid being left behind as the market evolves.

Jennie Bell, Managing Director, Snacks & Beverages, NielsenIQ
Source: Groceryshop

 

Balancing Health, Wellness and Affordability

Shoppers today want the best of both worlds—healthier products and affordable prices. Retailers are under pressure to deliver high wellness standards without compromising value. Whole Foods has adapted by holding firm on quality while expanding private labels, cutting prices and broadening promotions to appeal to a more cost-conscious shopper base.

Sonya Gafsi Oblisk, Chief Merchandising & Marketing Officer, Whole Foods, described how wellness has taken on new meaning. For many customers, it’s no longer just about avoiding unhealthy ingredients—it’s also about actively seeking out functional benefits. She broke this into two dynamics: the absence of negatives (removing additives, red dyes and other artificial ingredients) and the presence of positives (nutrient-dense foods, functional grains and protein-rich products). Whole Foods has banned more than 500 ingredients across its stores, and these standards are continuously reviewed in what Oblisk called an “always-on process.” She stressed that these strict standards are the “nucleus” and “north star” of the Whole Foods brand.

At the same time, price sensitivity has become one of the most important forces shaping shopper behavior. Oblisk called this “the largest and most impactful trend” the company has faced in recent years. Whole Foods has responded by cutting prices on more than 25% of its products, introducing deeper weekly discounts and lowering prices on over 1,000 private label SKUs. Its 365 brand, positioned as high-quality but affordable, has grown more than 50% in the past five years. Oblisk said the brand is central to making Whole Foods competitive with conventional grocers, while still staying true to its health and quality positioning.

Looking ahead, Oblisk pointed to several trends she expects to shape grocery: functional grains (like buckwheat and chickpeas) that combine nutrition with sustainability, artisanal and heritage products that bring authenticity and international culinary influences that add excitement. These, she noted, are part of the next wave of wellness and culinary inspiration that shoppers will expect retailers to provide—alongside competitive prices.

Democratizing Healthy Food Access

Access to healthy food remains uneven across the US, with affordability, geography and misinformation creating barriers for many households. Thrive Market is positioning itself as a mission-driven retailer that lowers these barriers by offering affordable natural and organic products, providing trusted guidance in a confusing food landscape and expanding access for low-income families.

Nick Green, CEO & Co-Founder, Thrive Market, explained that the company was founded in 2014 with a mission to make healthy eating both affordable and accessible. The idea came from recognizing that most Americans either lived too far from health-focused grocery stores or could not afford premium natural products. Today, Thrive operates on a membership model, similar to Costco, which allows it to price organic and natural products below the cost of many conventional equivalents. More than 20% of its sales come from private label, a key lever in keeping prices low while also driving brand loyalty.

Green emphasized that consumer interest in health is not a fad. Over the past decade, even through economic ups and downs, the desire to eat healthier has grown into what he called a “megatrend.” Thrive’s customers span geographies and demographics—half are based in the Midwest and Southeast, showing that healthy eating is no longer limited to coastal or urban markets.

AI plays a growing role in Thrive’s customer experience. The company uses it to personalize shopping journeys—filtering assortments based on dietary preferences, predicting replenishment needs and even suggesting products members might not have considered but are likely to want. Quizzes (for example, asking whether a member is gluten-free) combined with shopping data are used to build a 360-degree view of each customer, turning food shopping into a personalized lifestyle service rather than just replenishment.

Thrive is also tackling the issue of misinformation. Green pointed out that ultra-processed foods often make misleading health claims, and that consumers are overwhelmed by conflicting information online. Thrive positions itself as a trusted curator—using its data and standards to filter out products that do not meet its health criteria, and surfacing only those that align with its mission.

The company has been expanding access of healthy products for low-income households. After nearly a decade of lobbying the USDA, Thrive became one of the first retailers allowed to accept SNAP benefits online. This was a major breakthrough, as SNAP households comprise millions of US consumers but previously had limited options to buy healthy products online. Thrive also gives free memberships to families in need, further lowering the barrier to access.

Green described Thrive as both a retailer and a data company, using its insights not only to serve customers but also to help fast-growth, health-focused brands succeed. By spotting promising smaller brands early and introducing them to its membership base, Thrive helps accelerate the shift toward healthier products in the broader market.

Nick Green, CEO & Co-Founder, Thrive Market (Left); and Sarah Engel, President, January Digital (Interviewer)