Most retail media activations occur on retailers’ owned digital channels, but increasingly retailers are also enabling their brand partners to reach audiences via social media, connected TV, and search engine platforms. CPGs are also looking to extend retail media campaigns into physical stores, given the large percentage of grocery transactions that still happen offline. Through a series of case studies, three brand executives will walk through their successful executions of offsite and in-store retail media. They will share the results delivered and lessons learned.

The end of third-party cookies hasn't fully arrived, but smart organizations are already turning to alternative data sources such as zero- and first-party data, clean rooms, and unstructured information from social media and customer reviews. Once they have collected the data, retailers are then challenged with turning their troves of customer information into action. In this session, three brand and retail executives will present short case studies illustrating how they use data and consumer insights to develop new products, build smarter marketing campaigns, and deliver innovative shopping experiences. The case studies will be followed by a panel discussing the tools needed to parse through data and advice on how others can build data-driven strategies and tactics.

Inflation is cooling and prices are stabilizing or even starting to dip in some categories. However, retail theft, a tight labor market, pending mergers, and investment in grocery from adjacent retail sectors create a continuously changing environment for grocers and CPGs. In this session, leading analysts will share new research on the biggest internal and external forces shaping grocery. They will also outline the strategies, tactics, and technologies retailers and brands must consider to thrive despite a challenging economic climate.

Startup pitch returns with a fresh batch of innovative, early-stage technology startups focused on helping grocery retailers and CPG manufacturers. The competition kicks off with 12 Founders/CEOs presenting their solutions to judges and the Groceryshop audience. Attendees and judges will rate each company to determine which six presenters advance to our final round. Finalists then take the stage a second time where they are asked tough and pointed questions about their businesses, and ultimately, the judges and audience crown two winners.

Retail media represents one-fifth of digital ad spending globally, making it a leading and fast-evolving digital ad vertical. As brands scale their retail media investments and begin to use the channel for upper-funnel marketing, they must also evolve the structure of their teams and tighten their cross-functional relationships with brand marketing, sales, and other internal groups. Effective collaboration with media agencies and retailers is also crucial in helping brands execute impactful and successful campaigns. In this session, three CPG executives will discuss the evolution of their retail media operations. They will also share strategies and best practices for syncing with internal teams and external partners.

Rising prices and low consumer confidence have significantly impacted consumer behavior in grocery, resulting in a shift to private label brands, increased eating at home, and selective spending. Despite their budget-conscious habits, consumers have also expressed that they will pay more for convenience, sustainable products, healthy foods, and personalized shopping experiences. The presentations in this session feature three analysts unveiling brand-new research unlocking the complexities of today's consumers. Speakers will highlight consumer trends retailers and brands must watch closely and share how best to meet consumers' growing needs and demands. One presentation will also dissect disparities between what shoppers share as their stated preferences versus what their purchasing behavior shows they actually do.

Continued grocery supply chain disruptions combined with volatile consumer demand have encouraged companies to adjust their supplier networks, adopt AI and predictive analytics, and partner with suppliers and customers to gain more visibility upstream and downstream. However, manufacturers and retailers also face significant cost pressures, and the strategies that foster agility can sometimes conflict with the drive to be more efficient. This track keynote features a senior executive who will address the tactics and technologies they are implementing to foster supply chain flexibility while cutting costs. They will highlight initiatives that keep shelves stocked, deliver operational efficiencies, and contribute to their organization’s sustainability goals.

Startup pitch returns with a fresh batch of innovative, early-stage technology startups focused on helping grocery retailers and CPG manufacturers. The competition kicks off with 12 Founders/CEOs presenting their solutions to judges and the Groceryshop audience. Attendees and judges will rate each company to determine which six presenters advance to our final round. Finalists then take the stage a second time where they are asked tough and pointed questions about their businesses, and ultimately, the judges and audience crown two winners.

Hundreds of retail media networks exist globally, a number that will continue to grow as more retailers seize on RMNs’ ability to unlock new revenue and help brands deliver personalized marketing. Retailers launching and scaling RMNs must optimize their offerings to deliver value to brands, while also ensuring the shopping experience remains seamless. In this session, an industry analyst will deliver a 10-minute presentation on the latest retail media capabilities and enhancements retailers should implement to help their networks stand out. The presentation will be followed by a panel conversation with retailers and CPGs on the data, reporting, and other services brands value most from retail media networks. The panelists will also discuss which capabilities are impactful and differentiating, versus which are overblown.

From delivery within an hour to scheduled in-store pickups, today’s consumers expect retailers to provide multiple ways to purchase and receive groceries, adapted to fit their schedules. Meeting these expectations requires retailers to make tough decisions on partnering with a last-mile delivery platform or handling ecommerce in-house, fulfilling from in-store or using a fulfillment center, and fully automating picking or deploying tech-enabled associates. This session begins with an industry analyst providing new research on retailers’ ecommerce efforts and a framework for optimizing fulfillment and delivery. Following the presentation, retailers and brands will discuss their e-commerce and last-mile strategies and technology's role in making fulfillment and delivery both convenient and efficient.

Startup pitch returns with a fresh batch of innovative, early-stage technology startups focused on helping grocery retailers and CPG manufacturers. The competition kicks off with 12 Founders/CEOs presenting their solutions to judges and the Groceryshop audience. Attendees and judges will rate each company to determine which six presenters advance to our final round. Finalists then take the stage a second time where they are asked tough and pointed questions about their businesses, and ultimately, the judges and audience crown two winners.

Consumers expect a continuous yet streamlined grocery experience where they can begin their journey digitally via websites, mobile apps, or marketplaces, and if they want, complete purchases in-store. Brands driving trial and purchase of products can enable seamless and frictionless shopping by developing 360 marketing campaigns including shoppable video, add-to-cart solutions, QR codes, mobile experiences, and other technologies that can move shoppers quickly from consideration to purchase. This session will feature leaders from three companies that have found innovative ways to curate a seamless shopping journey for their customers. They'll each present a case study guiding the audience through the tactics and strategies they've adopted and results delivered.

Nearly three-fourths of all retailers plan to implement generative AI solutions this year. The technology's grocery and CPG applications include internal chatbots to unlock new consumer insights, AI-generated copy and images for marketing and product detail pages, and tools and integrations assisting shoppers with search and discovery. Through a series of case study presentations, this session spotlights organizations that have pioneered generative AI and have scaled applications beyond experimental projects. Executives will describe their implementations and share how the technology is driving significant business benefits.

Regions such as Latin America and Southeast Asia are seeing sizable growth in online grocery due to growing internet penetration, increased smartphone usage, and other major changes in consumer behavior. Competition in these markets is fierce with traditional grocers, marketplaces, on-demand delivery platforms, and super apps investing in convenient and modern grocery shopping experiences. In this research session, three analysts will provide an in-depth look into grocery's evolution in emerging markets and share insights and learnings applicable to grocers around the world.

In addition to building the right teams and crafting smart omnichannel strategies, a unified retail experience requires savvy technology investments. With a plethora of solutions to consider, it can be challenging to determine which vendors and offerings are mission-critical, versus which aren’t as vital. Sharing insights from industry benchmarking, a senior analyst will highlight which capabilities matter most and share a framework for adopting technologies that power next-generation unified commerce. The session continues with a conversation with retailers who are both buying and building digital tools to deliver a continuous shopping experience.

Since the vast majority of grocery purchases occur in-store, grocers have strong incentives to bring technology and efficiency to physical retail. In addition to enhancing shopping journeys, AI can also significantly improve inventory management, shopper analytics, merchandising, loss prevention, and task management for associates. In a series of fireside chats, retailers will discuss using AI to optimize stores and the integrations and applications most likely to deliver sizable results quickly.

Across the globe, grocers and brands are embracing technology and strategies that deliver better experiences for shoppers. Asia-Pacific grocery leaders have embraced social shopping, Latin America is fast growing its ecommerce and last-mile delivery offerings, and in Europe, many retailers are finding success with autonomous stores. In this session, retail executives from global markets will share how they are reimagining grocery.

One of retail media’s biggest draws is using retailers’ first-party data to reach targeted audiences and deliver personalized marketing. Four founders/CEOs of technology vendors will briefly present strategies and solutions that help retailers and brands tailor messaging to the right consumers through retail media and digital marketing channels. The four presenters will then participate in a panel discussion focused on the future of data and personalization in grocery marketing.

Beyond new digital tools and smart technology investments, retailers and brands must examine their organizational structures and embrace new ways of working to keep up with consumers’ changing expectations. In this session, grocery and CPG executives will address major internal changes their organizations have made to facilitate delivering a unified shopping experience to the shopper. Panelists will discuss strategies for fostering collaboration across the organization, setting up and building the right teams, and overcoming internal roadblocks that hinder digital transformation.

Ad-hoc adoption of AI can deliver value for a team or division, but to truly unlock the technology’s potential, organizations are looking holistically to build the infrastructure and data foundation that can support AI and ML applications across an entire company. These foundational moves can include launching centers of excellence, bolstering data science and AI teams, and taking steps to clean and aggregate data. In this panel, retailer and brand executives will discuss the practices they’ve implemented to leverage AI. With generative AI heightening risks of misinformation and privacy concerns, the speakers will also address the guardrails they've implemented for scaled AI use across their organizations.

With the rise of online grocery, consumers have come to expect the ability to order and receive their groceries whenever and wherever they want. However, ecommerce operational costs and rising food prices make it challenging to provide grocery services that are both convenient and affordable. In this panel, two companies will share how their organizations offer convenient shopping options while also allowing shoppers to save money. The session will also unpack how organizations can sustain margins and still meet the needs of their budget-conscious and convenience-seeking shoppers.

Grocers and CPGs today are laser-focused on technology that helps reduce operational costs. In this session, four founders/CEOs building technologies for retailers and brands will share solutions that help boost store productivity, relieve employees, and streamline the production, fulfillment, and delivery of goods. These startup leaders will then have a panel conversation on the future of tech-enabled stores and digitized supply chains.

Out-of-stock and overstocked products collectively cost retailers $2 trillion globally. To improve inventory management, grocers and CPGs are transitioning from reliance on historical data, static frameworks, and a seasonal cadence to using real-time shopper insights, demand-sensing technology, and agile forecasting models. This session will feature three presenters from retailers and manufacturers, who will share the innovative tools and strategies they are implementing to keep products well stocked. They will also discuss how modern demand forecasting in combination with electronic shelf labels and other technologies can drive more dynamic pricing.

From autonomous stores to biometric payments to enhanced self-checkout, retailers are testing technologies that simplify in-store shopping for consumers and allow associates to focus on high-value tasks. However, while some are scaling frictionless store technologies, others are hesitating or removing the tech due to concerns around shrink and privacy, and negative shopper sentiment. This session will feature an analyst presentation providing a framework for how to consider, evaluate, and integrate new checkout solutions. The presentation will be followed by a panel where retailers debate the pros and cons of frictionless stores and share challenges and success stories.

Generative AI, virtual and augmented environments, shoppable video, and computer vision are just a few of the technologies providing richer, more inspiring ways for grocers and CPG organizations to interact with consumers. Each will play a role in reshaping how people shop for groceries, both online and in-store. This session will feature four tech company founders and CEOs, who will showcase solutions that significantly enhance shopping experiences. They'll briefly present, then join a panel to discuss how technology is reshaping the shopping journey.

Consumers desire products that speak directly and personally to their needs, desires, and interests, and many brands are responding to this by transforming their assortment and the product stories they tell. Recently, however, brands have faced a shifting risk/reward calculus where some efforts to be more inclusive are misperceived as alienating to some shoppers. In this session, three executives from top global brands will discuss how they are navigating these issues to successfully create inclusive products, engage with diverse audiences, and satisfy shoppers.

Well-executed personalization efforts can engage and delight customers throughout the shopping journey. New tools abound to enhance individual touchpoints, with generative AI's ability to customize messaging at scale seen as a standout nascent solution. In this session, an industry expert will present research and tactical recommendations on how firms can successfully leverage personalization across customer touchpoints. Following the presentation, grocery leaders will participate in a panel conversation sharing their holistic approaches to personalization.

Inflation, which has only recently begun easing, and ecommerce operational costs have placed a tighter squeeze on margins and revenue for today’s grocery and CPG organizations. In a series of fireside chats, retail and brand executives will offer advice on overcoming industry headwinds and unlocking transformational growth across sales channels. This session will discuss new capabilities that lift volumes and same-store sales, tactics that boost ecommerce across DTC and marketplaces, and winning approaches to retail media that drive alternative revenue for retailers and incremental sales for brands.

Whether seeking budget-friendly options or products that align with their values, today's consumers are showing more willingness to switch brands. Loyalty, which used to come from inertia and mass marketing, must today be earned and actively cultivated. Brands building loyal consumer bases pay close attention to shopper sentiment, showcase authenticity and truthfulness in their marketing, are transparent about their products and services, and excel at customer service. This Track Keynote will feature a senior retail or brand executive sharing how their company forges genuine connections with consumers, executes effective brand marketing strategies, and keeps consumers' trust.

Whether seeking budget-friendly options or products that align with their values, today's consumers are showing more willingness to switch brands. Loyalty, which used to come from inertia and mass marketing, must today be earned and actively cultivated. Brands building loyal consumer bases pay close attention to shopper sentiment, showcase authenticity and truthfulness in their marketing, are transparent about their products and services, and excel at customer service. This panel will feature senior retail and brand executives sharing how their companies forge genuine connections with consumers, execute effective brand marketing strategies, and keep consumers' trust.

Although retailers and brands have access to more data than ever before, this information is typically spread across disparate, interoperable systems and exists in different parts of the organization. This session features an in-depth analyst presentation offering best practices for unifying data and technology. Following this, retail and CPG leaders will take part in a panel conversation sharing how they are deploying more modern technology stacks and transforming their organizations' data and tech infrastructures.

While adopting the right technology and improving collaboration across internal teams can unlock efficiencies and growth, some traditional organizations still cling to legacy IT systems and siloed structures. In this session, senior technology leaders from retailers and brands will discuss the steps necessary to bring an innovation mindset to long-standing businesses hesitant to change. They will also share practices they’ve adopted to test, pilot, and scale technology quickly.

Across retail, organizations are collecting and analyzing consumer data to make smarter business decisions and enhance shopping experiences. Technology such as geo-location have unlocked new ways to monitor shopper behavior, understand foot traffic patterns, and help retailers and brands better engage with their customers. In this session, three technology and analytics platforms with troves of consumer and shopper data will share brand new insights on the grocery industry and shopping habits, unlocked by their unique methodologies. The three companies will share exclusive research and brand new research about the grocery industry, rather than about their platforms or technologies.

As media consumption shifts from traditional TV viewing to digital channels such as social, connected TV, and gaming, marketers must innovate and find creative ways to interact with consumers. Thanks to tools like AI and shoppable video, technology is helping brands reach their target audiences and quickly move shoppers from consideration to purchase. This session will feature detailed case studies from brand and retail executives finding success connecting with consumers on new platforms and using these emerging channels to drive commerce. This engaging session will also provide real-world examples of campaigns that have delighted shoppers and delivered measurable results.

Today's relationships between brands and retailers are dynamic and constantly in flux. Brands are finding new ways to grow their shelf visibility within crowded categories by bringing their omnichannel data and learnings from retail media efforts to planning conversations. As well as buyers of goods, retailers are also embracing their new role as sellers of data and audiences. Many are also leaning into private label products, competing with their best brand partners. In this session, three senior leaders at the forefront of this transformation will each present a case study of a unique brand-retailer partnership, dissecting what worked, what they learned, and what they'll continue in the future.

Merchandising has always been both an art and a science, but in today's world, successful retailers must meld data, customer insights, and cross-functional collaboration with merchants' honed experience and intuition. Agile merchandising adapts to rapidly-shifting customer preferences, uncertainties around supply and demand, and the complexities of the unified customer journey. In this session, retailers share how they are pivoting their assortment as consumer sentiment around pricing shifts and social media-driven micro-trends impact what products customers demand on shelves. Speakers will also discuss their strategies for owned brands and partnering with local and diverse suppliers. 

From retail media to ecommerce fulfillment to generative AI, three analysts will provide rapid-fire takes on the trends shaping grocery and offer their informed opinions on what’s next. Groceryshop's popular rapid-fire format ensures maximum insights-per-minute and forces our speakers to think on their feet and not equivocate.

In the direct-to-consumer (DTC) heyday, wholesale partnerships were viewed as ineffective and obsolete for emerging brands. Today, however, the wholesale approach is once again an essential element of brand success. Both digitally native and legacy brands are reinvesting in retailer partnerships to protect against rising advertising costs and tap into existing customer bases. Meanwhile, marketplaces offer an effective third way for many brands to build awareness and market share. In this session, an industry expert will offer a framework to help CPGs create a balanced and bespoke strategy, and brand executives will share how they're evaluating their sales channels in 2024 and beyond.

Online grocery penetration has surpassed 10 percent in countries such as the US, UK and South Korea; and in categories such as US pet food, ecommerce accounts for nearly 35% of sales. Despite becoming a more established channel, retailers struggle with the high operational costs required to support ecommerce. In this session, retailers and brands will share inventive ways to incentivize online grocery shopping, improve operational efficiencies, and partner with suppliers and advertisers to offset costs. The discussion will also include best practices for managing ecommerce P&Ls.

Groceryshop's 2024 agenda is packed with insights and inspiration. With 50+ sessions and 165 speakers across three jam-packed days of content, no one attendee can see everything. To catch you up on what you might have missed–and tie it all together–Groceryshop’s Content team will highlight the most compelling insights shared by industry executives on and off stage, and dig into the most important themes and topics covered at this year’s event. Recorded as a live podcast in our rapid-fire style, it's a fun, high-energy, and insight-laden way to finish your Groceryshop.