From grocery aisles to gig apps, the biggest names in commerce are converging on the same conclusion: Grocery has grown into the ultimate testbed for convenience, loyalty, and AI-driven efficiency.

• Grocery retail sales will grow 4.3% this year to reach $1.61 trillion, according to an EMARKETER October 2025 forecast.

Recent earnings calls from Amazon, DoorDash, Uber, and Albertsons this quarter point to an industry shifting from volume growth to precision execution, where data, delivery, and differentiation define who wins the next basket.

Grocery as a platform

Amazon, Uber, and DoorDash all framed grocery as a platform-scale business that stretches beyond traditional delivery.

"We continue to make it easier for customers to order low-priced perishable groceries from Amazon, and customers in more than 1,000 cities and towns now can shop fresh groceries alongside millions of Amazon.com products with free same-day delivery," said Amazon CEO Andy Jassy on their Q3 earnings call. "This is a game changer for customers who can now order milk alongside electronics, check out with one card, and have everything delivered to their doorstep within hours."

• Over half (50.2%) of US digital buyers purchase food and beverage products from Amazon, including from AmazonFresh and Whole Foods, according to a February 2025 survey from EMARKETER and Bizrate Insights.

On Uber's earnings call, CEO Dara Khosrowshahi highlighted how the company’s grocery and retail segment “is now at an approximately $12 billion gross bookings run rate and growing significantly faster than restaurant delivery.”

Uber's grocery business has spiked in recent years as consumers grow more comfortable using the ride share app for delivery. Uber's grocery sales will grow 47.2% in 2025 to reach $5.97 billion, according to our October 2025 forecast.

Grocery is evolving into a connective tissue linking mobility, meals, and last-mile logistics. Retailers should expect continued competition from tech-driven platforms that treat grocery as part of a larger on-demand ecosystem rather than a stand-alone retail sector.

AI, automation, and the intelligent storefront

For many retailers, technology is increasingly the backbone of grocery productivity.

"We are actively deploying AI agents to enhance core business functions," said Albertsons CEO Susan Morris on their earnings call last month, "including cogeneration, price and promotion, personalization, and customer care and experience, like Ask AI. Unlocking new levels of speed, precision, and productivity."

We forecast that Albertsons Companies grocery ecommerce sales will rise 18.5% this year to $11.24 billion. And they hope that their Ask AI tool will continue to enable conversational product discovery.

"Customers no longer need to know exactly what they're looking for in our aisles or online," said Morris. "Ask AI will offer tailored ideas and guide them to relevant products."

Amazon says automation is central to its grocery expansion, so it is applying AI at the infrastructure level, with regionalization and same-day facilities helping the company reduce delivery times and costs.

Amazon is "continuing to invest in infrastructure to speed up rural deliveries and serve more customers in more communities," said Jassy."We've already increased the number of rural communities with access to our same-day and next-day delivery by 60%, reaching roughly half of the total communities we plan to expand to by the end of the year."

Local strength, national scale

While tech giants invest in infrastructure, Albertsons’ “locally great and nationally strong” model shows that regional familiarity remains a critical edge.

"Our banners…are not just names on storefronts. They're trusted brands. Deeply woven into the fabric of the communities that we serve," said Morris. "For decades, they've stood for convenience, quality, care, and connection. And they continue to earn that trust every day."

DoorDash is taking a complementary approach by expanding partnerships with regional grocers, blending national logistics with local inventory.

"That's the whole point of why DoorDash exists, to connect every local business to every local consumer," said Tony Xu, DoorDash CEO, on their earnings call. "If we can do that, we're going to grow the GDP of those cities and create more jobs for everybody and make better neighborhoods and all the good stuff that you'd want to see inside the city that you live in."

The next competitive edge won’t come from square footage or delivery speed alone, but from how seamlessly retailers merge digital precision with human connection. The grocery race is now about being smartest and winning retailers will blend automation with empathy and data with local depth.

This article was prepared with the assistance of generative AI tools to support content organization, summarization, and drafting. All AI-generated contributions have been reviewed, fact-checked, and verified for accuracy and originality by EMARKETER editors. Any recommendations reflect EMARKETER’s research and human judgment.

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