Kroger Precision Marketing has added Snapchat to its retail media offerings, enabling advertisers to use Kroger’s first-party data to target consumers with Snap or Story ad campaigns.

Kroger plans to acquire Albertsons, a nearly $25 billion deal that will result in a retail media network capable of reaching 85 million US households, according to the company.

Here’s the bad news: Over half (56%) of consumers say they’re more likely to buy from a brand with a loyalty program even though only 36% redeem their rewards more than once a month, according to a study by Salesforce.

Few CPG brands are posting strong volume growth: But price hikes and shrinkflation are helping companies like Kraft Heinz, Coca-Cola, and Procter & Gamble generate strong earnings.

Among US adults, 16% pay for a Walmart+ membership. Those subscribers skew younger: 23% of 18- to 34-year-olds pay for the premium, versus just 10% of those ages 55 to 65.

Kroger and Albertsons look to merge: A deal would create a supermarket giant that would be better able to compete against Walmart.

Amazon’s Early Access Sale is primed for success: The event is expected to attract more shoppers—and spending—than ever before, despite competing sales from Target and Walmart.

The top five digital grocers in the US will capture 67.2% of the country’s grocery ecommerce sales in 2022. That figure will rise slightly over the next two years, with leaders Walmart Inc. and Amazon growing their shares by about 1 percentage point each.

Drizly is the latest company to roll out an ad network: The Uber-owned alcohol delivery service’s ad products may enable advertisers to run finely targeted multimedia campaigns.

Retailers look for more ways to monetize their customer bases: Kroger, Sam’s Club, and Best Buy keep seeking new ways to entice advertisers to their retail media networks.

Inflation will drive sales growth, but consumers are also spending more of their overall grocery dollars online.

Grocers seek to make inroads with lower-income consumers: Walmart, Albertsons, and BJ's Wholesale Club are among the retailers eyeing the sizable customer segment.

Inflation shows no signs of receding: Higher grocery costs continue to eat into budgets, but lower gas prices are boosting consumer optimism.

The digital shelf has grown more competitive for CPG brands amid the rise of grocery ecommerce and increasing retail media ad spend.

Instacart jumped from 10.2% of US digital grocery sales in 2019 to 21.5% in 2020, taking over share as people pivoted to online grocery deliveries. Walmart has had the highest digital grocery share since 2020, which put it in good shape this past earnings season when consumers cut back on superfluous spending and sought grocery savings.

Stores are Target’s not-so-secret weapon: The retailer adds three new sortation centers to bolster its ecommerce strategy of using stores to handle online orders.

As customer loyalty grows more elusive, retailers beef up member rewards: Walmart, Starbucks, and Sweetgreen are just some of the companies looking to sweeten the deal to keep customers coming back.

Consumers want to buy sustainable products: But inflation is driving them to trade down, which may slow sales of products made from recycled materials as well as organic foods.

Subscription models are driving customer loyalty in online sales of groceries and other essential goods, but fatigue among consumers threatens long-term growth.

This inaugural benchmark evaluates 10 leading digital grocery services, ranked based on consumers’ demand for 30 different features.