Hello GrocerTalk listeners,
Well, what a week in grocery retail! This week, I brought in TWO industry experts to help make sense of some pretty big developments. Cybersecurity expert Christian Beckner joined me to discuss the attacks on European supermarkets, while EMARKETER’s Suzy Davidkhanian helped tackle a question I’ve been thinking about since Groceryshop: If AI assistants start doing our shopping, what happens to retail media?
And, of course, I couldn’t wrap up without sharing a few thoughts on Albertsons’ decision to put just about everything under review.
A big thank you to our GrocerTalk sponsors, Instacart Enterprise, Portager, Vusion, and Sifter Solutions, for making these conversations possible!
Here’s what caught my attention this week.
When Cyberattacks Hit the Grocery Aisles
The news out of France was alarming. Multiple supermarket operators were reportedly targeted in cyberattacks against their refrigeration systems, potentially spoiling millions of euros worth of food. Christian Beckner, Founder & Principal of Commerce Risk Advisory, joined me to explain what happened and why grocers everywhere should be paying attention.
My biggest takeaway? Does EVERYTHING in a grocery store really need to be connected to the internet? Christian emphasized the importance of patching vulnerabilities, managing third-party risks, and understanding what cyber insurance actually covers. Because when a cyberattack starts destroying physical inventory, we’re dealing with something much bigger than an IT problem.
If AI Does the Shopping, Who Sees the Advertising?
At Groceryshop, Hy-Vee CEO Jeremy Gosch told me something that really stuck with me. The average customer spends around 40 minutes completing an online grocery shop, and Hy-Vee wants to bring that down to just FIVE using agentic AI. Fantastic for convenience, but what happens to sponsored search when AI starts building our baskets?
That’s what I wanted to explore with Suzy Davidkhanian from EMARKETER. And Suzy made an important point: shopping isn’t always a chore. Discovery, promotions, and finding something new still matter. Consumers might not be quite as ready to hand over the entire experience to AI as we think.
Retail Media Needs to Prepare for Bots AND Humans
Suzy shared research showing that 77% of surveyed retail media leaders are already considering agentic advertising formats. And it raises some fascinating questions. How do brands get discovered when AI is making purchasing decisions? And what happens when there’s no traditional search results page?
I think Hy-Vee is asking the right questions. Jeremy wants to make shopping faster without losing discovery, and that’s the balance retailers need to strike. Convenience is great, but it shouldn’t come at the expense of finding something new. You can watch my full interview with Jeremy here.
Albertsons Is Rethinking Everything
Finally, Albertsons. It was a difficult quarter, with comparable sales declining 0.8% and adjusted net income falling 28%. But the real headline? CEO Susan Morris announced a comprehensive business review covering just about every corner of the company, alongside the decision to withdraw full-year guidance.
I described this as Albertsons pulling the nuclear option, and I stand by that. This is far more than a few operational tweaks. It’s a major reassessment of the business, and one that could have significant implications for the company’s future.
But Will Albertsons Go Far Enough on Price?
If there’s one thing I’d like to see Albertsons tackle head-on, it’s pricing. Susan Morris outlined a more targeted approach to pricing and promotions, and while I understand the reasoning, I’m not convinced it goes far enough.
Shoppers have more choices than ever, and price perception is incredibly difficult to change once it’s established. My concern? Albertsons could spend months reviewing its business, only to arrive at the same conclusion next spring: more meaningful pricing action is needed. So why wait?
And that’s a wrap on Episode 10! A huge thank you to Christian Beckner and Suzy Davidkhanian for joining me and bringing their expertise to two fascinating conversations. As always, I’d love to hear what YOU think. Are grocers doing enough to protect themselves from cyberattacks? Will AI shopping assistants change retail media as we know it? And if you were in charge at Albertsons, where would you start?
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Be careful out there,
Ben and the entire Omni Talk Team
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Omni Talk® is the retail blog for retailers, written by retailers. Chris Walton founded Omni Talk® in 2017 and have quickly turned it into one of the fastest growing blogs in retail.