Technology
Walmart has finally embraced tap-to-pay, ending years of resistance. It had previously pushed chip cards and its own payment app to maintain control over transactions. Analysts suggest the eventual concession may have been a reluctant move. This week also saw executive changes at Ahold Delhaize and new personnel appointments at Giant.
Walmart announced on Monday that it will begin accepting contactless payments from digital wallets, including Apple Pay and Google Pay, at select stores and Sam's Club locations, with plans to cover approximately 4,600 stores nationwide by the end of the year, and expand to gas stations starting in 2027. This move ends the company's years-long rejection of rival mobile wallets.
Amazon will expand its drone delivery service to nearly 500 U.S. cities and towns by the end of 2026, a sixfold increase from current coverage. The company announced new metro areas including Atlanta, Chicago, Cleveland, Boise, and Syracuse. Prime Air offers delivery in as fast as 30 minutes for items under 5 pounds, covering over 60% of frequent purchases. The expansion intensifies competition with Walmart and DoorDash in rapid delivery.
Supermarket retail once dominated product discovery with a sophisticated architecture, and now AI-driven conversational recommendations are reshaping this system. Brands that want to stand out in AI-generated shortlists need to structure their product information and proactively invest in discoverability infrastructure.
This week, a Senate Judiciary subcommittee held a hearing on AI-driven 'surveillance pricing,' intensifying scrutiny of grocery pricing practices. Several states have passed legislation limiting retailers' use of consumer personal data to influence pricing, but multiple federal bills have not progressed. Industry organization FMI emphasized the critical importance of maintaining consumer trust.
Albertsons announced on Wednesday the launch of a Safeway plugin for ChatGPT, enabling users to discover products and build shopping lists within the AI platform. The plugin experience is designed to translate users' requests and preferences in ChatGPT into relevant Safeway product options; after users finish browsing and adding items, they will be guided to the Safeway platform for checkout. This collaboration is the latest step in Albertsons' efforts to enhance the digital customer experience, as the company earlier this year listed AI as one of its four priorities for 2026.
Wakefern Food Corp. announced on Monday its plans to operate a centralized pharmacy fulfillment system at one of its facilities. The 12,000-square-foot facility, expected to open in early 2027, will serve 149 ShopRite and 2 The Fresh Grocer stores in the Northeast and will operate in partnership with pharmacy fulfillment solutions provider iA. The system will automate pharmacy back-end operations, improving efficiency and reducing the burden on pharmacists.
Schnuck Markets announced Wednesday its plans to introduce an AI-driven agentic shopping assistant for customers. The tool, set to launch on the Schnucks app and website later this summer, is being developed in partnership with VitalityIP, an AI digital nutrition guidance and health data platform. Schnucks said it will be the first retailer to deploy the VitalityIP platform, with the agent's 'intelligence' based on over 6 billion rows of shopping, health, and nutrition data.
Instacart announced on Thursday that it has acquired Arpalus, a startup developing an AI-powered shelf-scanning system, with deal terms undisclosed. The system uses computer vision to help employees record inventory with smartphones, aiming to reduce customer dissatisfaction caused by out-of-stock items and improve order fulfillment efficiency.
Toast conducted a blind test from April 3 to 20, 2026, with decision-makers at small and medium-sized U.S. grocery stores. Results show that 93% of respondents feel comfortable using AI, and 90% of businesses are actively experimenting with AI. The report indicates that grocers' expectations for AI focus on operational improvements, such as better decision-making (45%), increased sales (39%), and optimized inventory (36%). Regarding application preferences, 54% of respondents favor integrating AI features into a single platform, and 38% trust existing retail technology providers to guide AI strategy. The report emphasizes that trust is an accelerator for AI adoption, integration is better than fragmentation, and human oversight remains a current expectation.