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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.
Ahold Delhaize USA's e-commerce business continued its strong momentum in the second quarter of 2026, with digital sales up 14.5% year-over-year, marking the ninth consecutive quarter of double-digit growth. However, due to the impact of the Inflation Reduction Act on pharmaceutical sales, the company's same-store sales growth was less than 1%, and it lowered its full-year outlook.
PCC Community Markets CEO Krish Srinivasan announced in an open letter that the cooking education program will end on August 28. The program, which includes adult and child classes and camps, has operated for over 40 years but has been consistently unprofitable. Despite the team's efforts to try various models, costs have continued to exceed revenue.
Publix reported second-quarter results for the period ending June 27 on Monday, with sales increasing 1% year-over-year to $15.7 billion and comparable store sales declining 0.5%, marking the fourth consecutive quarter of slowing growth. Net earnings reached $1.7 billion, up over 20% year-over-year. The company stated that drug price reductions related to the federal Inflation Reduction Act and the economic environment affecting consumer spending weighed on sales growth.
Two family-owned supermarket chains on Long Island announced a merger, with Giunta's Meat Farms acquiring all of King Kullen's operations. The deal is expected to close in September, and the terms were not disclosed.
Ahold Delhaize USA announced on Wednesday a partnership with Pear Commerce, allowing consumers to add products directly to ADUSA digital shopping carts on non-ADUSA websites, such as CPG partners' recipe pages, brand product pages, and store locator tools. The integration has been fully rolled out across ADUSA's five brands this month, aiming to close the loop between media, content, and commerce, and create new opportunities for AD Retail Media. This move is another step by ADUSA to expand e-commerce capabilities beyond its own digital channels, following the launch of the Click2Cart feature in April.
Sprouts Farmers Market reported its second-quarter 2026 results: net sales increased 5% year-over-year, while same-store sales decreased 1%, in line with expectations. CEO Jack Sinclair emphasized that amid an uneven macroeconomic environment, the company will focus on controllable areas, including strengthening its value proposition, local sourcing, store experience, supply chain, and new store pipeline. Meanwhile, the membership program and first-party data initiatives have become long-term strategic priorities, with e-commerce sales growing over 12% and private label penetration reaching 26%.
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.
Hy-Vee announced this week that its online shopping platform has added a "Get it faster" option, enabling delivery and pickup orders to be fulfilled in as fast as 30 minutes. The service is available at all chain locations with no minimum order requirement for pickup, and Hy-Vee Perks members can enjoy free rapid pickup and discounted delivery fees. This move aims to enhance competitiveness against e-commerce giants such as Walmart and Amazon.
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.