Effie at Groceryshop 2025: Exploring What’s Next for Retail and CPG

What happens in Vegas doesn’t stay in Vegas — and this was especially true at Groceryshop 2025, where the future of retail was on full display.

We’re proud that representatives of effie joined the conversation, absorbing insights, forging connections, and bringing back ideas ready to transform in-store operations, shelf execution, and AI-driven retail.

At the Heart of Groceryshop

Held from September 28 to October 1 at Mandalay Bay, Las Vegas, Groceryshop 2025 gathered over 5,000 global leaders across retail, CPG, technology, and media — all focused on shaping the next frontier of grocery commerce.

This year’s themes reflected the industry’s inflection point:

• Scalable AI that moves beyond pilots
• Operational excellence and automation that deliver real ROI
• Unified data ecosystems enabling cross-channel intelligence
• And the merging of offline + online + social into one connected shopper journey

The agenda featured sessions such as “Efficient and AI-Powered Grocery Operations,” “The Next Frontier for Retail Media,” and “Building Unified and Future-Ready Organizations.”

For effie, attending Groceryshop was more than industry visibility — it was a strategic immersion into the most advanced thinking in AI for retail, connecting with innovators, and benchmarking what truly scales in modern commerce.

5 Insights Driving the Future of CPG

1. Agentic AI: From Concept to Execution
   A defining theme across keynotes and panels was the rise of agentic AI – intelligent systems designed to act autonomously across retail workflows. Speakers from Ahold Delhaize and Kroger shared how they’re embedding AI agents into their retail media and operational platforms to enable “one-click” planning, activation, and optimization.
   The message was clear: AI is moving from experimentation to embedded intelligence.
2. Operational Tech as the New Growth Engine
   At the “Store of Tomorrow” exhibit, attendees explored live demonstrations of robotics, shelf-scanning vision systems, and digital pricing infrastructure.
   Technologies once seen as futuristic — like smart shelves, IoT-enabled planograms, and predictive out-of-stock alerts — are now core to operational efficiency and shopper satisfaction. As one panelist noted, “Every shelf is becoming a data source — and AI is the interpreter.”
3. Data Foundations Drive Everything
   A sobering fact repeated throughout multiple sessions was that up to 95% of enterprise AI initiatives fail due to weak data foundations. Speakers stressed that harmonized data across POS, OMS, e-commerce, and loyalty programs is the prerequisite for any scalable AI. Even the most advanced algorithms can’t deliver meaningful results without clean data and cultural alignment.
4. Innovation Means Shorter Cycles
   Another strong refrain: five-year roadmaps no longer fit a world where technology evolves quarterly. Retailers are shifting toward rapid “test → learn → scale” models, using AI to validate assumptions and accelerate decision-making. In the “Test Kitchen” sessions, leaders shared how cross-functional teams are pairing experimentation with measurable business outcomes — turning innovation into a discipline, not a buzzword.
5. AI with a Human Touch
   A recurring theme across panels is that technology should enhance human creativity and empathy, not replace them. AI’s role is to automate the repetitive, surface actionable insights, and free up teams to focus on strategy, storytelling, and experience design — the human elements that still define great retail.

What’s Next: Scaling AI with Purpose

Groceryshop 2025 made one thing clear: the era of experimental AI is over. What comes next is AI that scales, AI that connects physical and digital experiences, and AI that strengthens trust, consistency, and performance rather than distracts from them.

We’re energized by the conversations, the tech showcases, and the partnerships we initiated in Las Vegas. Now comes the most exciting part – execution: turning these insights into measurable value for our retail clients and the millions of shoppers they serve every day.