Retail Media, with a Side of AI

The first day at the Groceryshop 2024 conference in Las Vegas was fascinating to see. Thousands of attendees and a very high production value.

Picture the energy of a buzzing ad tech conference—main stage keynotes, focused tracks, and plenty of hallway chatter—but with a single focus on the future of grocery retail.

It feels a little bit like the ad tech world I know, but here, it’s all about the grocery and consumer goods industry.

One of the best parts? The speed dating sessions. Think of it: 1,000 individual meetings every 10-15 minutes! It is wild.

Before the event, you connect with other attendees through the app, requesting meetings and hoping for a match. Then, the organizers work their magic, setting up your schedule. You arrive at your little bistro table, sit down, and boom—you're chatting with someone new in the industry every 10 minutes.

It’s a little nerve-wracking, but honestly, it’s a hugely efficient way to network quickly.

When it comes to the content, Day 1 was great.

One of my favorite quotes from the sessions came from Michal Geller, President of eCommerce & Digital at Newell Brands. When the moderator asked how the relationship between brands and retailers has shifted with the rise of retail media—where brands are now essentially the customers of retailers, instead of the traditional model where retailers were the customers of brands—Geller’s response was perfect.

"It changed a little bit of 'who pays for dinner,'" said Geller.

He also noted that it is one of the first times that the brands had leverage over the merchants.

Here’s a snapshot of the highlights that caught my attention. I’ve also done deeper dives on each one, so feel free to click through for more details.