5 things: Grocery is the king of AI

AI is old hat for grocery: The grocery industry is notoriously competitive and the vast majority of that competition still takes place in physical stores. And when it comes to tech like artificial intelligence, many big box grocers have already been investing in it for years. Forbes Contributor Richard Kestenbaum did a recent walk-through at Groceryshop, calling out some of the more interesting tech. Highlights include: a device that sits on a shopping cart and displays offers to consumers; an Israeli company called ShopperAI, which gives shelf recommendations based on shopper behavior; and Birdzi, which personalizes grocery marketing. —Chloe Riley

Mirror, mirror on the wall: Who’s the most powerful woman in business of them all? No. 1 on Fortune’s list (100 Most Powerful Women in Business of 2023) is CVS CEO Karen Lynch. So, what does Lynch do with all that power? Prior to taking the CEO helm in 2021, Lynch was executive VP of CVS Health and president of Aetna. Her milestones include the acquisition of Oak Street Health, bringing on about 600 primary care providers and over 170 medical centers across 21 states, the launch of Caremark Cost Saver to help lower pharmacy out-of-pocket costs, and Q2 earnings that increased 10.3% year-over-year driven by growth across all segments. While there are only 52 of the Fortune 500 businesses led by women (barely over 10%), a new report from McKinsey shows women’s representation in the C-Suite has reached 28% this year — the highest it has ever been. Let’s hear it for the girl. — Alarice Rajagopal

Move it along: Be careful how you move in the self-checkout line because it just might get you frisked. Kroger believes shoppers behave a certain way when they are stealing product, and now the company is leaning into cameras (and AI) to prove its point. The grocer has added the tech to make sure it has every angle covered to prevent theft. Video of shoppers are sent to an AI company, which then takes a closer look at body movements to make sure nobody is trying to sneak something past the workers. If an irregularity is picked up, a worker intervenes. “If somebody is not scanning across where the the object would be scannable, if they move it towards their body so it’s not over the scanner or they are using their hands to cover up the barcode, those are of [the AI] recognizing abhorrent behavior,” said Reed Hayes, a criminologist at the University of Florida. So, no funny movements, OK? —Bill Wilson 

Wrap yourself up in H-E-B love: Just in time for cooler temperatures (especially for those of us about to freeze over here in the Midwest), H-E-B’s tortilla blanket is back. Because nothing really says cozy like a 100% polyester fleece blanket shaped and colored like the company’s made in-store butter tortillas. And if you want to get really festive, throw in a tortilla-scented H-E-B candle. Your senses will thank you. —CR

Where’s the beef? You cannot compare something to the effin’ hot dog and then take it away from us. However, Costco may be doing just that — taking its new roast beef sandwich off the menu, just months after first announcing it. The new product made its debut in February, and comparisons were immediately made to the retailer’s hot dog combo meal. However, the roast beef’s price point ($9.99) may have been no match for the unthinkable $1.50 weiner meal — which may have ultimately led to the sandwich’s downfall. According to a Reddit poster who claims to be a Costco employee, the roast beef offer is now off the table due to poor sales. Some Reddit users believe the whole thing was just some experiment to see if shoppers were willing to pay more for something to eat at the store. How dare they effin’ trick us like that! —BW