5 things: Retail media is a $180B market this year

NRF takes NYC: Retail media networks are set to be the focal point at this year’s National Retail Federation (NRF) show in New York City. The industry is rapidly evolving, propelled by the advancement of AI and other tech, making the future of retail media a hot topic. And it’s only going to continue to grow. This year, the global market for retail media will total $179.5 billion, a 15.4% increase year over year, according to a recent study. Supermarket News tech editor Tim Inklebarger and I will be covering NRF this weekend and next week—Saturday, alone, has a dedicated session all about the latest in retail media networks. Keep an eye out for on-the-ground NRF reporting from us next week. —Ally MacConchie

A grind bind: Costco has dropped its free coffee-grinding option for members. The warehouse retailer, which recently increased membership fees for the first time in 2017, is pulling all coffee grinders from stores faster than a product recall. Too many customers were damaging the devices, so Costco basically took the stern parent approach. (Apparently people were “double-grinding” their coffee beans, which led to the grinders becoming clogged.) One Reddit user described the chaos perfectly: “Someone put chocolate-covered in the one at my local grocery store. Double grinding, grinding nuts through, dropping brushes.” “Ours were next to the food court, so naturally someone stuck a hot dog in one of them,” said another customer. Why on this great Earth would someone put one of Costco’s glorious hot dogs in the shredder? That should be a crime.—Bill Wilson

Wegmans gets fishy: About a year after being sued over the fish market inside its flashy new Manhattan store, Wegmans appears to be getting ready to open its standalone sushi restaurant next door. As first reported by Eater New York earlier this month, the grocer’s careers page says the Japanese restaurant is slated to open early this year. Wegmans’ Next Door at Astor Place is now hiring a restaurant manager ($94,204 to $113, 258 per year). The restaurant is billed as a “true culinary adventure” in the East Village, one that serves “delicious contemporary Japanese cuisine which draws inspiration from around the world.” Last February, Wegmans was sued by Yuji Haraguchi, owner of East Village sushi restaurant Osakana, alleging that the fish market inside the Manhattan Wegmans store bore an “uncanny and confusingly similar resemblance” to Osakana. —Heather Lalley

The game of grocery: Welcome back to the game show “What’s in their cart before it snows?” Your host is The Mountaineer, a media outlet based in the sleepy town of Waynesville, N.C., which visited a number of grocery stores as shoppers braced for a heavy new snow. Bread, milk, hamburger meat, and honey buns were popular items. OK, time for the bonus round: What was the most popular item bought for kids? The answer: Sleds! Yes, in today’s grocery store you can find everything from white-powdered donuts to devices that work in white powder. Thanks for playing, and join us again for another round of “What’s in their cart before it snows? It’s not just a game of milk, bread, and eggs … it’s the game of life. Until next time, keep your carts from making that awkward noise! —BW
And another grocery game: This one challenges you to spot the ultraprocessed foods in your cart and it comes to you via the good people of The New York Times. UPFs—which include things like sodas, snack foods, frozen meals, and many breakfast cereals—have also been linked to a range of health issues including obesity and Type 2 diabetes. How many UPFs do you typically buy on a trip to the grocery store? Are you even aware of the foods that are ultraprocessed? Play the game and find out. —Chloe Riley