News

CFA Leads Fight Against Costly Retail Regulations

In March 2023, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) released a report accusing three national grocery retailers of exploiting pandemic-era supply chain disruptions to inflate prices and pad profits. The report suggested that large national chains leveraged their market position to impose stricter supplier demands, consolidate private label brands, and ultimately pass higher costs onto consumers—all while their profit margins remained elevated.

However, the FTC’s findings lacked crucial context. The report failed to account for real-world inflationary pressures, rising labor costs, and supply chain volatility—factors that forced businesses across industries, not just grocery retailers, to adjust pricing structures. It also ignored the role of manufacturers and suppliers in setting prices, instead shifting blame solely onto food retailers.

Connecticut Attorney General William Tong seized on this flawed report as justification to launch an extensive investigation into grocery pricing last spring. Over the summer, his office demanded detailed cost and pricing information from every major grocer in the state. Yet after months of scrutiny, no evidence of widespread profiteering was found. Rather than publicly acknowledging this, Tong is now doubling down with HB 6854—a sweeping, overreaching piece of legislation that fundamentally mischaracterizes how businesses operate in a competitive market.

The Connecticut Food Association Pushes Back

The Connecticut Food Association (CFA), which represents retailers and suppliers across the state, has been actively pushing back against this false narrative. Throughout last year’s investigation, CFA worked to ensure lawmakers and regulators understood the economic realities driving food pricing. Industry leaders met with policymakers, provided data, and challenged misleading assumptions that ignored the complex cost structures retailers must navigate.

CFA has consistently emphasized that Connecticut’s food retailers operate in one of the most competitive marketplaces in the country, where prices are dictated by consumer demand, supply chain costs and the realities of doing business—not unchecked corporate greed. Despite this, the AG’s office has continued to misrepresent standard business adjustments as predatory practices, using political rhetoric instead of economic facts to justify its overreach.

Now, HB 6854 threatens to take this misinformation a step further by granting the attorney general extraordinary authority to declare “abnormal economic disruptions” and penalize businesses for standard industry practices, such as adjusting product sizes in response to rising costs. By conflating routine business decisions with illegal profiteering, the bill introduces regulatory uncertainty, increases compliance burdens, and inserts government overreach into a functioning competitive market.

Overreach Disguised As Consumer Protection

HB 6854 builds on this misguided narrative by allowing the attorney general to unilaterally decide when economic conditions warrant government intervention in private business operations. The bill arbitrarily bundles standard industry practices—such as modifying product weight or pack sizes due to rising costs—with illegal profiteering, fundamentally mischaracterizing how businesses operate and disregarding basic economic principles.

One of the bill’s most misleading aspects is its characterization of routine packaging adjustments—often referred to as “shrinkflation”—as price gouging. Price gouging involves exploitative price hikes during emergencies, while packaging adjustments are longstanding industry practices dictated by rising production costs. By falsely equating the two, HB 6854 creates unnecessary government interference in normal business operations, adding regulatory burdens that will ultimately drive up costs for consumers.

Government Resources And Expertise Don’t Exist

Beyond its flawed premise, HB 6854 also assumes the state has the ability to effectively regulate the day-to-day pricing and packaging decisions of thousands of businesses. Even if the state had the necessary resources—such as a dedicated staff of economists, which do not currently exist—it would still be impractical to monitor and manage the diverse pricing strategies used across industries. The bill’s broad and vague language would create confusion, increase compliance costs, and introduce government micromanagement where market competition and consumer choice already serve as natural regulators.

A Fight For Economic Common Sense

HB 6854 is not about protecting consumers; it is about expanding government control over private industry. It ignores the reality that consumers hold the power in a competitive marketplace, where businesses are incentivized to keep prices fair and transparent. Regulatory overreach of this magnitude will only create unnecessary costs, reduce choices, and stifle economic activity.

The Connecticut Food Association, along with business leaders across the state, remains committed to setting the record straight. They are working to ensure that lawmakers understand the true economic forces at play and reject policies based on political theater rather than facts. Connecticut’s food retailers deserve better than another baseless witch hunt—they deserve a fair and balanced regulatory environment that acknowledges the realities of doing business in an evolving marketplace.

Original article found at Food Trade News

March 3, 2025 in CFA News

Tariff Impact Looms- Grocery Pricing Increases

According to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) food prices are expected to increase by 2.2% in 2025.

This year’s predicted increase is similar to the 2.3% increase consumers saw in 2024, but a drop from 2023 which saw an increase of 5.8%, according to the USDA.

“Over the last few years, that amount of money that has been pumped into the economy has gone up,” said University of New Haven Associate Professor of Economics and Business Analytics Patrick Gourley. “Then people have additional money, and they spend it, and that results in higher prices.”

CT Food Association President Wayne Pesce says several factors play a role in the increase of food, including the bird flu outbreak, inflation and natural disasters.

“There’s a confluence of events that are driving the cost of food higher,” Pesce said. “That’s in restaurants and grocery stores.”

Shoppers saw an 8.4% increase in retail egg prices according to the USDA. This comes after a nationwide outbreak of the bird flu in poultry and dairy cows, according to the CDC.

“Fortunately for consumers, that will work itself out once the flocks come back,” said Pesce.

Original article found at NBC Connecticut.

February 13, 2025 in Legislative News

Digital Coupon Kiosks

Connecticut’s largest grocery chain, Stop & Shop, will roll out in-store kiosks by the end of the week to make digital coupons more easily accessible to all customers.

The kiosks, which the Massachusetts-based chain refers to as Savings Stations, allows customers to activate all weekly circular digital coupons and personalized offers without having access to a smartphone, internet service, or a computer. Company officials say the kiosks ensure that all customers can easily access the same savings that are available through Stop & Shop’s digital offers.

To access their digital coupons, Stop & Shop customers can either scan their GO Rewards loyalty card or enter their phone number. Customers will receive a printout of the digital coupons that have been loaded onto their loyalty card for reference while shopping. The savings will be automatically applied at the checkout when shoppers scan their loyalty card or enter their phone number.

Roger Wheeler, Stop & Shop’s president, said the kiosks are designed to “improve the shopping experience for our customers.”

“We heard from customers who felt they were missing out on valuable digital coupon savings,” Wheeler said. “The Savings Station is our response to that feedback. It ensures that our customers can easily access all of our great deals, especially during the holiday season when savings are top of mind.”

Edgar Dworsky, the founder of ConsumerWorld.org, an advocacy group for shoppers, said Stop & Shop’s kiosks make “digital coupons more accessible to everyone, including the many seniors and low-income folks who lack internet or smartphone access.”

Stop & Shop’s roll out of its Savings Stations comes as Connecticut lawmakers are considering legislation that would require grocery stores that use electronic coupons to make it easier for consumers to access them. The launch of the kiosks comes three months after Stop & Shop closed five under-performing stores in Connecticut and 32 similar locations across five states.

Stop & Shop has 83 stores in Connecticut and more than 350 locations across five states.

Wayne Pesce, president of the Connecticut Food Association, said Stop & Shop is joining other retailers who are making it easier for all shoppers to access digital coupons.

“Other retailers have some sort of program to claim savings that don’t require an individual to have a cell phone,” Pesce said.

Original article found at the New Haven Register.

February 12, 2025 in CFA News

The Big CT Food Event 3/1/25

The upcoming Big Connecticut Food Event will take place on Saturday 3/1/25 at the Yale School of Management in New Haven.

The Big Connecticut Food Event is an annual one-day event that gathers CPG/wholesale-focused food & beverage brands and other key stakeholders spanning the Connecticut food entrepreneurship ecosystem to network, share ideas, and showcase products and services.

Our goal is to support the development of the state’s entrepreneurship pipeline so it produces multiple food and beverage brands each year that exceed $2mil in annual sales.

Event content

  • 💰 $50k+ pitch competition for 5 finalist emerging Connecticut brands
  • 🥫 Sampling and tabling from 30+ emerging Connecticut brands and solutions providers
  • 🤝 One-on-one coaching sessions between brands and industry experts
  • 🎤 Panel discussions with industry leaders

Participation opportunities

  • Food & bev brands (based in CT) — Pitch competition, tabling & sampling, expert coaching participant, attendee, sponsor
  • Food & bev brands (based outside CT) — Expert coaching participant, attendee, sponsor
  • Solutions providers to food & bev brands (co-manufacturers, packaging designers, legal and financial service providers, etc.) — Expert coaching coach, sponsor, attendee
  • Grocery and foodservice procurement leaders — Pitch competition judge, panelist, sponsor
  • Not-for-profit organizations (mission-aligned, regionally-based) — Tabling
  • Industry leaders and policymakers — Panelist, pitch competition judge
  • The food-curious public — Attendee

Save the date! The third annual Big Connecticut Food Event is returning on Saturday 3/1/25 at the Yale School of Management in New Haven. Get an attendee ticket here.

More information about this event can be found here.

January 23, 2025 in Community News

Affordability and High Energy Costs dominate as CT Legislation Session begins

Less than two weeks before President-elect Donald Trump is set to take office, Connecticut’s General Assembly reconvened for its 2025 legislative session. For nearly five months, the part-time legislature will discuss bills, hear public testimony and vote on legislation in committee and on the House and Senate floor. Lawmakers will also decide on the state’s next two-year budget.

The session began Wednesday with Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont’s State of the State address at the Capitol in Hartford.

The two-term Democratic governor will present lawmakers with a budget proposal in the coming weeks.

“And always, our north stars will be affordability and opportunity, holding down costs of energy and education, allowing you to keep more of what you earn and providing you the tools you need to earn more, to buy a home, start a business,” Lamont said during his address.

Lawmakers must end the regular session business by midnight on June 4.

High cost of power dominates early parts of Lamont’s speech

Affordability and the high cost of electricity in Connecticut dominated the early parts of Lamont’s speech to lawmakers, with the governor saying expensive power impacts everyone from families to small business owners.

“They’re asking me about the reliability and affordability of electricity, as everything we do gets more energy intensive,” Lamont said.

Lamont said the state needs to increase its supplyof low-carbon energy, but Connecticut continues to rely on two major staples for its electircal supply: natural gas and nuclear energy, the latter of which accounts for about one-third of in-state electricity.

Nuclear energy raises concern among environmentalists

Lamont hinted during his speech Wednesday that nuclear power could grow in Connecticut.

“Nuclear power that provides most of our carbon-free power,” he said. “Right now, we’re working with the federal government to find ways to expand nuclear capacity in Connecticut.”

But environmental groups immediately voiced that the state needs to focus more on renewable energy options, not more nuclear power.

“Offshore wind is, was and will continue to be a huge part of getting us to our emissions goals that both the Governor and the legislature and the public have adopted,” Lori Brown, executive director of the Connecticut League of Conservation Voters, said at the Capitol. “And we cannot afford to slide back from that.”

Last month, the state officially opted out of buying into a new offshore wind project with Massachusetts and Rhode Island. Lamont told Connecticut Public’s “The Wheelhouse” in December that the project ended from concern over cost to ratepayers.

Charles Rothenberger, a climate and energy attorney at Save the Sound, also expressed concern about the state depending more on more nuclear energy.

“I don’t believe it is a cheaper alternative to actual clean renewable energy,” Rothenberger said, citing offshore wind and solar as alternatives. “And those are projects that could come online much more quickly to help serve our needs, improving the resilience of the grid and lowering costs for customers.”

State lawmakers decry federal ‘chaos’

Democrats hold an overwhelming majority in both houses of the General Assembly.

During remarks Wednesday, Democratic House Speaker Matt Ritter urged legislators to work in a bipartisan fashion, in contrast to what he said happens in Washington D.C., as well as in many other state governments.

“People get elected and they have new majorities,” Ritter said. “There’s a new majority in D.C.; there’s a new majority here … and the first thing that they plan to do is find ways to eliminate all of the opposition’s power.”

Everyone is frustrated by federal lawmakers who risk chaos, said Vincent Candelora, Connecticut House Republican Minority Leader. He said he watched the recent election of U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson when the election of the speaker was in question.

“It struck me that either party would stand and allow potentially an institution to be put into chaos and jeopardy for political gain,” Candelora said. “And I think time and again we see that on the federal level.”

A ‘cheeky’ touch of CT showmanship

Name-checking Connecticut showman P.T. Barnum during his address, Lamont acknowledged a touch of hyperbole in the state’s recent rollout of road signs declaring Connecticut the “pizza” and “basketball” capital of the world.

Lamont said those signs attracted a lot of attention.

“Some people thought the signs were a little cheeky. Italy questioned our claim to be the pizza capital. The Boston Celtics wondered about the basketball capital,” Lamont joked. “But as a great showman, and Connecticut state representative, P.T. Barnum famously said, ‘I don’t care what they say about me, as long as they spell my name right.’ And they’re talking about Connecticut.”

Lamont says he wants to continue efforts to raise the state’s profile.

Over the holidays, Connecticut leaned into its role as a Hallmark movie backdrop, launching a Christmas Movie Trail to highlight spots from movies filmed in the state.

This session is fundamentally different from last year’s

This session is a “long” one, as outlined by the state’s Constitution. In odd-numbered years, the governor’s office and state lawmakers must agree on a new two-year budget.

That means this year, Lamont must present his proposed state budget and bond package to lawmakers by Feb. 5. That sets off a month-long process to negotiate and finalize, which in the end requires a simple majority in both chambers, where Democrats hold a majority, along with the governor’s signature for approval.

The 2025 session will be nearly two months longer than the “short” session in even-numbered years, when lawmakers usually adjust the budget. Last year, things turned out a little differently when Lamont and other Democratic lawmakers assigned expiring American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) dollars to help programs, rather than formally adjusting the budget.

Expect some debate on state’s fiscal guardrails

These constraints, first enacted in 2017, are a complex set of rules for how much lawmakers can spend. Connecticut has been able to pay down pension debt and has seen state budget surpluses under the guardrails, but there has also been considerable debate among some lawmakers about the need to change these policies. Advocates and lawmakers who want to see the guardrails loosened say they want to see more state money for health care, child care and education.

Lamont said he wanted to keep the guardrails during a December appearance on Connecticut Public’s “The Wheelhouse.” Some Republicans have also echoed a desire to keep the guardrails in place.

Top leaders are the same

Democrats still hold a comfortable majority in both state legislative chambers.

Ritter will return to lead the chamber alongside Majority Leader Jason Rojas. Candelora will return as House Minority Leader. Martin Looney and Bob Duff return as Senate Pro Tem and Majority Leader, respectively. And State Sen. Stephen Harding will return for his second year as Republican Minority Leader.

Bills, bills, bills

Over half a dozen of the nearly 30 committees have new House leaders. Legislative committees drive policy debate among lawmakers and engage the public on specific issues like education, health care and the environment. This year, there is a new committee on government oversight and a select committee on special education.

While many bills are proposed each year by lawmakers, comparatively few become law. That’s because there is a specific process for how most bills become a law, which the Connecticut General Assembly learning center explains. (Think: ”Schoolhouse Rock’s” “I’m Just a Bill” sans music).

There are also a number of different types of bills. Some come out of committees or are introduced by individual lawmakers or groups of lawmakers, or the governor. Among the many topics that will likely come up this session:

Ways to get involved

Committees will hold public hearings, where people can make their voices heard in a few ways. That can be through written testimony on the CGA website – or speaking at the public hearing, Public hearings are also often broadcast online.

There’s also a bill tracking system – that’s not just for reporters and stakeholders! Anyone can sign up to see how a bill is progressing.

Original article found at CT Public Radio.

January 13, 2025 in Community News

Price-gouging and grocery shrinkflation are on the 2025 menu

In the space of 13 days starting Wednesday, the Connecticut legislature will open its 2025 season and a U.S. president will take office after promising to lower food and energy prices. President-elect Donald Trump has already backed away from his bold vow to slash grocery bills, a centerpiece of his campaign. But lawmakers in Hartford, prodded by state Attorney General William Tong, are expected to take a stab at the issue in at least two bills.

The measures, still taking shape, would have limited effect at the cash registers. Still, they might be worth trying if they can navigate past a few sticky issues.

One likely bill is a repeat of a plan Tong has put forward at least twice since the pandemic, strengthening Connecticut’s price-gouging law. It would tighten the definition of “price-gouging” and, in its main event, it would allow Tong’s office to investigate not just retailers but also companies up the supply chain including manufacturers, packagers and distributors.

The second bill would go after “shrinkflation,” that annoying trend — useful for those of us trying to lose weight — in which grocery purveyors sell us packages with less product for the same or even higher prices.

Tong’s office declined to give details of its shrinkflation bill, which it hinted at last week in a year-end report. But according to the state’s most prominent lobbyist for the grocery industry, no other state has adopted a shrinkflation law.

That doesn’t mean Wayne Pesce, president of the Connecticut Food Association, will oppose Tong’s push. It depends what it says. Obviously, Tong isn’t going to pitch a law that tells companies how many peanuts and peppermints they can put in a package. And legislators would not pass such a plan if he pushed it.

Nor will the bill likely limit changes in packaging. I for one am glad yogurt comes in 5.3-ounce containers, down from 8 ounces in my youth.

“I think it’s going to be some type of labeling transparency,” Pesce speculated as we talked about it late Tuesday, the night before the start of the legislative session.

We of course already have most grocery items labeled by the package price and the price per pound, or ounce. Could Tong suggest labels announcing anytime a product shrinks it package size? One worry, Pesce said, is that manufacturers could be forced to label goods for Connecticut separately, which could raise cost.

We will just have to wait and see. For now, it’s clear that customers are pushing back, buying more house brands and punishing whole categories such as salty snacks, which could help our collective health.

The bill tightening up Connecticut’s price-gouging law, which applies to all sorts of products, would not, for now, change one fundamental reality: The law applies only in times of emergency or during a disaster.

A state emergency lasted more than two years during and after the COVID-19 pandemic, when accusations of price-gouging were rampant.

“Price gouging at the retail level has been illegal in our state since 1986. Unfortunately, certain select bad actors will take advantage in a crisis, like the pandemic, and charge amounts they would never be able to obtain under normal circumstances,” Tong told the legislature’s Judiciary Committee as it considered that year’s version of the bill in 2022. “The current law presumes that the only bad actors are retailers. In fact, the opposite is true.”

The measure made it through the state House in 2021 but never came to a vote in the Senate. In 2022, it stalled in the Judiciary Committee amid opposition from folks in the energy industry. In 2023, it was removed from a larger consumer bill.

In 2024, similar language was part of a bill proposed by Sen. Bob Duff, D-Norwalk, the Senate majority leader. Again, it did not pass.

You get the idea. These proposals have significant opposition for two reasons. The first is philosophical, largely from Republicans who tend to oppose meddling in markets.

The second is practical: In an era of global transactions with real-time pricing and complex supply chains — think airline fares, gasoline prices and hotel rates — regulating anything related to how much we consumers pay can be a logistical nightmare.

As one fuel oil dealer testifying against the gouging bill said in 2022, who’s going to say what is price gouging when suppliers change prices as often as three times a day?

The bill would only give Tong the right to investigate up the supply chain. Pesce, the food association president, isn’t against that idea, depending on the exact language.

“Any retailer or any seller of any good that takes advantage of consumers during times of hardship deserves whatever penalty is on the books,” he told me. “When we’re on the wrong side of consumers, we’re on the wrong side of an issue.”

As recently as last spring, Tong took action on complaints of price-gouging by grocery retailers, after a Federal Trade Commission report accused some national stores — most not operating in Connecticut — of unfair pricing. Lawmakers were still seeing dramatic price hikes, which, Duff said to me this week, “wasn’t just inflation.”

The attorney general demanded and received pricing information from grocers across the state. Since he took no public action, we can assume what he found was kosher, or at least, not the fault of retailers, just as he said in 2022.

“There was a lot of smoke and not a lot of fire in terms of that investigation,” Pesce, whose association represents companies throughout the supply chain, said.

“We support common sense legislation around price gouging, around shrinkflation.” But he added, “I don’t believe they have the bandwidth to really get to the crux of the problem.”

By that he means energy prices, labor shortages and transportation costs. That’s the problem with any government effort to control prices. It’s either ineffective window dressing or it dives into the impossibly swirling waters of the economy, where laws can have all sorts of unintended consequences and where megatrends, not meddling move, are what matter.

It’s a noble debate and it might lead to new ideas that work. Still, it’s a lot easier for the government to raise fees than to lower market prices.

Original article found at Stamford Advocate.

January 13, 2025 in CFA News

Geissler’s Supermarkets Adds AI Shopping Carts

Nick Nickitas, general manager of local independent grocery at Instacart, sat down for a conversation with Bob Rybick, president and CEO of Geissler’s Supermarket, to discuss the strategy behind Geissler’s decision to replace a majority of their shopping carts with AI-powered smart Caper Carts, making them one of the first retailers in the U.S. to launch a dense deployment of smart Caper Carts.

A conversation on Geissler’s strategy to launch smart carts in their stores:

Nickitas: Hi Bob! Thanks for sitting down with me to discuss Geissler’s vision, experience and expected outcomes of launching smart carts in your stores. I’d like to start at the beginning and ask what made you interested in smart shopping cart technology as a local independent grocer?

Rybick: As a multi-generational, independent grocer, we are focused on finding the best offerings and technology to help our customers, team members and business. With so many technological advancements now available for the grocery industry, we wanted to find something that could hit several of our strategic focuses, including:

  • Enhancing the in-store experience for our customers;
  • Assistance in loss prevention; and
  • Helping grow revenue.

So, when we began exploring solutions to address our three strategic focuses, smart shopping carts emerged as a perfect fit. After evaluating our options, Caper Carts stood out as the most comprehensive solution.

Nickitas: Let’s dive deeper into those three strategic focuses then. How are you projecting that smart shopping carts will enhance the in-store experience for your customers?

Rybick: At launch, smart shopping carts will reduce lines and congestion in the store, creating a more enjoyable shopping experience for customers. The cart’s screen helps customers track their running total in real-time, helping them stay on budget. The screen also offers a Deals Hub – with digital coupons, aisle locations and loyalty program login to ensure we’re giving our customers all of the benefits they expect. Customers can also checkout directly on the Caper Cart with an integrated payment terminal, ensuring a seamless process. Our customers expect us to continually offer them first class in-store shopping experience and we feel implementing Caper Carts will drastically help with that.

Nickitas: One of the biggest concerns that retailers have with self-checkout experiences are with shrink/loss prevention. How do you project smart carts helping with that?

Rybick: Caper has a number of built in features that make it plug-and-play for loss prevention assistance. All together, these carts collectively have more safeguards to prevent theft than traditional self-checkout. For example, with Caper Carts specifically, the cart doesn’t just scan an item’s barcode, it recognizes it with the built-in computer vision cameras, taking into account item attributes so customers don’t scan one item, but put a different item in their basket. Additionally, the Caper Cart has a scale built-in to the bottom of the cart basket, allowing for accurate measures of weighted items. Lastly, Caper Carts have an audit system that flags carts based on our audit preferences, which are then checked by a store employee, or when notable items are added to the cart.

Nickitas: And finally, I want to talk about ROI. Most grocers are wondering how to think about profitability with smart carts. Do you expect Caper to affect your revenue growth?

Rybick: Yes, in so many ways. The engaging customer experience of the smart cart has already proven to drive a larger basket size. In addition to that, our smart carts offer gamification features, such as a “spin the wheel” feature that unlocks Caper Cart-only coupons for instant dollars off a customer’s shop. Furthermore, the cart’s screen is a new surface for the future potential of serving relevant, personalized ads directly to our customers at the point of purchase. These ads would help generate a new revenue stream that can help offset the implementation cost of smart carts.

Nickitas: Now let’s pivot to the technical side of smart cart implementation. What were your questions coming into this initiative on how it would affect your current tech stack, store operations and ongoing maintenance?

Rybick: We had many questions about this, as we aimed to ensure a seamless launch of smart carts in our stores, especially with our want to replace a majority of our carts with smart carts. Our key questions included:

  • How difficult is it going to be to integrate smart carts into our catalog and POS systems?
  • Would there be any technical requirements or store modifications needed?
  • What does the ongoing maintenance look like for these products?

Nickitas: And what did you find to be the answers to those questions?

Rybick: The answers were a lot less cumbersome than one might think. It all came down to picking the right smart cart and the right company to partner with, for Geissler’s that was Instacart’s Caper Cart. With our chosen smart cart, integrating into our existing catalog to ensure all our SKUs would be recognized easily by the smart cart while customers are shopping was handled without issue. Our partner company integrates with all the leading POS systems in grocery, so that was also an easy check off.

Myself and the Geissler’s team were surprised at the minimal amount of technical requirements and store modifications needed to implement something as big and widely used as new shopping carts. Basically all we needed was an internet connection to get the smart carts connected and an area in the store for the carts to charge. Since regular shopping carts already have a bay, we were able to make that the charging area, as Caper Carts have the ability for nested charging. We do also have a smart cart checkout priority lane, which wasn’t a big deal to implement. We did add some in-store signage to help educate our customers on the smart carts, but the lift there was also minimal.

And lastly, for the ongoing maintenance, Instacart has remote management personnel and software for easily auditing each Caper Cart, as well as providing software updates as needed. For the physical cart maintenance, Instacart manages that ongoing, alleviating that potential stress from our teams.

Nickitas: I appreciate all you said and just have one more question. What would you tell other local, independent grocers who are considering smart cart technology for their stores?

Rybick: I think local, independent grocers have such an exciting opportunity to be the leaders in innovation in this space. The ability to be nimble and have an outsized impact on their business with new technology shouldn’t be dismissed and just because a solution or product uses AI doesn’t mean it’s out of reach for our peers. I’d tell other local, independent grocers who are considering smart cart technology for their stores that the benefits of incorporating smart carts into their short- and long-term business strategies are too great to ignore. From the customer impact, store impact and revenue opportunities through increased basket sizes and retail media network/advertising, paired with the lower than expected lift to actually launch smart carts in store, it seems to me a no brainer that smart carts should be on all local, independent grocers’ strategic radar with a push on sooner rather than later.

Original article found at The Shelby Report.

January 13, 2025 in Member News

New Year, New Laws: 5 Laws Changing in CT

With a new year beginning, there are a handful of state laws changing things up in Connecticut.

New laws in effect on Jan. 1 tackle labor issues, including phasing-in mandatory paid sick days to more people. There’s also a new law going into effect surrounding elections, including absentee ballot security. And, greater protections are going into effect for home health care workers, along with changes to the state’s minimum wage. Here’s more on some of the new policies going into effect in January 2025. 

(more…)

January 13, 2025 in Legislative News

How Geissler’s Supermarkets Added Shopping Carts With AI

Nick Nickitas, general manager of local independent grocery at Instacart, sat down for a conversation with Bob Rybick, president and CEO of Geissler’s Supermarket, to discuss the strategy behind Geissler’s decision to replace a majority of their shopping carts with AI-powered smart Caper Carts, making them one of the first retailers in the U.S. to launch a dense deployment of smart Caper Carts. A conversation on Geissler’s strategy to launch smart carts in their stores:

Nickitas: Hi Bob! Thanks for sitting down with me to discuss Geissler’s vision, experience and expected outcomes of launching smart carts in your stores. I’d like to start at the beginning and ask what made you interested in smart shopping cart technology as a local independent grocer?

Rybick: As a multi-generational, independent grocer, we are focused on finding the best offerings and technology to help our customers, team members and business. With so many technological advancements now available for the grocery industry, we wanted to find something that could hit several of our strategic focuses, including:

  • Enhancing the in-store experience for our customers;
  • Assistance in loss prevention; and
  • Helping grow revenue.

So, when we began exploring solutions to address our three strategic focuses, smart shopping carts emerged as a perfect fit. After evaluating our options, Caper Carts stood out as the most comprehensive solution.

Nickitas: Let’s dive deeper into those three strategic focuses then. How are you projecting that smart shopping carts will enhance the in-store experience for your customers?

Rybick: At launch, smart shopping carts will reduce lines and congestion in the store, creating a more enjoyable shopping experience for customers. The cart’s screen helps customers track their running total in real-time, helping them stay on budget. The screen also offers a Deals Hub – with digital coupons, aisle locations and loyalty program login to ensure we’re giving our customers all of the benefits they expect. Customers can also checkout directly on the Caper Cart with an integrated payment terminal, ensuring a seamless process. Our customers expect us to continually offer them first class in-store shopping experience and we feel implementing Caper Carts will drastically help with that.

Nickitas: One of the biggest concerns that retailers have with self-checkout experiences are with shrink/loss prevention. How do you project smart carts helping with that?

Rybick: Caper has a number of built in features that make it plug-and-play for loss prevention assistance. All together, these carts collectively have more safeguards to prevent theft than traditional self-checkout. For example, with Caper Carts specifically, the cart doesn’t just scan an item’s barcode, it recognizes it with the built-in computer vision cameras, taking into account item attributes so customers don’t scan one item, but put a different item in their basket. Additionally, the Caper Cart has a scale built-in to the bottom of the cart basket, allowing for accurate measures of weighted items. Lastly, Caper Carts have an audit system that flags carts based on our audit preferences, which are then checked by a store employee, or when notable items are added to the cart.

Nickitas: And finally, I want to talk about ROI. Most grocers are wondering how to think about profitability with smart carts. Do you expect Caper to affect your revenue growth?

Rybick: Yes, in so many ways. The engaging customer experience of the smart cart has already proven to drive a larger basket size. In addition to that, our smart carts offer gamification features, such as a “spin the wheel” feature that unlocks Caper Cart-only coupons for instant dollars off a customer’s shop. Furthermore, the cart’s screen is a new surface for the future potential of serving relevant, personalized ads directly to our customers at the point of purchase. These ads would help generate a new revenue stream that can help offset the implementation cost of smart carts.

Nickitas: Now let’s pivot to the technical side of smart cart implementation. What were your questions coming into this initiative on how it would affect your current tech stack, store operations and ongoing maintenance?

Rybick: We had many questions about this, as we aimed to ensure a seamless launch of smart carts in our stores, especially with our want to replace a majority of our carts with smart carts. Our key questions included:

  • How difficult is it going to be to integrate smart carts into our catalog and POS systems?
  • Would there be any technical requirements or store modifications needed?
  • What does the ongoing maintenance look like for these products?

Nickitas: And what did you find to be the answers to those questions?

Rybick: The answers were a lot less cumbersome than one might think. It all came down to picking the right smart cart and the right company to partner with, for Geissler’s that was Instacart’s Caper Cart. With our chosen smart cart, integrating into our existing catalog to ensure all our SKUs would be recognized easily by the smart cart while customers are shopping was handled without issue. Our partner company integrates with all the leading POS systems in grocery, so that was also an easy check off.

Myself and the Geissler’s team were surprised at the minimal amount of technical requirements and store modifications needed to implement something as big and widely used as new shopping carts. Basically all we needed was an internet connection to get the smart carts connected and an area in the store for the carts to charge. Since regular shopping carts already have a bay, we were able to make that the charging area, as Caper Carts have the ability for nested charging. We do also have a smart cart checkout priority lane, which wasn’t a big deal to implement. We did add some in-store signage to help educate our customers on the smart carts, but the lift there was also minimal.

And lastly, for the ongoing maintenance, Instacart has remote management personnel and software for easily auditing each Caper Cart, as well as providing software updates as needed. For the physical cart maintenance, Instacart manages that ongoing, alleviating that potential stress from our teams.

Nickitas: I appreciate all you said and just have one more question. What would you tell other local, independent grocers who are considering smart cart technology for their stores?

Rybick: I think local, independent grocers have such an exciting opportunity to be the leaders in innovation in this space. The ability to be nimble and have an outsized impact on their business with new technology shouldn’t be dismissed and just because a solution or product uses AI doesn’t mean it’s out of reach for our peers. I’d tell other local, independent grocers who are considering smart cart technology for their stores that the benefits of incorporating smart carts into their short- and long-term business strategies are too great to ignore. From the customer impact, store impact and revenue opportunities through increased basket sizes and retail media network/advertising, paired with the lower than expected lift to actually launch smart carts in store, it seems to me a no brainer that smart carts should be on all local, independent grocers’ strategic radar with a push on sooner rather than later.

Original article found at The Shelby Report.

October 17, 2024 in Member News

Navigating The Inflationary Tide: How Connecticut Food Retailers Adapt in Political Headwinds

Amid an unrivaled inflationary environment that has sparked debate at both federal and state levels, Connecticut grocers have come under unwarranted scrutiny from the state’s Senate Democratic leadership and attorney general following a relatively uneventful 2024 legislative session. With pressure mounting from national polls, some elected officials are scrambling to address the root causes of inflation, aiming to alleviate consumer angst over higher food costs attributed to government policies. However, their investigation is focused solely on the state’s food retailers and has warranted industry indignation regarding the broader context of inflation and the efficacy of government intervention to mitigate rising food prices.

During the pandemic, surge buying, labor shortages, production facility closures, and supply chain disruptions collectively contributed to increased costs across multiple economic sectors. In response, the federal government implemented substantial stimulus measures aimed at bolstering the economy by injecting almost six trillion dollars into the U.S. market. From my perspective, although not that of an economist, paying people to stay home and artificially inflating incomes invariably leads to inflation. Despite these factors, some political leaders seem inclined to scapegoat food retailers rather than address the underlying causes of runaway inflation.

Connecticut Attorney General William Tong’s current investigation into “potential” grocery store price gouging exemplifies this misguided government focus. Following an April Federal Trade Commission (FTC) report that found grocery store prices remained elevated even as the pandemic ended and inflation cooled, Tong announced his office would investigate whether grocery stores in Connecticut have been engaging in price gouging. The FTC’s report examined national grocery chains like Walmart, Kroger, and Amazon and found that revenues and profits continued to rise after the pandemic disruptions, casting doubt on assertions that rising grocery store prices merely reflect retailers’ rising costs.

Seizing on the FTC report and White House talking points, Senate Majority Leaders Martin Looney and Bob Duff, along with several Senate Democrats, supported the Connecticut AG’s inquiry, citing the FTC’s findings that grocery prices “might be” artificially high due to corporate opportunism. Many local observers quickly pointed out that this approach is fundamentally flawed in its belief that food prices begin and end at the checkout register. The Connecticut Food Association along with multiple news editorials around the state pushed back, emphasizing that inflation is a multifaceted problem influenced by global supply chains, energy costs, and international economic policies and that the rise in food prices is no higher than increases in the restaurant, entertainment, healthcare, automotive, home improvement, insurance, and banking sectors. Bottom line: inflation has affected the cost of everything consumers purchase.

Elected officials are ignoring broader economic factors by focusing narrowly on local retailers while unfairly blaming local and regional businesses. This not only fails to address the root causes of inflation but also risks damaging the reputation of food retailers who are themselves struggling with increased costs. Yet some political leaders in D.C. and Connecticut are fixated on grocery stores, using them as convenient targets for political gain rather than addressing the macroeconomic issues that drive food prices. Ultimately, the current scrutiny of Connecticut’s grocers appears to be more of a political maneuver than a genuine effort to tackle inflation. I’m curious to see how interested these same political opportunists are after state and national elections in November.

Original article found at Food Trade News.

July 30, 2024 in CFA News