How grocery stores are shaking up retail

The world of grocery stores is highly competitive, with operators competing on price, product and infrastructure while racing to create the best omnichannel shopping experience for tens of millions of customers daily.

As Progressive Grocer’s editor-in-chief, Gina Acosta has a front row seat to all the transformation, growth and innovation in the industry. “Is there any other industry that goes through as much change as retail? I don’t think so,” she says.

Acosta has covered retail and CPG industries for various business publications since 2014, and says she still geeks out over grocery industry news. Her love for retail — and grocery stores in particular — won her a fellowship from The Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard University in 2006, where she spent more than a year studying retail, marketing and agribusiness and teaching journalism.

Now, Acosta will bring her vast experience as a journalist and interviewer to NRF 2025: Retail’s Big Show, where she will host a fireside chat with Albertsons’ Jill Pavlovich on the grocery chain’s cutting-edge digital strategy.

Read on for Acosta’s thoughts on the grocery store landscape, top trends in the category and the upcoming holiday season.

You’ve been a business journalist and editor your entire career, but what attracted you to covering the retail industry, and specifically, CPG?

I have always been fascinated with the servant leadership aspect of the retail industry and grocery especially, and as a Nieman Fellow at Harvard University I studied retail marketing and agribusiness. This only strengthened my desire to specialize in the kind of journalism that shines a light on these essential industries.

What trends in grocery and wellness are you keeping an eye on right now?

Artificial intelligence, retail media and the future of work are all transforming the grocery industry, and are top-of-mind trends for senior leaders.

What are the biggest supply chain challenges facing grocery retailers over the next few years and how can they prepare?

Retailers are always thinking about the next big supply chain crisis. To prepare, they are focused on optimizing their supply chains now by leveraging predictive analytics to create a synchronized ecosystem of master data, inventory, order and vendor management.

You have written a lot about artificial intelligence and how it is transforming the way consumers shop for groceries. How are grocery retailers using AI today and what are you hearing about how they’ll use it in the future?

Retailers are looking to use AI to increase operational efficiencies, and that includes automating some tasks so that human labor can be re-allocated to areas such as customer service. At the same time, retailers are leveraging AI in areas such as asset protection, inventory management and social commerce as well.

In 2023, we saw a resurgence in in-store shopping during the holidays. What do you expect for holiday spending in the grocery and wellness industry this holiday season?

Now that the election is over, I expect exuberance from the U.S. consumer when it comes to celebrating with friends and family this holiday season — and that includes lots of trips to the grocery store.

What excites you most about the future of retail?

Is there any other industry that goes through as much change as retail? I don’t think so. What excites me the most is exactly that — trying to keep up with the constant change in the industry is absolutely thrilling and keeps us on our toes at Progressive Grocer.

What is the best career advice you’ve ever received?

You don’t know if you don’t go. That basically means, SHOW UP to everything. Speak up. Volunteer. Never say no. And always do it with a big smile on your face!