VisionR at GroceryShop 2025 in Las Vegas

GroceryShop, the annual global event for grocery and CPG innovation, took place this year at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino in Las Vegas from September 28th – October 1st. VisionR attended all three days and from it, took a lot of valuable insights.

There was a lot of excitement in the build up to GroceryShop, in part due to the incredible setting, in the shiny, gold towering hotel, sitting at the south end of the Las Vegas strip, but mainly due to the make-up of the keynote speakers. There were strategy and digital leaders from the likes of Walmart, 7-Eleven, and Giant Eagle, as well as insight experts from Havas and Nielsen IQ, who work hard to turn their advertising and shopper insights into real results for their partners. 

The themes of the event encapsulated a lot of hot-button topics for retailers. The latest in streamlining operational efficiency and harnessing new media are always prevalent at big events like these, and of course, understanding and retaining shoppers are always top of the list for those attending too. 

I think the biggest new theme at GroceryShop (and certainly one I’d never seen before at any other events) was “Building data-focused, future-ready retail organizations”. This topic seemed to take centre stage, as the talks were incredibly well attended. When the very early morning talks are filling up fast, you know those must be the ones retailers are most interested in seeing. 

Speakers from tech groups like Pacvue broke down Agentic-AI for retailers, showing how teams could take advantage of AI-assistants. They were described as automated workers that never sleep, and never make mistakes, leading to a new world where a Digital Officer or a Marketing Officer may have ten or twenty virtual workers, each performing specific individual tasks. 

Sandeep Kella, Pacvue’s CEO, spoke at length about how staff operations within upper echelons of retail groups could be streamlined massively through Agentic-AI, and gave clear examples of how this is done. He emphasised that Agentic-AI is advancing rapidly and will be a huge cost-saving solution for all businesses in the future, not just retailers. He closed his talk by saying that dozens of new Agentic-AI workers will have been birthed in companies across the USA, in the time it took him to give his 20-minute talk.

New media is always an area retailers want to take advantage of, as founder of Poppi drinks, Allisson Ellsworth stated “If your advertisements aren’t online and going viral, they may as well not be happening”. She said that marketing is not a separate department in her organisation, rather fully immersed in office operations, as she places much more value on discovering new (often much less expensive) ways of advertising, rather than relying on traditional streams. 

Allisson spoke about how one quick decision to jump on the Sorority dance trend on TikTok, which happened during the summer of 2025, brought in huge interest in her soda brand. She said it upped sales and exposure by several times, rather than if she had simply invested in television or online advertisements. 

One of the biggest draws to GroceryShop for retailers and technology companies alike, is the hard work that goes into arranging mutually beneficial 15-minute meetings between retailers and suppliers. Weeks of effort go in to arranging the ideal meetings between retailers that are seeking solutions and the companies that are innovating in those specific fields. 

VisionR benefited from gaining introductions to US grocery chains hoping to gain more insight on their in-store shopper, as maximizing sales from those already in store has become a KPI of more importance of late. This has become more prevalent especially with the continued rise of online and social media shopping, and the cost-of-living crisis, preventing average shoppers from spending as much as they had done pre-Covid. It's no surprise that Mark Ryske’s book, Store Traffic Is A Gift, (a book being discussed by many GroceryShop attendees) all about converting in-store shoppers, is skyrocketing up the business charts since its release in early September. 

The first day was an exciting mix of talks, meetings, and a desire to check out as many of the exhibits as possible, many of which were high-concept, like a giant gumball machine, grocery cart bowling, and the Donut Lounge, which was easy to use as a meeting point, due the giant inflatable donut which rose above it. 

The Store of Tomorrow was a major hit with the attendees, which allowed you to walk through a mocked-up shop, with various technologies being demonstrated throughout. The likes of Simbe and Augmodo, demonstrated in-store robotics and augmented workforce solutions. GS1 were the final exhibitors in The Store of Tomorrow, who are all about safe supply chains and modern barcoding. 

Day two was a big day of networking, where people were eager to check off their lists of providers and ensure they were gaining the fullest experience from their time. The floor was expansive, but people were very approachable, immersed in the great learning environment that GroceryShop provided. 

There were showstoppers every day owing to the great talks and panels arranged, and it was hard to pass a group of people who weren’t engaged in discussion over a talk they’d just been to. The atmosphere was always lively, as the attendees had flown in from all over the USA, and were staying either in the Mandalay or one of the various famous hotels in close vicinity. The event concluded with a beach party outside the Mandalay with complimentary food and drinks, and a performance from late-2000’s indie darlings Neon Trees.