A leading regional grocer set out to reinvent its fresh and perishables business amid rising labor costs, shrink, and shifting shopper expectations for quality and convenience. The organization redesigned its merchandising model end-to-end—integrating data-driven assortment planning, dynamic space allocation, and real-time inventory visibility.
At the shelf, fresh categories were re-segmented around shopper missions (meal solutions, healthy snacking, immediate consumption), supported by simplified signage and cross-merchandising that linked produce, deli, and prepared foods. AI-enabled forecasting improved order accuracy, reducing out-of-stocks by 18 percent while cutting shrink by 22 percent. Labor was redeployed from manual tasks to high-value activities such as curation and customer engagement.
Digital layers further enhanced the experience. Personalized offers, tied to freshness windows and purchase history, increased basket size in targeted segments by 9 percent. In-store technologies provided continuous shelf monitoring, enabling rapid replenishment and ensuring display integrity throughout the day.
The impact was material. Fresh sales grew 11 percent year over year, margins expanded by 250 basis points, and customer satisfaction scores improved significantly. More importantly, the grocer established a scalable operating model—one that translates real-time signals into precise execution—positioning fresh and perishables as a durable engine of growth and differentiation.