Trader Joe's Beloved Bananas, Creepy Self-Checkout Technology: Top Grocery News Of The Week

The grocery industry found a lot of new ways to surveil shoppers this week, with a fancy new AI-powered shopping cart and some new AI-powered self-checkout technology that sees whether you've snuck anything into your bag without paying. Read on for more of the top grocery news from January 22-26.

In a move that doesn't sound hostile to the general public whatsoever, checkout terminal manufacturer Diebold Nixdorf has unveiled new cashier-less self-checkout technology meant to "reduce shrink, verify age for liquor sales, and speed up the process of buying products without barcodes," reports Supermarket News. It's powered by artificial intelligence, a technology that's clearly been documented to never, ever, make errors, right? Oh, wait. - Dennis Lee Read More

One of the dirty little not-so-secret secrets about our system of grocery shopping in the U.S. is that the average American supermarket produces a lot of food and packaging waste, sucks up energy (often from non-renewable sources), and emits a hefty amount of greenhouse gases. ALDI, however, is not about that life. Not content to be the cheapest and fastest-growing store on the block, the quirky German-based juggernaut is apparently going all in on sustainable environmental practices in an effort to win the hearts and minds of today's eco-conscious shoppers. - Betsy Parks Read More

Loyalty is a virtue valued by romantic partners and fast food brands alike, and it seems grocery stores are no different. Just about every business has a rewards program these days, but Grocery Dive reports that third-party delivery company Instacart is aiming to take things one step further by gamifying the grocery shopping experience to unlock perks. - Angela L. Pagán Read More

Earlier this week, Trader Joe's released the results of its 15th annual Customer Choice Awards. Browsing the results, which were perhaps more diverse than usual because some perennial favorites were taken out of the running after being inducted into the Hall of Fame, one winner stood out: the lowly banana. - Lauren Harkawik Read More

There's no denying that Dolly Parton is a musical legend. Her decades-long career in country music is already one for the books, but she has also applied her seemingly endless powers to a different industry altogether: food, particularly consumer package goods. - Dennis Lee Read More