n.904

USA: AI sales agents and drones are being used by leading companies in the physical retail and delivery sectors


Take Kroger, the fourth-largest US retailer, which uses AI for personalised menus and other features, whilst Albertsons is launching a Safeway shopping plugin based on ChatGPT and DoorDash is using drones to deliver ready meals, following Walmart’s example . This innovative approach highlights a further widening of the existing gap between the European and American retail sectors, with the latter – technologically speaking – always one step ahead. Drafted on 3 August, updated on 6 August 2026

AIDeliveryWalmart
 

n.903

Albertsons launches the Safeway shopping plugin powered by ChatGPT


A new tool allows shoppers at Safeway, a brand within the group, to create shopping lists, edit their trolleys, find savings and more...  The Safeway plugin, which went live this week, offers shoppers a conversational way to reorder regulars, search for offers, plan meals or shop directly from a recipe, photo or list. Customers type their requests in plain language, and the plugin matches them to Safeway products before routing them through the shopping basket and checkout. The plugin also allows customers to compare, adjust or remove items from their basket before the Safeway platform takes over at the checkout... At one point, Safeway had Dominick’s among its brands.

AIDominick's
 

n.901

US price-fixing case: producers to pay $3.3 million and donate 53 million eggs


Three major companies in the sector have reached an agreement with the US judicial system regarding price-fixing over several years. They will be required to donate these eggs to food banks and NGOs... Cal-Maine Foods, Versova-Centrum and Hickman’s Egg Ranch “illegally coordinated to influence the daily egg price index ”, which meant “artificially inflating prices for distributors and consumers”... Egg prices have soared in recent years in the United States, particularly in 2025 with the proliferation of avian influenza outbreaks on American farms. They reached an all-time high inMarch 2025, doubling within a year (96 per cent)... Egg prices have given a major boost to US inflation. Below: a tongue-in-cheek photo showing that eggs had become ‘a dream’, given their scarcity

Inflation
 

n.900

Non-alcoholic wines and wine by the glass as an added bonus


For Francesco Venezia, many of the changes that seem marginal today will soon become the norm. The non-alcoholic drinks market, for example, is set to grow in Italy too: ‘It will follow the same path as gluten-free products. At first, you could only find them in chemists; today, they’re everywhere.” He isn’t expecting miracles, however: “It’s like gluten-free bread: it’s a different product. You shouldn’t expect it to be identical to the original.”

 

n.899

The Financial Times: “Spanish olive oil is better than Italian olive oil” – but it’s not clear why


In theFinancial Times articleentitled‘Sorry, but Spanish olive oil is far superior to Italian’, written by art expert Igor Ramírez García-Peralta , the opinions are not backed up by any analysis that would explain the basis for this alleged superiority. The article ends up resembling an advertorial. Read: The best olive oil on the supermarket shelf is 100% Italian.

Extra Virgin Olive Oil
 

n.897

Change at the top for Coin


...Enrico Faglioni has been appointed chief executive. He takes over fromMatteo Cosmi, who has been at the helm of the company since 2024. Faglioni has extensive experience in the fashion retail sector and in multi-channel distribution management. Since 2015, he has held senior management roles overseeing the outlet channel for the Eccellenze Italiane group (the holding company headed by entrepreneur Marco Marchi, which brings together brands such asLiu Jo,BlumarineandRebel Queen)… Faglioni’s career has its roots in fashion retail, with expertise gained across direct retail, outlet formats, multi-brand networks and business development... These skills were lacking within the group. below: the Coin store at Citylife, in Milan, which recently closed.

Non-food
 

n.896

Amazon is the leading distributor in Europe and the third-largest in the United States


Amazon has taken the lead in European retail in terms of sales volume, narrowly overtaking the German Schwarz Group, which owns the Lidl and Kaufland chains. This figure is interesting but not entirely clear, as it is not obvious exactly which data it refers to: the report only mentions merchandise turnover (does this include non-food items?). What is truly interesting is the fact that in the US, Amazon is now the third-largest retailer of packaged food and consumer goods (health and beauty, homeware and pet food): it has overtaken major supermarket chains such as Kroger, placing itself behind Walmart and Costco. This is not a symbolic milestone, like overtaking Lidl, but a serious warning to European retailers: should Amazon decide to step up a gear, it could become the dominant force in the consumer goods sector. The latest figures from Amazon in the US place it second only to Walmart: Amazon in the second quarter of 2026: net turnover growth of 20 per cent year-on-year, reaching $200.6 billion Drafted on 26 July, updated on 3 August 2026

AmazonLidlNon-foodWalmart
 

n.894

Amazon in the second quarter of 2026: net revenue up 20 per cent year-on-year, reaching $200.6 billion


In the three months ended 30 June... The retailer has seen an increase of over 50 per cent in the number of monthly active customers purchasing perishable goods since the start of the year, said Chairman and CEO Andrew Jassy during the financial results conference call. He also stated that orders for perishable goods with same-day delivery contain, on average, more than three times as many items per order, and that fresh food products account for six of the retailer’s 20 best-selling items... (Amazon’s figures should be separated from those of the Whole Foods chain, which is included in this tally)

AmazonWhole Foods