1. Trends & External Forces

FaceTime with the Content Guy:  AI Pitch, Swing, Miss

Written by Posted on Less than 0 min read

There are things that AI can do that are immensely valuable to retailers, providing new levels of efficiency and productivity.  But there are things that AI can’t do, or at least can’t do well – a point that recently was driven home to me in a lesson that I think applies to most retailers.

The post FaceTime with the Content Guy:  AI Pitch, Swing, Miss appeared first on MNB.

View Original Article
Post Views: 19
Member since
For more than 30 years, Kevin Coupe has been bringing to readers and audiences a wealth of experience, sharp storytelling skills, provocative and contextual insights, unique worldview and serious levity about the world of business and consumers. https://morningnewsbeat.com
Do you like MorningNewsBeat's articles? Follow on social!

More from MorningNewsBeat

  1. Technology & Innovation

OffBeat:  “Fast Is Smooth, Smooth Is Fast”

“F1,” just out in theaters, is every bit the slick, fast-paced, finely tuned entertainment vehicle as the race cars that form the center of its story. The plot is simple, and in its own way, classically structured.  Aging race car driver, long off the circuit, gets a chance at redemption.  He faces obstacles in the […]
< 1 min read
0
  1. Media & Marketing

Your Views:  Not The Best Of Circumstances

The fact is, I’ve had a lot of stories and commentaries lately that have veered into the political realm – not because I wanted to write about politics, but because politicians keep saying and doing things that impinge on my turf.  Such a case was when I took note of an Axios report that the […]
9 min read
0
  1. Channel: Delivery

Study:  How “Dynamic Pricing” May Be Driving Up Grocery Costs

The New York Times this morning has a piece about how a recent, limited study suggested the degree to which pricing on Instacart can be dynamic – some would say unacceptable fluid – which is “a trend economists say could be pushing up some prices.” Here’s the context for the piece: “On a Thursday in […]
5 min read
0
  1. Media & Marketing

OffBeat:  KC/In Conversation w/ Mark Ciccone, Author of “Secrets Among Friends”

Today on OffBeat, a little something different … a conversation with Mark Ciccone, a longtime industry veteran who has just published his first mystery novel, “Secrets With Friends,” which uses Eastern Europe and (go figure) his experiences with CPG and supply chain as a backdrop for his plot. I hope you enjoy our chat, and […]
< 1 min read
0
  1. Channel: Grocery

Has Wegmans Lost A Step?

In Rochester, New York, WHEC-TV News has a story suggesting that “Wegmans shoppers may be seeing a drop in satisfaction, according to an annual report from the American Customer Satisfaction Index. “The index measures customer satisfaction on a scale of 0 to 100. Wegmans got a score of 78 — a 6% drop from the […]
3 min read
0
  1. Technology & Innovation

The Innovation Conversation: Amazon’s ‘Next’ Big Growth Engine

Scott Galloway, the entrepreneur, podcast host and marketing professor, recently said that Amazon would be his “big tech stock pick” for 2026, predicting that its share price would outperform all the other major technology companies.  Tom Furphy and KC were intrigued – not because of how he predicts the stock will perform, but because of […]
2 min read
0
  1. Channel: Ecommerce & Digital

BREAKING NEWS:  Amazon Bails Out Of Physical Stores Business, Closing Go And Fresh Stores

Amazon announced today that it is closing its 57 Amazon Fresh Stores and 15 Amazon Go stores.  With the exception of Whole Foods, which it acquired for $13.7 billion in 2017, it will now be out of the bricks-and-mortar business for the time being. The company’s food retail focus now will be on expanding its […]
3 min read
0
  1. Trends & External Forces

US Rolls Back Tariffs On More Than 200 Food Products

From Reuters: “U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday rolled back tariffs on more than 200 food products, including such staples as coffee, beef, bananas and orange juice, in the face of growing angst among American consumers about the high cost of groceries. “The new exemptions – which took effect retroactively at midnight on Thursday – […]
3 min read
0
  1. Department: Beverage

FaceTime with the Content Guy:  Life Is Too Short To Drink Cheap Wine

A wonderful op-ed piece in the Wall Street Journal by a write named David K. Israel teaches an important lesson about acquisition, loss, and the singular power of the moment.  And, there’s even a little business lesson in there. The post FaceTime with the Content Guy:  Life Is Too Short To Drink Cheap Wine appeared […]
< 1 min read
0
  1. Channel: Ecommerce & Digital

The Innovation Conversation:  Amazon’s E-Grocery Expansion & How To Compete Against It 

Last month, Amazon announced that “customers in more than 1,000 cities and towns can now order fresh groceries with their Same-Day Delivery orders, with plans to expand to over 2,300 across the U.S. by year-end,” calling it one of the company’s “most significant” investments in the grocery segment. Today, Tom Furphy and KC look at […]
< 1 min read
0
  1. Media & Marketing

FaceTime with the Content Guy:  The Excavation Business

I encountered the other day a description by the distinguished author and journalist Roger Rosenblatt of how he approached his work as a writing teacher.  He described it as being in the “excavation business,” and when I thought about it, I thought his comments also apply to great leaders and employers. The post FaceTime with […]
< 1 min read
0
  1. Trends & External Forces

Albertsons Stiff-Arms Its Suppliers Over Tariffs

Albertsons EVP, Chief Merchandising & Digital Officer Omer Gajial has written a letter to suppliers in which he flatly says that “with few exceptions, we are not accepting cost increases due to tariffs.” The letter initially was sent several weeks ago, but only now is getting broad visibility outside the supplier community. Here’s the entire […]
4 min read
0
  1. Technology & Innovation

Calls For National Economic Boycott Grow With Cultural, Political Unrest

Economic boycotts tied to national reactions to the actions of the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency are growing, though at this point, they seem to be having minimal impact. There was one last Friday that was organized by The People’s Union USA, which describes itself as a “grassroots movement dedicated to economic resistance, […]
5 min read
0
  1. Data & Insights

Your Views:  The Meat Of The Matter

Responding to last week’s announcement of new nutrition guidelines by the US Department of Agriculture (USDA), one MNB reader wrote: What I struggle with in this “reset” is how high-level it says: “protein is good,” “fat is good,” “eat more meat,” etc. The part that’s unquestionably right is the push away from ultra-processed foods—and the […]
8 min read
0
  1. Media & Marketing

The Seductive & Corrupting Nature Of Ancillary Revenue

From the New York Times this weekend: “Frequent-flier programs are becoming one of the most prized assets in aviation. “Loyalty programs are now indispensable to some airlines, generating healthy profits in good times and blunting losses in downturns. By one estimate, the programs are worth hundreds of billions of dollars globally, accounting at times for […]
3 min read
0
  1. Department: Food

FaceTime with the Content Guy:  Meal Kit Blues

I saw a piece on a  website called “Simply Recipes” about a meal kit for spaghetti and meatballs that wasn’t a recipe at all – it was just three bags that you combine and toss into a microwave.  This struck me as emblematic of why many in the supermarket industry have been unable to make  […]
< 1 min read
0
  1. Trends & External Forces

FaceTime with the Content Guy:  COOL Beans

There are reports that as tariffs drive up the cost of imported goods, Amazon shoppers increasingly are looking for products that are made in America.  Which strikes me as an opportunity to help shoppers identify items that could be affected by tariffs (without being specific about the actual price of tariffs, because heaven forbid we […]
< 1 min read
0
  1. Data & Insights

Sansolo Speaks:  AI OK?

by Michael Sansolo I’ve watched too many movies to be completely on board with artificial intelligence. After all, in most of those movies AI results in humans being hunted down by machines trying somehow to save us from ourselves. At the minimum AI is another technology that brings all kinds of promise and along the […]
3 min read
0
  1. Channel: Grocery

Kroger’s 2026 Plans: Fresh E-Grocery Approach & An Outside CEO Hire

As Kroger released its third-quarter results late last week, it also revealed that it would write Ocado a $350 million check as a “one-off payment” to compensate  the technology company for the closure of three of robotic warehouses and the decision to “scrap plans for another facility.” At the same time, Kroger has revealed that […]
4 min read
0
Next