Grocer rolls out AI assistants
Harps Food Stores will deploy SmartMeals, an AI shopping assistant, across 150+ locations—bringing recipe suggestions, curated recommendations, and personalized offers into physical retail. It's a sign that AI assistants are moving into in‑store and omnichannel touchpoints, creating new data and content integration needs for brands. (arkansasonline.com)
Associated Wholesale Grocers says SmartMeals moved from pilot to wide-scale deployment in a press release on March 17, 2026, and the tool was developed in partnership with Breez AI. (awginc.com) AWG reports 85 member stores went live in January and that “nearly 100” stores are now onboarded, with a pipeline that includes some of its largest members. (theshelbyreport.com) AWG’s senior vice president James Neumann cited pilot results showing a 22% lift in average basket size and a 72% increase in loyalty sign‑ups at participating stores. (awginc.com) SmartMeals integrates directly into retailers’ existing websites and apps, generates step‑by‑step recipes tied to store inventory, and is positioned as privacy‑forward while enabling personalized product recommendations and retail‑media opportunities. (awginc.com) Harps announced its rollout at an AWG Innovation event on March 23, 2026, and said SmartMeals will connect with its existing digital systems and the Birdzi loyalty platform to link personalized meal planning, digital savings and future online ordering to store‑level inventory and loyalty data. (talkbusiness.net) AWG frames SmartMeals as a competitive tool for independent grocers to match national chains, and the cooperative began developing the Breez‑powered solution in 2024 to give members an owned, branded AI experience that drives loyalty and retail revenue. (awginc.com)
