Retail Performance Management Health Check

Evaluate your competitive intelligence program

Grocery is a highly competitive retail category. Customers have so many options when it comes to where to shop and what to buy. To build loyalty with shoppers, grocers are hyper-focused on improving value. That might mean better promotions, lower prices, more conveniences online, or a unique product assortment. 

Because of the intense competition, grocery retailers are embracing technology – adding automation to understand the market and create competitive differentiators.  

So, whether you’re just starting your journey to price and promotion optimization or if you’re well-versed in all things competitive data and product matching, it’s important to integrate today’s AI-backed tech to your operations.  

The State of Grocery Retail Performance

Retail performance management is about more than tracking sales. It’s about ensuring every decision (from pricing, to promotions, to assortment) creates measurable value for shoppers and profitability for the business.

Grocers face margin pressures, supply chain shifts, and rapidly changing shopper expectations. Leading retailers are using data-driven, science-backed tools to stay agile. The right solutions help teams:

• Get each price in every store ‘just right’
• Compare against competitors in real time
• Execute consistently across banner- and store-specific pricing zones
• Balance promotions with category performance
• Operationalize grocery insights

In today’s market, success requires visibility, confidence, and the ability to act quickly.

10 Critical Questions to Ask When Evaluating Retail Performance

Answer these questions to see areas to boost revenue operations:

• Are you able to identify your omnichannel competition? 
• Do you know what products your competitors carry (and those they don’t)? 
• Can you evaluate which of these products would be worth adding to your shelves? 
• Can you filter your pricing data by zip code? By price per unit? By average competitor price? 
• Can you easily identify pricing recommendations with pricing rules based on desired business outcome (margin, profit), competitive price changes, or inventory levels? 
• Are you confident in your product matching? Is it scalable? Do you have blind spots with private label or fresh products? 
• Are you monitoring your competitors’ promotions? Promotional frequency? Promotional depth? 
• Can category managers easily understand and react to category performance and differentiators?  
• Are you confident in the decisions you make based on the competitive data you have? 

We hope you answered “yes” to all of these questions, but if not, there are incredible automation capabilities available to you.  

Keep reading to learn more. 

AI, Machine Learning & Competitive Intelligence

Everyone is talking about AI-capabilities and ML-driven processes when it comes to the competitive retail landscape. It’s overwhelming. It’s confusing. 

You’re probably wondering… 

• Should I be investing in these tools? Which ones? 
• What exactly do these tools really do? 
• How do these features help me in my job?  

Let me break down how we’re helping grocery retailers use artificial intelligence and machine learning solutions to drive growth… 

1. Market Basket Analysis

Artificial intelligence tools will show you product associations and patterns in shopping baskets so you can better cross-sell products effectively. Learn how to conduct a differential market basket analysis here. 

2. Product Matching

Machine learning will help you automate the time-consuming task of product matching. With an ML-driven product matching solution, you can identify the same or similar products and group products into clusters. Use that data to deep dive into your value. 

3. Price Optimization

With AI, you can analyze competitive pricing to recommend pricing for your own products. Adjusting your pricing strategy based on the competitive landscape could increase your revenue. 

4. Assortment & Selection

AI can help grocery stores determine the optimal mix of products by showing you availability and assortment gaps / overlap in the market. 

These are just a handful of ways AI and ML are streamlining grocery operations. Retail performance excellence starts with a thoughtful partner who provides reliable data, accurate product matching, and action-driving analytics that help you improve your day-to-day strategies. 

How Grocers Use Pricing Intelligence to Improve Performance

Pricing intelligence is one of the most immediate levers grocers can pull. It enables teams to:

• Protect price image on key value items (KVIs)
• Maintain profitability while staying competitive
• Respond quickly to competitor moves without guesswork
• Test promotions in advance to forecast outcomes

When your competitive data is reliable and actionable, you can align pricing strategies with customer expectations and business goals. That’s the foundation of retail performance management.

Win the Market

Across the US, there’s more than 60,000 supermarkets and grocery stores.  

Walmart alone has more than 4,000 stores. Or look at Aldi, which has a reputation as an ultra-affordable grocery store. There’s Kroger, who’s sales hit $148 billion in 2022. 

The question is… How do you use AI technology to compete with these stores? 

When technology drives data collection, product matching, analytics, and operations you are building loyalty with an intentional strategy. Customers want value, convenience, reliability, and a similar experience across channels. You can deliver on these needs with data automation.

To win the market, you need visibility into the competitive landscape. Keeping a pulse on the competition supports your assortment, pricing, and promotion decisions. Continue to assess your technology and processes. Ask the critical questions so you can adjust, address, and WIN.  

“We see grocery stores of all sizes leveraging advanced technologies like AI and ML to influence shoppers. Embracing technology doesn’t have to be scary, it’s an opportunity,” says VP of revenue growth at Bungee Tech, Matt Shachter. (Bungee Tech is now ClearDemand.) “Big data isn’t just for enterprise retailers. AI isn’t just for big teams. These are accessible tools that drive a successful retail performance and growth strategies.” 

If you’re interested in learning more, reach out to our team.