 The pandemic may have maintained its iron grip during 2021, but that didn't stop the food retailing industry from pressing ambitiously ahead during the extraordinary year now drawing to a close. Throughout 2021, grocers experimented with multiple store designs designed to appeal to changing consumer tastes and expectations, stepped up their efforts to make e-commerce more efficient and adopted strategies to personalize their relationships with customers. Retailers also used the year to make their products more accessible, with some making it possible for shoppers who participate in SNAP to use their benefits online. The industry's increasing focus on automation grabbed headlines throughout the year as micro-fulfillment technology advanced and retailers like Kroger and Ahold Delhaize unveiled robotic fulfillment facilities. Meanwhile, instant-needs startups swarmed New York City and opened outposts in other areas as they introduced shoppers to delivery in as little as 10 minutes. And Instacart continued to expand beyond its roots as an e-commerce provider as it launched a self-service advertising platform, pushed into smart carts and hired a host of technology-steeped executives. Needless to say, my teammates and I had an action-packed year chronicling the news and trends that have defined the grocery industry over the past 12 months. We hope you've enjoyed our coverage, and invite you to share our newsletter with your colleagues. They can use this link to sign up: https://www.grocerydive.com/signup/insiders/?signup_referred_by=60a5c3aa567ee621a1070bb0 Grocery Dive is on a publishing break until Jan. 4, when our next daily newsletter will be distributed. We'll update our site if any major news breaks in the meantime. Thank you for being a Grocery Dive reader this year. We're looking forward to bringing you more news and analysis about the food retailing industry as 2022 gets underway. Happy holidays!  Sam Silverstein
Reporter, Grocery Dive
Twitter | Email As a number of retailers look to shrink the sizes of new stores, several are making fresh foods a focal point. |
Deep Dive The pandemic hasn’t dampened grocers' enthusiasm for dining experiences, and many are looking to new formats and digital services to spice things up. |
Deep Dive Companies are offering hefty signing bonuses, but they also need to examine scheduling flexibility, advancement opportunities and other incentives, labor experts and retailers say. |
Deep Dive In this three-part series, Grocery Dive talks to grocers, tech vendors and experts about the opportunities the USDA's SNAP Online Purchasing pilot unlocks and the obstacles to implementation. |
Column The latest expansion news shows the flexibility executives have long touted and indicates the partnership is off to a strong start. But there’s still a long way to go. |
After a year of outsized sales and profits, food retailers are suggesting that comparisons with 2020 don't paint an accurate picture about their future potential. Will Wall Street buy their story? |
Deep Dive Located in an up-and-coming northwest suburb of Des Moines, Iowa, the festive prototype features a lineup of new departments and partnerships, with digital touchpoints woven throughout. |
According to Grocery Dive's proprietary retailer and shopper surveys, consumers are more engaged than ever with center store, but the shift to online is creating new challenges. |
Deep Dive On the heels of two technology acquisitions, a deeper move into digital ads and fulfillment-as-a-service, analysts weigh in on what the e-commerce company is building. | | 
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