Albertsons Says AI Shopping Assistant Increased Customers’ Basket Size by 10%

Albertsons Companies is seeing early results of its deeper integration of data and artificial intelligence, and the firm expects these resources to serve as the core of its transformation efforts, executives said Wednesday (Jan. 7) during an earnings call.

The food and drug retailer, whose company banners include Albertsons, Jewel Osco, Safeway and Vons, has seen these initiatives contribute to third-quarter fiscal 2025 results that included year-over-year growth of 2.4% in identical sales and 21% in digital sales, Albertsons Companies President and Chief Financial Officer Sharon McCollam said during the call.

Albertsons Companies CEO Susan Morris said during the call that the firm is not using AI “as a short-term lever.”

“We’re embedding it into merchandising, labor and supply chain to create a durable structural advantage,” Morris said. “From personalized shopping and merchandising intelligence to supply chain optimization, these capabilities are already scaling, driving lower costs, faster execution and compounding returns that will support growth and profitability for years to come.”

By using AI in its digital customer experience, Albertsons has earned increases in basket size, repeat trips and loyalty, Morris said. She highlighted the company’s Ask AI.

Albertsons announced in September that this AI shopping assistant was accessible via the search bar in the apps of all its banner stores and was helping customers shop, plan meals and discover new products.

“Our Ask AI search capability is already delivering a 10% increase in basket size for those customers using it, signaling a meaningful upside as adoption scales,” Morris said during the Wednesday earnings call.

Other customer-facing tools powered by AI include Albertsons’ autonomous shopping assistants.

Albertsons announced in December that these agentic AI tools were available across all its banner websites and were streamlining customers’ grocery trips by planning meals, building carts and executing complete end-to-end tasks.

“Our autonomous shopping assistants are meeting customers where they are and delivering frictionless personalized journeys, keeping our omnichannel customer experience modernized and on trend,” Morris said.

Albertsons is also applying AI to its merchandising intelligence to transform category management and drive margin improvement. The company plans to equip its merchants with AI-driven insights and automation that will optimize pricing, promotions and assortment decisions.

“Our vision is a future where intelligent automation guides these decisions, freeing our people to focus on strategy and innovation,” Morris said.

For managing labor, Albertsons is deploying generative AI to optimize labor forecasting and scheduling. This improves productivity and customer service by ensuring that the right associates are where they’re needed, when they’re needed.

“This transformation simplifies complex scheduling tasks, frees up associates to focus on the customer, and positions us to deliver consistent execution across thousands of stores,” Morris said.

AI demand forecasting has become central to Albertsons’ supply chain information. The technology has improved the company’s forecasting accuracy, fulfillment, quality and on-shelf availability.

“In sum, our tech and AI initiatives are designed to be scalable, enterprise-wide programs that can deliver measurable impact and build the foundation for tomorrow,” Morris said.

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