Global roundup: format development and innovations

Europe

New formats, financial results and loyalty scheme capabilities

Albert Heijn reopens smallest store after renovation. The Dutch market leader has renovated the 240 sq. m Amsterdam-based store, with an emphasis on ‘fresh, convenience and value’. Despite its small size, the store offers a wide variety of fresh produce, chilled and frozen products. Other highlights include its use of self-scan checkouts and a focus on energy efficiency.

Harriet Cohen, Senior Insight Analyst’s view: convenience remains one of the smaller channels in the Netherlands by size, with the market being dominated by larger stores. However, Albert Heijn joins retailers in neighbouring markets that are driving format development in convenience. Launches include forecourt retailer Q8’s new concept in Belgium and Salling Group’s discount-convenience pilot in Denmark. For more insight on the outlook for the convenience channel, read our insight presentation, ‘Global convenience trends 2025’.

Lidl opens new outlet stores in Finland. The discounter has opened pop-up outlets at 13 locations nationwide, offering end-of-life non-food items with discounts of 30-70 percent. Outlet sales focus on kitchenware, tools, leisure equipment, clothing and seasonal products, among other categories. Three of the locations have their own separate outlet store, while the remaining ten have a new outlet area located inside.

Rachel Sibson, Senior Insight Analyst’s view: non-food has traditionally been a key part of discounters’ promotion assortment, yet demand has declined in recent times. While this is due to several factors, discounters have been particularly impacted by the rise of non-food penetration in the online channel. This outlet approach by Lidl helps shoppers find non-food products more easily and allows stores to keep stock for longer. We look at how discounters are rethinking non-grocery in our 2025 discount trends report.

Aldi axes click-and-collect in Germany. Aldi Süd, which had been trialling click-and-collect lockers at three locations in Mülheim since last year, closed the service on 2 July. Meanwhile, the online delivery service Mein Aldi is continuously expanding.

Dan Butler, Senior Insight Analyst’s view: following on from the announced closure of its non-grocery online site, another online avenue has been deemed unprofitable for Aldi. Its decision to continue with the Mein Aldi home delivery service suggests that it is having more success with this model, or it could be to counter the growth of online pure players, such as Picnic, Knuspr and Wolt.

REWE adds payment capabilities to its app. Following the launch of its in-house loyalty scheme late last year, REWE has now launched a dedicated payment system into its app. This now allows shoppers to collect points, redeem coupons and pay with a single scan.

Michela Pearson, Insight Analyst’s view: REWE is continuously digitalising to make the shopper payment journey as easy and straightforward as possible, which is a great addition to the existing personalised features in the loyalty scheme. It also operates five autonomous stores in Germany, as well as having similar formats in Austria, Romania, and Lithuania.

Selex grows 4.5% in 2024. The Italian retailing group, which operates 18 banners across multiple channels, reached a milestone of €21.1 bn in 2024. The results were announced shortly after Selex launched Selex Media, the first proprietary retail media platform for Italian grocery retail. The group also reported strong preliminary results for 2025, with 7.9% growth in the first 5 months of the year, driven primarily by new store openings.

Michela Pearson, Insight Analyst’s view: Selex’s strategic focus on omnichannel and network investment looks to be paying off and is helping to retailer catch up with Italy’s market leader Conad in terms of overall performance. While full results for Conad have yet to be announced, its preliminary results reported at the end of 2024 also show €21.1 bn turnover, with 4.5% growth.

Asia-Pacific

Charitable partnerships, market expansions and an AI app feature

Coles partners with SecondBite to support food relief charities.  World renowned chefs Curtis Stone and Sergio Perera launched this year’s appeal to support Australians in need. Coles shoppers can help to feed people in need by donating at any Coles, Liquorland, First Choice Liquor Market or Vintage Cellars stores. They can buy a donation card or buy from participating brands with AUD 0.20 donated for each product sold.

Tan Soo Eng, Senior Insight Analyst’s view: Coles has been supporting SecondBite since 2011. This winter, it is working with a range of suppliers to boost this initiative, making it easier for all shoppers to participate simply by buying their favourite brands. Working with top chefs helps to drive awareness and add further credibility of this great partnership.

Emart24 to enter India. The Korean convenience retailer has announced plans to open its first Indian store in Pune in August 2025. The two-floor flagship store will feature Emart24’s signature No Brand products, along with a selection of Korean meals, cosmetics, and lifestyle ranges. It will also have an in-store dining area for shoppers to enjoy Korean street food.

Dan Butler, Senior Insight Analyst’s view: India has a growing Gen-Z population and Emart24 is looking to capitalise on the increasing popularity of Korean culture amongst this demographic. The Indian market has been a challenge in the past for foreign retailers, with many struggling to adjust to the cultural and regional differences and competition from traditional Kirana stores.

New leadership at Guardian Vietnam operated by DFI. Lance Canavan has been appointed the new MD of health and beauty retailer Guardian Vietnam. Canavan joined DFI Retail Group five years ago and most recently served as the GM for upscale and commercial director for Wellcome. Prior to DFI, he also worked at Coles Group and Tesco. DFI commented “with his strategic insight and leadership capabilities, Lance is uniquely positioned to guide Guardian Vietnam through this exciting phase of growth and transformation.”

Tan Soo Eng, Senior Insight Analyst’s view: Guardian Vietnam has great growth opportunities in the market, and it is an exciting time for new leadership to take the brand to the next level. It has operated in Vietnam since September 2011 and has established a reputation as a trusted health and beauty brand, with more than 130 stores. The retailer has also established a strong online network to deliver across different platforms.

GS Retail launches AI-image search function in its app. This new feature is available on Wine 25 Plus in GS Retail’s Our Neighbourhood GS app. Shoppers can take a photo of the product, without a need to scan a QR code or barcode, which will then prompt a detailed product description and reviews to encourage shoppers to purchase the item.

Sabrina Wong, Analyst’s view: this new AI-image search feature enhances the shopper experience by providing greater product transparency and encourages higher app usage. The retailer has been launching more innovations to push its Wine 25 Plus offering, and the GS DX Lab branch has installed a digital wine assistant in-store to provide wine recommendations based on shoppers’ responses about occasions and personal preferences, elevating their in-store experience.

North America

Further smart cart adoption

Wegmans piloting smart carts again. The grocer is trialling smart cart technology in four stores in upstate New York. It is working with two tech providers and is the latest US grocer to trial Instacart’s Caper Cart. The retailer first trialled smart carts through Shopic’s tech solution in two stores in 2023, and this latest development is part of Wegmans’ strategy to drive improvements to operations and the customer experience.

Oliver Butterworth, Senior Insight Analyst’s view: Instacart’s Caper Cart creates a retail media opportunity for Wegmans as the technology has the capability to distribute ‘aisle-aware’ ads to shoppers at the point of sale. This can be linked to its clients’ loyalty programmes, creating valuable shopper data that it can sell to CPG partners. The main challenge will be whether the technology is fit for purpose for Wegmans’ differentiated assortment, which has a broad foodservice offer and a high penetration of private labels.