Grocery Tech Trends Study: Where grocers are investing in tech

Technology has always helped shape the business of selling groceries—from the introduction of barcode scanners and refrigeration sensors to electronic shelf tags, inventory tracking robots and AI-powered personalization. But as the pace of innovation accelerates, where are grocery retailers prioritizing their technology investments today? What solutions are gaining traction? And what are the obstacles facing grocers trying to future-proof their business? To answer these questions and more, we surveyed grocery retailers across Canada for our inaugural 2026 Grocery Tech Trends Study. Read on for some highlights from the study.Investing in tech Despite the heavy economic pressures weighing on them, grocers surveyed for our study aren’t pulling back on tech spending in 2026—they’re making it a priority. In fact, 73% said they expect to spend more on tech this year compared to 2025; among that group, 24% said they’d spend somewhat more this year and 6% indicated they’ll spend significantly more. These responses confirm that grocery retailers no longer regard investing in tech as optional, but rather as a competitive imperative. Canada’s grocers also appear to be investing more aggressively than their U.S. counterparts. According to the results of the U.S. version of this study— conducted by our sister publication Progressive Grocer—just 60% of grocers stateside said they plan to increase their tech spend this year. Grocers surveyed in Canada, however, are split on where they’ll place their tech bets. When asked where they’ll focus investments in the next 12 to 18 months, 43% said they’d be looking at customer-facing tech, with 41% focusing on back-end solutions. Regardless of where the technology sits in the business, grocers appear to be taking a disciplined approach with their investments, with most (67%) indicating they are more likely to focus on upgrading or replacing existing tech rather than adding shiny new solutions to the mix. Most grocers surveyed said they’ve already implemented customer-facing technologies in the form of delivery, mobile app payments, in-store pickup, self-checkout kiosks and in-store digital signage. To further enhance the shopping experience, grocers—who haven’t done so already—said they plan to invest in things such as self-serve touchscreen order kiosks (31%), in-store QR codes (31%) and electronic shelf labels (71%). Overall, these investments reflect an emphasis on creating more connected, convenient shopping experiences. Behind the scenes, grocers are already making tech investments to address a wide range of operational needs, including tools to beef up data security, to manage food safety, devices for store managers to help them perform their jobs and analytics tools. Given the soaring rates of grocery theft in Canada, driven by economic pressure and organized retail crime, it’s not surprising that 59% of grocers surveyed indicated that antitheft tech was their top priority. Other top priorities over the next 12 to 18 months include investing in store hygiene tech (53%) and data security tech (47%). READ: Pattison Food Group partners with Dematic to deploy automated fulfillment solutions at B.C. distribution centreLooking ahead, we asked grocers to tell us what new/innovative technologies were important for their business in the future. Artificial intelligence (AI) dominated, with AI-powered demand forecasting named as a top priority by 61% of respondents, followed by sustainability-focused technology (59%), AI-powered customer facing tools (47%) and AI-powered employee tools (41%). Fourteen per cent of respondents indicated other areas of innovation in which they planned to invest—their verbatim responses included: “Alipay” “Automated waste management systems”“Intelligent dynamic pricing systems” “Advanced POS system upgrades, including faster cloud-based checkout platforms that improve transaction speed and reporting” and “Our company is working on better staff scheduling tools to match store demand more effectively” Yet, even as investment accelerates, many grocers acknowledge they’re feeling the pressure to keep up with technology. When asked how successful their company was at keeping up with the acceleration of technology and rapid pace of change in the grocery industry, fewer than half (43%) of respondents believe their organization is successfully keeping up, and a mere 4% deemed their company “very successful.” Navigating grocery’s digital futureDespite concerns about their ability to keep up with technological change, twothirds of grocers surveyed are confident they’re well-positioned for success in the future in some key areas. For instance, nearly nine in 10 (88%) believe their existing front-line workforce can be trained to succeed in a digital grocery environment, while 71% agree their company has the right talent to succeed. Their confidence stems from a combination of strong teams, existing digital capabilities and a growing commitment to data-driven decision making. Here are some comments shared by survey respondents: “We are a young, core team.”“Our focus on data-driven insights helps us make better decisions. Additionally, technology is helping us reduce manual work.” “We already have digital systems, including electronic payment options and online ordering capabilities, which will help us to provide a strong base for further digital expansion.”“We are investing huge in online ordering, loyalty programs and mobile payments.” To better understand how grocers are thinking about e-commerce, specifically, we asked what online ordering methods they believe will drive the most growth over the next year and a half. Overwhelmingly, delivery (86%) and in-store pickup (82%) were regarded as being crucial to future e-commerce growth, while grocers were less enthusiastic about the potential of curbside pickup (20%) and ultra-fast delivery (16%). READ: How AI is changing the way people shopThe study also highlights retailers’ desire to own the customer relationship ecosystem. In fact, 63% of grocers said it was “very” or “extremely” important for them to own and manage their online shopping experience rather than hosting it through a third-party partner such as Instacart. For these grocers, controlling the e-commerce experience means protecting profit margins, strengthening customer relationships and maximizing the value of all that first-party data. Looking ahead, grocers believe their customers will increasingly expect digital convenience and personalized experiences. According to the survey, more than eight in 10 respondents (82%) predict customers will place greater value on digital discounts/promotions, followed by cashless/contactless checkout options (69%) and personalized product recommendations (65%). Obstacles and opportunities Grocers have had to navigate some pretty choppy waters in recent years and there’s no sign of smooth sailing anytime soon. When asked what obstacles to tech investment concerned them most, inflation was cited by 80% of grocers surveyed, placing it firmly as the top perceived challenge. Other concerns were supply chain disruptions (cited by 69% of grocers), a looming recession (67%), price competition (55%), lack of customer loyalty (55%) and poor ROI on current technology investments (45%). Even so, retailers remain optimistic about technology’s ability to drive future growth. We asked grocers to predict what technologies will drive the most growth over the next year and a half. Eighty-four per cent said data analytics tools will be the biggest opportunity for grocery, followed by artificial intelligence, including machine learning (cited by 67%), e-commerce/online grocery ordering (47%), technology to solve workforce challenges (33%) and supply chain disruption solutions (29%). Respondents also see opportunities in checkout-free technologies, innovation in food production, retail media networks, robotics and automation, and electronic shelf labels. While economic headwinds remain, our study tells us that retailers in Canada aren’t slowing their digital transformation—they’re investing strategically and focusing on technologies that position their businesses for the next era of grocery retail. Overview and methodology Canadian Grocer conducted the inaugural Grocery Tech Trends Study to examine the evolution of grocery technology in the Canadian market. The survey was fielded from March 13 to April 15, 2026, with responses gathered from 51 Canadian grocery retailers. Respondents were required to be knowledgeable about their company’s current use of technology and/or future technology strategy.

Grocery Tech Trends Study: Where grocers are investing in tech

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