Why Trader Joe’s Doesn’t Invest in Retail Media or Robots
Trader Joe's has long done its own thing in the retail space, an approach that continues with its take on retail media networks (RMNs). The company’s marketing leaders shared some of that philosophy on the latest episode of the popular Inside Trader Joe's podcast.
Essentially, Trader Joe’s is doubling down on personal, in-person marketing tactics like sampling instead of deploying screens at different points along the shopping journey. “I guess that's a natural result of an undifferentiated shopping experience,” explained co-host and Trader Joe’s VP of Marketing Matt Sloan, noting that RMNs are commonly used as revenue streams among its competitors.
[RELATED: Where Is Trader Joe's Headed Next?]
His colleague and fellow VP of marketing, Tara Miller, agreed. “Everything you do to operate the business of a grocery store or of any retail store costs money. So, everything you put into it has a cost. We prefer to put those costs into developing products and hiring people to work in the store,” she said.
The hosts were candid about Trader Joe’s overall use of grocery tech. “We haven't invested money in screens, we haven't invested money in robots, we haven't invested money in in-store advertising paid for by a vendor who makes the product that we are then selling, therefore raising the price to us so that we would have to raise the price for you. We've invested in what we've always invested in, our people and our products,” Miller said. “I have these conversations with people all the time on the phone – ‘Wait a minute. You mean to tell me that you don’t track your customers’ shopping?’ That’s right, we don’t. We don’t track our customers’ shopping habits, their shopping patterns, their shopping choices, their shopping data. Basically, we just don’t track our customers.”
The grocer goes old school in its assortment planning, basically looking at its shelves and what it sells. “Within Trader Joe's, we would just prefer that you have a conversation with one of our crew members. We love to have those conversations,” said Miller.
Added Sloan: “We have never, ever been accused of being a tech company, but that's deliberate.”
As it focuses on human connections, Trader Joe’s continues to get more human interaction and traction in its stores. According to recent data from location analytics firm Placer.ai, visits to Trader Joe’s locations rose 6.2% from 2023 to 2024. In addition, Placer.ai found that fewer shoppers visited other grocery stores before or after visiting Trader Joe’s, underscoring the fact that many people view the retailer as a primary grocery destination.
With more than 500 stores in 40-plus states, Trader Joe’s is No. 33 on The PG 100, Progressive Grocer’s 2024 list of the top food and consumables retailers in North America. PG also named the company one of its Retailers of the Century.
