Category: Ask The Experts

Ask The Experts: Ryan Draude, Giant Food

Ryan Draude has spent nearly 15 years building nationally-recognized loyalty programs at brands like Choice Hotels, RITE AID, and now Giant Food — where he currently serves as the head of loyalty.  But as cross-shopping, value-seeking behavior becomes the norm, earning loyalty from grocery shoppers is getting harder every day. We spoke with Ryan about […]

How Independent Retailers Can Maximize Refrigeration Performance, Profitability

Independent retailers face tight budgets and rising operational costs. These pressures are felt even stronger these days as consumers remain hyper-focused on grocery prices and affordability. Refrigeration equipment – critical for merchandising fresh and frozen products – represents a significant investment for retailers. Getting the most out of that investment starts with investing in the […]

Commercial Ripening 2026: An Interview With David Byrne

Commercial ripening has come a long way over the past 30 years. From air-stacking boxes in temperature-controlled holding rooms to today’s ultra-advanced, digitally controlled ripening room systems that can uniformly ripen multiple truckloads of palletized fruit to the exact same color at the exact same time. As the global leader in commercial ripening room design […]

New Research Reveals Effective Retention Strategies

Mike McNamee has spent more than a decade helping retailers grow through data-driven insights. As senior director of account management at Upside, he partners with grocers nationwide to maximize profitability and build stronger customer relationships through personalized, margin-bound promotions. That mission is reflected in Upside’s new “Winning the Uncommitted Customer” report, built on more than […]

Beyond The Bite: Evolving The Sweet Snacking Category

The Shelby Report recently sat down with Monty Pooley, president and CEO, and Chris Tirone, chief marketing and innovation officer of JTM Foods LLC, to discuss the company’s role in the evolving sweet snack category. What pivotal moments in JTM’s history positioned it to become a leader in the sweet snacking category? Pooley: Our journey […]

If This Happened In Your Store Today, Could You Stop It?

Your store is busy. A cart loaded with merchandise rolls past checkout – calm, confident, no hesitation. Gone. What used to be rare is now disturbingly routine for many grocers. Pushout Theft on the Rise Pushout theft – when unpaid merchandise is wheeled straight out the front doors – is one of the fastest-growing loss […]

Coming Soon To A DC Near You: Fully Automated, AI Assisted Banana Ripening

  When Thermal Tech pioneered the TarpLess ripening room system back in the mid 1990s, it changed the way bananas are handled at retail distribution centers (DC’s), allowing truckloads of palletized fruit to be uniformly ripened to a predictable color with precision control for the very first time. The resulting increase in ripening efficiency and […]