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• Earlier this year, Groceryshop brought thousands of industry insiders to Las Vegas to discuss innovation in grocery and consumer packaged goods.
• Experts shared how technology and data are being used in new and different ways to harness growth.
• Businesses need to look at today’s shopper, as well as tomorrow’s shopper, to understand consumer behavior and build loyalty.

Growth, collaboration, technology, insights—these were just a few of the buzz words spoken time and again at , a four-day event focused on innovation in the grocery and consumer packaged goods markets. One key theme that arose during the conference was this: brands are continually finding new opportunities to leverage data and technology to fuel growth. Here are five key takeaways on how businesses are doing that. ��

1. Brands are using data to find innovative approaches to target advertising to consumers

��ҹ������ is reaching consumers in new and exciting ways by looking at weather reports and advertising s’mores, accordingly. Charlie Chappell, head of media and communications planning with The ��ҹ������ Company, said that in the past, ��ҹ������ advertised s’mores during summer months on a national basis. But in doing so, they realized they were leaving certain markets behind—namely, the areas that have campfire weather outside of the summer season. The team began using weather forecasting to pinpoint where to advertise. “If it was showing that it was going to be ideal for ��’m�ǰ���� in that particular location, we would start advertising more and driving people into stores to go pick up the things they needed to have a ��’m�ǰ���� weekend. But if it was too hot, we wouldn’t waste our money on that particular location to do that,” says Chappell. “We’ve been doing that this year and seeing some great results.”

2. Retailers and brands are working together to better understand consumers

Across different panels during the conference, experts agreed that collaboration can help drive sales. Rucha Nanavati, group vice president, information technology at Albertsons Companies, said that retailers have always had access to large amounts of data. Today, the key is to derive insights from that data and share it with partners so they can work together and know what promotions to run and when to run them. Doug Straton, chief digital commerce officer with ��ҹ������, said sharing data can benefit all parties, because retailers have access to consumer data, while brands such as ��ҹ������ have data and insights regarding their whole category. By working together, they can unlock a deeper understanding of the entire pipeline. “��ҹ������ is in an advantaged position with many of its retailers in ter