BOISE, ID & SUNNYVALE, CA - What happens when you bring together the might of a leading retailer and the knowledge of a famous tech company? Innovation, that’s what. Today, Albertsons Companies and Google announced that they have entered into a multi-year partnership to change the face of grocery, making shopping easier and more convenient for consumers nationwide.

“Albertsons Cos. is continuing to transform into a modern retailer fit for the future, and we are leading the industry forward by providing the easiest and most exciting shopping experience for our customers,” said Chris Rupp, EVP and Chief Customer and Digital Officer at Albertsons Companies. “In bringing together Google’s technology expertise with our commitment to customer-centric innovation, we’re providing our customers with a superior shopping experience no matter how they choose to shop with us.”

The collaboration between Google and Albertsons Companies has been ongoing behind the scenes over the past several years, according to a press release. Now, with the announcement of this new partnership, the duo will debut several new enhancements to boost the shopping process.

Currently, Albertsons is engaged with a number of teams at Google covering a wide range of technologies aimed to improve the consumer experience. Together, the pair is working on integrating Google Search and Maps to help shoppers easily find what they need, making it easier to shop using Google Pay, and infusing Google Cloud AI technologies to create a predictive grocery engine.

“Albertsons Companies is leading the way in bringing innovative technologies to the grocery store digital and physical aisles,” said Carrie Tharp, VP of Retail and Consumer, Google Cloud. “We’re proud to partner with Albertsons Companies to streamline processes and power innovative shopping experiences for customers. The unique strategic and technical collaboration at the heart of the Google and Albertsons partnership sets the stage for sustained post-pandemic transformation and momentum that will become clear to customers in both the near- and long-term.”

Other planned innovations under this new partnership include:

• Shoppable maps with dynamic hyperlocal features
• AI-powered conversational commerce
• Predictive grocery list building

Additionally, the partners are making it easier for customers to order groceries for pickup and delivery by providing helpful information about online ordering from many Albertsons Companies' stores directly within mobile search. This technology will be added to Google Maps later this year.

What other innovations will spur from this new partnership? Keep reading AndNowUKnow for the answers.

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