Food Lion brings AI to the curb—replacing guesswork with precision in the race for customer loyalty.
Food Lion has rolled out Flybuy’s AI-powered location tracking across all 1,100+ of its stores, aiming to reduce wait times and improve order accuracy for its curbside pickup program, Food Lion To Go.
Food Lion now tracks customer arrivals for faster order prep
Using Flybuy’s location engine, store employees can see when customers are on their way, helping them time order prep more precisely. Food Lion reports:
- Wait times cut by over 40%
- Better staging and parking management
- Increased customer satisfaction, with a 4.8 out of 5 rating
Flybuy is now fully integrated across all Ahold Delhaize USA banners, including Giant Food, Stop & Shop, and Hannaford.
Food Lion’s ecom performance outpaces parent company
While Ahold Delhaize’s U.S. digital sales have been flat, Food Lion saw nearly 40% online sales growth last quarter. The chain has also logged 50 straight quarters of comparable-store sales gains.
The timing of this tech upgrade aligns with a broader shift in online grocery: pickup sales are falling while delivery grows, especially as Walmart expands its own infrastructure.
Pickup is under pressure, and grocers are adapting
Flybuy’s tools give regional grocers like Food Lion more control over the customer experience, reducing reliance on third-party platforms like Instacart or DoorDash.
Whether it leads to sustained growth or just plugs short-term gaps remains to be seen. For now, it’s a tactical move to keep pickup viable.
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