Trader Joe's Has No Plans To Go High-Tech At Its Stores. Here's Why

There's an old saying, "Don't fix what isn't broken," meaning that if something is working, there's no need to change it. This is a proverb that Trader Joe's has embraced with its stores. In a 2025 episode of the "Inside Trader Joe's" podcast, the co-hosts, Matt Sloan, Trader Joe's Vice President of Marketing, and Tara Miller, TJ's Marketing Director, discussed the concept of retail media. Essentially, it's a marketing tactic that is used to distinguish a competing brand or product to consumers either at or near the point of purchase. This is commonly done in-store, using advertising, sampling, loyalty programs, or even coupons and vouchers. But, while Trader Joe's does regularly offer free samples, it's not planning on going high-tech any time soon.

When Miller heard the term "retail media," she connected it to the screens that are so common in grocery stores today. "They're at the cash register, sometimes they're on a shelf where the products are, sometimes they're just in the middle of the aisle," Miller noted, adding how some shopping carts even contain screens. However, Trader Joe's doesn't do any of that. Instead, everything at TJ's is all about the shopping experience for the customer. Sloan echoed these sentiments, stating that the company would rather put money into investing in people rather than technology; it's simply a matter of values.

Excluding Trader Joe's tricky parking lot and those select weekends and weekday work-lunch hours when the store is so crowded that you'd rather come back another day, shopping at TJ's is meant to be an overall enjoyable experience that encourages discovery. The reason why your local TJ's will likely never have TV screens in-store is the same reason why the brand won't sell groceries through delivery apps: the in-store shopping experience is something Trader Joe's wants to maintain.

As Miller noted in the aforementioned podcast episode, "While we have nothing against flat panel TVs for, say, relaxing at home, we think grocery shopping should be a fun social experience." For Trader Joe's, live crew members are far more valuable than those "cold, impersonal, flat monitors," Miller explained. "They'll not only help you find what you're looking for and discover new products; they're happy to share their thoughts on those products," she added.

Of course, this decision also has to do with saving both the store and its customers money. Instead of investing in technology like screens, robots, or other forms of in-store advertising (and therefore raising costs), Miller offered a different outlook on the company's values. "We've invested in what we've always invested in, our people and our products," she explained. "That's what we do." It's just one of the many reasons why Trader Joe's is for everybody.