Kroger’s 84.51° Labs: Pushing the Boundaries of Data Science

In 2015, major grocer Kroger acquired the U.S. assets of its data science partner dunnhumby. Out of that grew 84.51°, a retail data and analytics unit that encompasses shopper insights, loyalty marketing and retail media advertising.

The unit is credited with helping Kroger become an omnichannel powerhouse in a sector that had been lagging others in retail, reaching $10 billion in digital sales in 2020 and seeing 113% growth since. The output from the group benefits Kroger’s CPG brand partners, as well.

Now Kroger and 84.51° have launched a Science and Technology Solutions team. Led by Chief Data and Technology Officer Todd James, it is focused on delivering science and technology solutions that revolutionize customer engagement in retail.

To learn more about this initiative, we caught up with Andrew Cron, Chief Scientist and SVP of Science, and Barbara Connors, VP of Strategy and Acceleration at 84.51°.