Cellhub has launched a 5G-based Connected Grocery programme for food retailers, aimed at both independent stores and larger chains.
The programme centres on a managed connectivity framework designed to keep store systems online while gathering operational and customer data across multiple locations. It supports primary and failover connectivity and can prioritise traffic for systems such as point-of-sale terminals.
Cellhub is offering the service with T-Mobile for Business, extending a model it says can work for national retail groups as well as smaller community grocers. The company presents the programme as a way to bring together data from shelves, fulfilment operations and customer movement in a single network environment.
Retailers are under pressure to make stores more responsive as they add automation, digital pricing tools and connected monitoring systems. In grocery, those demands include stock visibility, food safety checks, curbside collection and marketing analysis, all of which rely on stable, real-time network access at store level.
Store network
Cellhub says the Connected Grocery model can link devices including IP surveillance cameras, IoT sensors, electronic shelf labels and compliance monitoring systems. Retailers can also segment traffic so critical systems receive priority.
Data from the network can be used to monitor in-store traffic patterns, shelf-level engagement, merchandising signals, cold-chain conditions, and parking or curbside activity. The aim is to give store operators a clearer view of day-to-day trading conditions and execution across sites.
Cellhub argues that one obstacle to broader adoption of AI and IoT tools in grocery stores is the difficulty of establishing consistent, reliable connectivity. Even larger retailers often struggle to deploy the same systems across a dispersed estate, particularly when stores depend on a mix of legacy telecoms services and local vendors.
The company also says the model could help standardise operations across chains by enabling central oversight of store systems and faster updates to pricing and promotions. It listed improved forecasting, more consistent network performance and better data quality among the expected results.
Revenue options
Beyond store operations, the programme includes a retail element that allows participating grocers to sell connectivity products and services to shoppers in-store. These may include prepaid wireless services, home internet offers and revenue-sharing arrangements tied to the platform.
That approach could give supermarket operators a supplementary income stream outside core food retailing, at a time when margins remain tight and businesses are looking for additional revenue. It also reflects a broader trend of retailers using stores as service distribution points as well as sales channels for goods.
Cellhub says it can also help customers fund upgrades through its Strategic Cost Optimisation & Transformation, or SCOT, analysis platform. The service reviews contracts, vendor arrangements and overlapping services to identify savings that can be redirected into connectivity upgrades.
According to the company, this process typically finds up to 30% in addressable savings within an organisation's budget. It describes the tool as a way to offset some of the cost of modernising stores without relying solely on new spending.
Sector push
The launch comes as grocers invest more heavily in connected store technology to manage labour, reduce waste and improve execution at shelf level. Electronic shelf labels, camera-based analytics and sensor-driven cold-chain monitoring have moved further into the mainstream, but their use often remains uneven between larger and smaller operators.
For smaller chains and independent retailers, telecoms infrastructure and systems integration can be barriers to wider digitisation. A managed service model may appeal to operators that want to add connected tools without building and maintaining the network architecture themselves.
Cellhub is better known for its role as a wireless provider and T-Mobile agent, but it has also expanded into managed services and AI-led cost analysis. The company says those investments have shaped its push into sector-specific connectivity programmes.
Another initiative has focused on healthcare connectivity through a managed services subsidiary. The grocery offer suggests Cellhub is applying a similar approach to a retail vertical where resilient store networking and data capture are becoming more central to daily operations.
John Tonthat, Chief Revenue Officer at Cellhub, outlined the company's view of the shift in grocery retail. "For grocery retailers who have been competing on variables such as product selection or brand promotions, this is not simply a technology upgrade. It's a strategic evolution that can elevate their business models, shifting their competitive edge to their ability to analyze and execute on data-driven insights," Tonthat said.
He added: "This is an occasion for grocery stores not just to modernize, but to leverage telemetry to enhance the way they market, display, and promote goods, utilizing real-time metrics to hone strategies, dramatically improve outcomes, and accelerate long-term growth."
Doug Baker, Vice President, Industry Relations at FMI - The Food Industry Association, also commented on the use of connected technology in the sector. "Cellhub's participation in this year's FMI GroceryLab will provide an opportunity to explore how connected technologies and evolving data capabilities are shaping grocery retail," Baker said.
He added: "We look forward to engaging with attendees on the practical insights and implications of this work for retailers across the industry."