What's going on?

American grocery chain Kroger announced on Thursday that it�s going to become a part-owner of Ocado, the UK firm that�s been working to digitize grocery shopping for nearly two decades.

What does this mean?

Kroger�s been a bit of a laggard in the ecommerce explosion that�s recently engulfed the grocery world (and retail at large). Things arguably kicked off in earnest with Amazon�s acquisition of Whole Foods last year, which now means you can order a fresh side of strawberries to go with your electric toothbrush.

Hot on the heels of Walmart�s double-down on ecommerce, Kroger�s making moves and snatching up a stake in Ocado (tweet this), which has agreed a deal to help Kroger improve its warehouse operations, automation and logistics planning � facilitating the delivery of online grocery orders to Kroger�s nine million customers.

Why should I care?

For markets: The deal lifted shares in Ocado a colossal 44%. �

The Kroger deal is the latest � and by far the highest-profile � in a series of agreements Ocado has made to expand its business by licensing its tech to other grocers (which plenty of hedge funds didn�t think was a feasible plan). Ocado�s stock skyrocketed on news of the deal � and even though it earns a pretty minuscule amount in profit, investors likely bought up the stock thinking more big deals could be in the pipeline.

The bigger picture: Many retailers want to gain ground by incorporating tech into their businesses.

US online grocery shopping is still pretty undeveloped � only 1-2% of US food spending happens online � while in the UK, the equivalent figure now totals 7% (likely a reason why Kroger was interested in swooping up Ocado�s tech). But tech in retail isn�t only about facilitating online ordering: Walmart, for example, wants to use a blockchain to simplify and control its complex international supply chains, while apparel retail firms are keen to use algorithms that predict your taste and encourage you to buy more.