Paul Young’s Post

Customers have largely returned to in-store shopping post-pandemic, placing renewed emphasis on in-store experiences. As grocers grapple with consumer behavior changes, here are seven big questions facing the grocery industry in the near term.  #grocerystores

It seems the traditional season of the "year-in-review" has just take off at Grocery Dive for #walmart as a start. #Walmart, like many supermarkets worldwide, have experienced a surge in grocery sales as people relied more on supermarkets instead of restaurants during the pandemic and the challenge for Walmart has been to capitalize on this momentum and retain the market share gains by keeping customers engaged and away from restaurants as normalcy returned. To make it happen, Walmart has introduced several new strategies to keep its customers shopping for groceries and dining at home, which include expanding its in-store dining options by partnering with fast-casual restaurants, providing convenient and appealing "Affordable Restaurant-Quality meals". Additionally, Walmart has revamped its grocery offerings, launching a new private brand to cater to both low- and high-income shoppers. On the #sustainability's side Walmart as invested in crop monitoring tech to ensure fresher produce in store and reduce food waste, Is all of these propositions will continue to made Walmart a Grocery Destination with its "Affordable Restaurant-Quality Meals" offer to continue to compete with restaurants ? Furthermore, to solidify its grocery dominance, Walmart opened new #Neighborhood #Market format with enhanced grocery offerings tailored to customer demand for high-quality and fresh more often locally harvest food. Opening more convenience stores format supports the company’s e-commerce growth for its #clickandcollect" offer thus creating an ecosystem where in-store and online experiences converge, which is part of Walmart’s five-year growth plan including building or converting 150 new locations and remodeling 650 stores by 2029.

Walmart reigns supreme in the US grocery market, with nearly 25% of all grocery dollars spent at the retail giant. This is more than double the share of other popular grocery stores like Kroger or Costco. Check out the latest insights on Walmart's grocery sales and market dominance. #Walmart #GrocerySales #USMarket #RetailGiant

U.S. consumer demand has assisted in raising rents and pushing retail vacancies to all-time lows across the asset class. However, while grocery store chains experienced increased profitability during the Covid pandemic and the years that followed, they have started to experience a slightly more difficult economic environment in 2024. As consumers navigate how to handle inflation, the grocery industry is examining how to effectively adapt to new consumer norms, as well as trying to extend the momentum they have had over the past few years. Read the article below from GroceryDive.com to check out the 7 key questions grocery industry leaders are facing in today's market. #DTMGroup #CRE #commercialrealestate #retail #grocery

What Can Other Grocery Retailers Learn From Publix Super Markets’ Successful Formula? Publix is seeing success on many levels in the grocery retail sector. How does Publix’s blend of technology and employee ownership enable it to dominate the Florida grocery market, and what can other retailers learn from this approach? Read the article & panel discussion here: https://lnkd.in/e32sfsuq Brad Halverson "Publix is a better option in a southeastern sea of middle-of-the-road, or low-price chain stores. They’ve positioned themselves perfectly with just enough of an improvement in quality, variety, and selection so their formula resonates to a large enough shopper base." Neil Saunders "Publix is one of the better grocers in the US and its success comes down to a compelling proposition based on clear values. It offers good service, keeps its store nice, has a solid selection of food, and focuses on quality." Frank Margolis "The strength of Publix comes down to 2 things – size and ownership. Some of the best grocers are regional (Wegmans is another great example), because they aren’t too large to be managed to the original high standards of earlier stores." 

Walmart is famous for selling just about anything you can think of, but shoppers rely on the retail giant more for groceries than for any other category sold in the company's 4,600 US stores. What's more, more shoppers are getting their groceries from Walmart than from any other retailer, and it's not even close. Nearly one in four grocery dollars in the US is spent at Walmart, more than double the share that shoppers spend at Kroger or Costco, according to consumer analytics firm Numerator. That all adds up to more than $264 billion spent on groceries at Walmart US locations in 2023, up from $247 billion and $219 billion in the preceding two years. Read more on how Walmart became America's grocery king on Business Insider. 👇 #walmart #grocerystore #retail

Kroger’s ill-fated drive to absorb Albertsons may have degenerated into an ugly legal brawl between the retailers, but the market dynamics that convinced them to link paths two years ago remain as potent as ever. Grocers still face intense pressure from mass retailers like Walmart, Costco and Amazon, and scale plays just as significant a role in helping supermarket operators compete today as it did before. Add to that the fact that the incoming Trump administration seems inclined to be significantly more open to M&A than the current White House, and the stars seem aligned for significant disruption in the grocery industry in 2025 and beyond. https://lnkd.in/engpp8P7

"As so much talk within the grocery industry is centered around Amazon, Walmart, and a certain pending mega-merger aiming to compete with them, one grocery giant—Ahold Delhaize—is finding value in smaller, regional chains. “We think retail is local,” Ahold Delhaize CEO Frans Muller told Retail Brew. “We think it gives a lot of ownership and accountability and engagement to local management to run the brand, be responsible, breathe the brand.” - Retail Brew https://lnkd.in/grCgcVPb #retail #grocery #business #businessnews #stopandshop #grocerybusiness #food #foodbuisness #shopping #bankruptcy #grocerystores #retailnews

Why is grocery M&A outpacing the rest of the #retail industry? 🛒 In 2023, the grocery business experienced larger gains in M&A value and volume compared to the retail sector as a whole. Learn more: https://atbain.co/4bOhFUF

1: How will the outcome of the proposed Kroger-Albertsons deal impact the industry?  Grocers are also awaiting to see how the deal, if approved, would impact supply chains, the labor force and regional competition. 2:How does grocery e-commerce fit into “new normal” behaviors?  While grocery e-commerce sales are still higher than before the pandemic, softening demand and fierce online competition from mass retailers have retailers grappling with how to solve e-commerce’s profitability challenges.  3: How will grocers combine in-store and digital retail media?  Retail media has become imperative for grocers to remain competitive, and now that in-store and omnichannel retail media capabilities are in use by grocers of all sizes, experts believe the next step is to connect in-store retail media technology with consumers’ phones. 4: How can grocers continue to gain on restaurants’ pain? Grocers have made strides in 2024 so far on foodservice innovation. Giant Food is dedicating more space to meal solutions in its new stores and Publix is adding burrito bowl bars to its supermarkets. Meanwhile, Kroger launched in March new oven- and microwave-ready seafood options under its Private Selection, Kroger and Home Chef brands. 5: How can grocers better meet consumer needs with alternative store formats? Whole Foods Market’s 365 store concept, Publix’s GreenWise banner and Schnuck Markets’ EatWell Market have all joined the graveyard of alternative grocery formats. Despite the challenges, grocers still have opportunities to introduce shoppers to new, highly relevant store formats. Alternative formats should focus on offering a differentiated and curated shopping experience, but it’s vital they meet consumers where they are. Grocery companies should focus on making these formats inexpensive and convenient experiences rather than premium ones.