THE FRIDAY 5: Kroger Rests Its Case; Walmart, Sam's Club Put Tech to the Test
Welcome to The Friday 5, Progressive Grocer’s weekly roundup of the top news and trends in the food retail industry. Each Friday, we’ll take a look at the stories that are most important to our readers and also keep tabs on the trends that are poised to impact grocers.
1. Kroger Rests Its Case in Seattle as King Soopers Opens New Store
Kroger’s court battles keep proving popular among PG’s readers. The grocer rested its case on Oct. 8 in a trial in Washington state that aims to stop the retailer's proposed $24.6 billion merger with Albertsons Cos. Both Kroger and the state have 10 business days to submit final briefings before closing arguments, which are scheduled for Oct. 23.
The Washington case is one of three attempts to block the mega-merger. Kroger and Albertsons' legal teams are currently flying between Washington to Colorado as they work on another trial in Denver. Additionally, Oregon U.S. District Judge Adrienne Nelson is still weighing the case that wrapped in her court in late September, noting that the deliberation process is moving as “as expeditiously as possible.”
Meanwhile, news also came in this week that Kroger-owned King Soopers opened a new location in the city of Erie, Colo., considered a fast-growing area outside Boulder. The store at 2900 Arapahoe Road welcomed shoppers on Oct. 2 and replaces an outpost that closed earlier in the week. Spanning 103,000 square feet, the latest King Soopers is nearly double the size of the previous store.
2. Shopper Loyalty Strained Amid Grocery Inflation
A new survey from R.R. Donnelley & Sons Co. detailing consumers’ changing shopping habits in response to higher prices caught readers’ attention. Those shoppers are opting for value over brand loyalty, favoring lower-priced alternatives, seeking bargains and eschewing products considered too expensive.
According to the report, brand loyalty is no longer a guarantee, with just 55% of shoppers saying they’ll remain loyal to the store they shop at most often – particularly Baby Boomers (61%) and affluent consumers (64%) – while 45% would consider changing stores for more savings, particularly Millennials (50%).
“Consumers are becoming more judicious with their purchasing decisions, in large part due to the continued impact of external factors, including inflation,” said Beth Johnson, a grocery industry expert and director of client strategy at Chicago-based RRD. “These factors are testing the loyalty of shoppers, making it more important than ever for marketers to rethink how they engage with buyers. Brands will need to meet shoppers where they are by emphasizing value and savings to hold their attention.”
3. Sam’s Club and Walmart Put Tech to the Test
Thinking about technology differently has been a key ingredient in the differentiation strategy at Sam’s Club, and President and CEO Chris Nicholas took the keynote stage at this week’s Groceryshop conference in Las Vegas to discuss the club retailer’s latest technology solutions, e-commerce and being able to leverage Walmart’s prowess.
A new checkout-free prototype store in Texas is a statement of where the company wants to go in the future, Nicholas shared. Located in the Dallas/Fort Worth suburb of Grapevine, the soon-to-open location is fully digital, with customers using the company’s Scan & Go app on their smartphones to ring up their purchases as they shop.
Instead of checkout stands, the store will have an area dedicated to online-only items that shoppers can purchase on the spot to then have delivered to their home – ranging from artificial Christmas trees to Mercedes-Benz SUVs.
Tech news from parent company Walmart also made waves this week as the retailer shared that it is kicking its adaptive retail strategy into high gear. The retailer is now using proprietary AI, generative AI, augmented reality and immersive commerce platforms to create hyper-personalized, convenient and engaging shopping experiences in its Walmart and Sam’s Club stores, as well as on its apps and other virtual environments.
[RELATED How Amazon is Focusing on the Easy Button for Grocery]
4. Fresh Thyme Keeps Eye on Grocery Trends in Midwest
Fresh Thyme Market unveiled its second annual food trend predictions for 2025. The report leverages shopping behaviors to spotlight the top 10 food trends that will shape the way Midwesterners shop and eat in the coming year.
Among the trends are functional foods, the evolution of the mushroom and a takeover by spicy foods. Read on to see the rest of the trend predictions.
5. Ahold Delhaize Leader Talks Shop
Ahold Delhaize CEO Frans Muller addressed the crowd at Groceryshop this week and also spoke with Progressive Grocer during the event. The leader of the multinational grocery company discussed the fact that value, quality and convenience remain at the heart of the business, though in a slightly different way than in years past. Muller discussed those basic tenets of grocery, as well as the multinational company’s focus on omnichannel, retail media, private label and more.
When it comes to value, quality and convenience, Muller said each discipline needs to be looked at differently than it once was. “It's not only price, it's also value and price and it's also personal pricing or personalization when we talk about the value dimension. And when we talk about the quality dimension, it's not only the product in itself, it's also the journey, the experience in itself, but also elements like healthy food, like sustainably sourced.”
As for convenience, location is just part of the equation. “[I]t's also about the journey itself and what is convenient in foods,” Muller said.
