Key facts
- Costco's dollar share of US retail food and beverage sales rose to 8.4%, per Numerator estimates.
- Walmart gained 0.2 percentage points to 20.3% of sales in the 12-month period, per Numerator.
- Kroger's share fell 0.2 percentage points to 8.2% and Albertsons slipped to 4.5%, per Numerator.
- Kroger CEO Greg Foran is pursuing a $5 billion effort to lower prices and cut corporate staff.
- A Deutsche Bank note said Walmart is bracing for diesel and transport costs that outweigh tariff refunds.
Costco overtook Kroger in dollar share of US retail food and beverage sales, according to data from consumer analytics firm Numerator that the report said was released in the week of publication. The report did not give a date for the release.
Numerator's estimates, based on the last 12 months of sales, put Costco's share at 8.4%, half a percentage point higher than the same period a year earlier. Walmart, which the report said has long held the largest share of grocery spending, gained 0.2 percentage points to 20.3%.
Kroger's share fell 0.2 percentage points to 8.2% and Albertsons slipped 0.1 percentage points to 4.5%, per the Numerator estimates. Costco has gained share over the last two years while both Kroger and Albertsons shrank their positions, the report said.
The report attributed the shift to US households seeking grocery savings as costs for gas, housing and insurance rose. It said Costco has kept prices steady over the year, while the wholesale club's leaders say they are watching cost pressures.
A recent Deutsche Bank note said Walmart is preparing for an impact from rising diesel and transportation costs that would outweigh the benefit it received from tariff refunds, according to the report. Walmart had planned to put some of those refunds into price cuts. Deutsche Bank also said Walmart's competitors tend to raise prices when it does, and that Walmart typically remains the lower-priced option.
Kroger added Greg Foran, who formerly led Walmart's US business, as CEO. The report said his focus is a $5 billion effort to lower prices and tighten operations, including cuts to the corporate workforce over the next few years and ending contracts with suppliers that are not delivering a good enough deal. Albertsons said it is making adjustments to its employee benefits package to manage rising healthcare costs.