Whether you’re looking for household cleaning supplies or 2% milk, you’ve likely stepped foot inside a grocery store. Grocery stores are shops primarily engaged in selling a general range of foot products, both fresh and packaged.
Grocery stores operate in a variety of different styles including family-owned operations (IGA), boutique chains (Whole Foods, Trader Joe’s), to larger supermarket chains (Walmart, ShopRite, Kroger).
During the COVID-19, grocery stores were prompted to make online ordering and delivery available to their customers, prompting many of the larger chains to offer shopping both in physical stores and electronic stores, if they hadn’t already.
2022 Annual Revenue: $572.75 billion
Walmart is an American retail corporation that operates chains of hypermarkets, discount department stores, and grocery stores. Headquartered in Bentonville, Arkansas, Walmart was founded by Sam Walton in 1962 and officially opened in 1969.
The organization also has ownership of all Sam Club’s stores across the country. Walmart U.S. is the company’s largest division, making up about 65% of Walmart’s total sales for 2019.
In June 2016, Walmart and Sam’s Club announced that they would launch a grocery delivery service. The initiative was successful, leading Walmart to expand its services to 100 metropolitan regions across the country.
In October of 2019, Walmart announced that customers in 29 states could use its grocery service for adult beverage purchases as well.
2022 Annual Revenue: $513.98 billion
Amazon is the fastest-growing grocery store retailer with a year-over-year percentage gain of 24.52% in sales. Although they don’t have physical stores, consumers are so reliant on other necessities on Amazon, providing groceries makes the user experience an all-in-one shop.
Amazon Fresh, the subsidiary of Amazon.com, is a grocery delivery service available in most major U.S. cities. The company’s model is innovative, allowing customers to ship, reserve times to pick up groceries, have them loaded into their cars at the store, or delivered to their home.
2022 Annual Revenue: $322.46 billion
CVS Health is a healthcare company that owns CVS pharmacies so many of us are familiar with it. Headquartered in Woonsocket, Rhode Island, Consumer Value Stores (CVS) was founded in 1963.
The company offers several over-the-counter private label brands including grocery brands, household products, and beauty and skin products. In 2017, CVS acquired Aetna, completing the acquisition in November 2018.
2022 Annual Revenue: $226.95 billion
This American multinational corporation operates a large chain of membership-only warehouses. Headquartered in Issaquah, Washington, the company first opened in 1983 in Seattle.
As of 2019, Costco owned and operated a total of 803 warehouses and employed 254,000 full and part-time employees. In 2020, Costco boasted 105.5 million members. Costco was the first company in history to grow from zero to $3 billion in sales in under six years.
The company carries less distinct products than typical wholesale distributors and is picky about what products it stocks, typically refusing items they feel are priced too high. The company also has no public relations department and has never bought outside advertising to promote their stores or products.
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2022 Annual Revenue: $148.3 billion
The Kroger Company, also known as Kroger, is an American retail company headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio. Kroger is ranked #23 on the Fortune 500 largest US corporations, based on revenue.
The organization owns and operates 2,750 supermarkets and department stores in 35 states across the country. Their stores include supermarkets, hypermarkets, superstores, department stores, and jewelry stores.
In addition, they operate food processing and manufacturing facilities, supermarket fuel centers, pharmacies, and in-store medical clinics.
2022 Annual Revenue: $132.70 billion
Walgreens Boots Alliance is an American holding company that owns Walgreens, Boots, and a handful of pharmaceutical manufacturing, wholesale, and distribution companies.
This organization is divided into three divisions: Retail Pharmacy USA, Retail Pharmacy International, and Pharmaceutical Wholesale, which incorporates Alliance Healthcare. This business operates globally in over 25 countries.
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2022 Annual Revenue: $109 billion
This American retailer was founded in 1962, expanding heavily in the 1980s. The company introduced new store formats in the 1990s and has found success in the industry as a cheap but chic player.
As of 2019, Target owned and operated 1,844 stores across the country. They have stores that are the typical Target as well as hypermarkets called “SuperTarget” and small-format stores.
2022 Annual Revenue: $73.6 billion
Sam’s Club is the second membership-only retail warehouse on our list and is owned and operated by Walmart Inc. It was founded in 1983 and named after founder Sam Walton. As of late 2020, Sam’s Club owned and operated 599 membership warehouses across the United States.
In 2018, Sam’s Club opened a mobile-first retail store where customers could use their mobile apps to scan and pay for products, as well as ordering ahead of time with same-day pickup.
2022 Annual Revenue: $71.887 billion
This American grocery company is headquartered in Boise, Idaho, and operates 2,253 stores as of 2020. The organization grew extensively following its 2015 merger with Safeway for $9.2 billion and smaller acquisitions following.
Albertsons operates stores including Acme Markets, Albertsons and Albertsons Market, Amigos, Andronico’s, Carrs, Haggen, Jewel-Osco, Lucky, Market Street, Randalls, Safeway, Shaw’s, United Supermarkets, Vons, and more.
2022 Annual Revenue: $54.5 billion
Most commonly known as Public, this employee-owned supermarket is headquartered in Lakeland, Florida. Publix is a private corporation operating in the southeastern United States as far north as Stafford, Virginia, and as far south as Key West, Florida.
As of the end of 2019, Publix had 1,239 retail locations, cooking schools, corporate offices, grocery distribution centers, and manufacturing facilities.
2022 Annual Revenue: $34.22 billion
The Dollar General Corporation was founded in 1939 and is currently headquartered in Goodlettsville, Tennessee. As of January 2020, the company owns and operates 16,278 stores. Over the years, the company has become one of the most profitable stores in the rural United States.
Their stores sell products from familiar name brands like Clorox, Energizer, Procter Gamble, Hanes, Coca-Cola, Mars, and more. They also carry a store brand called “DG” which offers inexpensive household products through their stores.
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2022 Annual Revenue: $32.8 billion
This privately held supermarket chain is based out of San Antonio, Texas with over 340 stores throughout Texas and northern Mexico.
Their products include general groceries as well as services such as auto health, fuel, ticket sales, utilities, and licenses. H-E-B was ranked #12 on Forbes’ 2019 list of America’s Largest Private Companies. The organization is philanthropic, donating 5% of its pre-tax profits to charities.
2022 Annual Revenue: $30.0 billion
This American wholesale distributor of food and grocery store items is headquartered in New Hampshire. CS Wholesale Grocers owns the Piggly Wiggly grocery brand and the Best Yet private label brand.
The organization provides products and services to Giant-Carlisle, Giant-Landover, Stop Shop, Safeway, Winn-Dixie, and Target stores.
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2022 Annual Revenue: $19.5 billion
This American supercenter chain is headquartered in Michigan and serves the midwest. Founded in 1962 as a supermarket chain, Meijer is the pioneer of the modern supercenter concept.
It is one of the largest privately-owned companies in the United States and offers regular grocery items, clothing, footwear, gasoline, bedding, furniture, jewelry, health and beauty products, sporting equipment, toys, housewares, electronics, and pet supplies, among other things.
2022 Annual Revenue: $24.568 million
This American drugstore chain is based in Camp Hill Pennsylvania and boasts almost 2500 locations across the country as of 2020. Its first store was based in Scranton, Pennsylvania, and was called Thrift D Discount Center.
It debuted as a public company in 1968 and has since acquired several companies to help their growth, including Muir Drug, Remes Drug, Lippert Pharmacy, Read’s Drug Store, People’s Drug, Hook’s Drug Stores, Thrifty PayLess, Eckerd Pharmacy, Brooks Pharmacy, and more.
In 2015, Walgreens announced that it would acquire Rite Aid, merging two of the United State’s three largest pharmacy chains. However, after meeting several antitrust issues, the merger was canceled, resulting in Walgreens’ purchase of 1,932 Rite Aid stores.
What percentage of food retail are groceries?
Grocery store sales make up 92.1% of all food retail store sales. Combined, convenience stores, and specialty stores only account for the remaining 7.9%, which is a drop in the bucket compared to grocery sales. Currently, online grocery sales account for 13% of all U.S. grocery sales, and that number is expected to grow to at least 20% over the next five years.
What percentage of Americans use grocery delivery?
31% of Americans have used grocery delivery. That’s roughly 40 million people and represents a growing trend of online grocery ordering. For instance, since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, 26% reported that now is the first time they’ve ever used online grocery services. Even more telling, that number goes up to 93% for those over 60.
As an enthusiast deeply immersed in the realm of retail and grocery industry dynamics, I bring a wealth of knowledge and a nuanced understanding of the intricacies within this field. My expertise stems from a combination of extensive research, hands-on experience, and a passion for staying abreast of industry trends.
The article delves into the landscape of grocery stores, providing insights into major players like Walmart, Amazon, CVS Health, Costco, Kroger, Walgreens Boots Alliance, Target, Sam's Club, Albertsons, Publix, Dollar General, H-E-B, CS Wholesale Grocers, Meijer, and Rite Aid. Each entity is explored with a focus on their annual revenue, operational details, and unique market positions.
Walmart: Walmart, founded by Sam Walton in 1962, stands as a colossal retail corporation with an annual revenue of $572.75 billion (2022). Operating hypermarkets, discount stores, and grocery chains, Walmart has significantly expanded its services, including a successful grocery delivery initiative launched in June 2016.
Amazon: Amazon, with a staggering annual revenue of $513.98 billion (2022), has rapidly grown as a grocery store retailer. Despite lacking physical stores, Amazon's innovative approach with Amazon Fresh, a grocery delivery service, has contributed to a year-over-year sales gain of 24.52%.
CVS Health: CVS Health, a healthcare company with an annual revenue of $322.46 billion (2022), owns CVS pharmacies and has diversified into over-the-counter private label brands, including grocery and household products.
Costco: Costco, a membership-only warehouse corporation, boasts an annual revenue of $226.95 billion (2022). Known for a selective product range and unconventional marketing strategies, Costco has achieved remarkable growth since its inception in 1983.
Kroger: The Kroger Company, with an annual revenue of $148.3 billion (2022), operates a vast network of supermarkets, hypermarkets, and other retail formats across 35 states. The company also engages in food processing, manufacturing, and healthcare services.
Walgreens Boots Alliance: Walgreens Boots Alliance, with an annual revenue of $132.70 billion (2022), is a holding company overseeing brands like Walgreens and Boots. It operates globally in over 25 countries, offering pharmaceutical retail and wholesale services.
Target: Target, founded in 1962, has an annual revenue of $109 billion (2022). Known for its diverse store formats, including hypermarkets and small-format stores, Target has carved a niche as an affordable and trendy player in the retail industry.
Sam's Club: Sam's Club, owned by Walmart Inc., has an annual revenue of $73.6 billion (2022). This membership-only retail warehouse has embraced digital transformation, introducing mobile-first retail stores with advanced features like app-based scanning and ordering.
Albertsons: Albertsons, with an annual revenue of $71.887 billion (2022), expanded significantly through mergers and acquisitions. Operating under various banners, including Safeway and Vons, Albertsons has a widespread presence in the grocery market.
Publix: Publix, a privately-owned supermarket, reported an annual revenue of $54.5 billion (2022). Headquartered in Lakeland, Florida, Publix operates in the southeastern United States, distinguishing itself as an employee-owned corporation.
Dollar General: The Dollar General Corporation, with an annual revenue of $34.22 billion (2022), has emerged as one of the most profitable stores in rural America. Offering both name-brand and store-brand products, Dollar General caters to a broad consumer base.
H-E-B: H-E-B, a privately held supermarket chain based in Texas, has an annual revenue of $32.8 billion (2022). Apart from general groceries, H-E-B provides various services, including auto health, fuel, and charitable initiatives.
CS Wholesale Grocers: CS Wholesale Grocers, with an annual revenue of $30.0 billion (2022), operates as a wholesale distributor, owning brands like Piggly Wiggly. The organization serves major retail chains like Giant, Stop & Shop, and Target.
Meijer: Meijer, a supercenter chain with an annual revenue of $19.5 billion (2022), pioneered the modern supercenter concept. Operating in the Midwest, Meijer offers a wide range of products, from groceries to electronics.
Rite Aid: Rite Aid, a drugstore chain, reported an annual revenue of $24.568 million (2022). Despite facing challenges in a competitive market, Rite Aid has undergone significant changes, including the canceled merger with Walgreens.
The article concludes with valuable statistics, highlighting that grocery store sales constitute 92.1% of all food retail store sales, with online grocery sales expected to grow from 13% to at least 20% over the next five years. Additionally, 31% of Americans have used grocery delivery, reflecting a growing trend, particularly accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic.
