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The trend: Retail layoffs have surged 249% in the first seven months of the year, according to Challenger, Gray & Christmas鈥攁nd more cuts are likely to come as tariffs squeeze margins. Our take: Layoffs at large prominent retailers like Nike, Kroger, and Best Buy are a clear signal of what鈥檚 ahead. Staff cuts at these industry leaders suggest the sector is bracing for weaker consumer demand and persistent margin pressure. If the strongest players are retreating, weaker chains are likely to follow. These moves may prove the canary in the coal mine for a broader retail reset.

Kroger has consolidated its retail media, consumer insights, and loyalty marketing capabilities under the Kroger Precision Marketing (KPM) brand.

The trend: Major chains like Claire鈥檚, Kroger, and At Home are shuttering locations in response to mounting cost pressures, shifting consumer behaviors, and overextended store networks. Our take: Retail鈥檚 physical footprint is undergoing a recalibration. Store closures aren鈥檛 just about poor performance鈥攖hey鈥檙e a reflection of deeper structural shifts: Tariffs are reshaping sourcing, pricing, and profitability. Consumers are moving toward value and digital-first channels. Legacy formats鈥攍ike mall stores鈥攁re losing relevance. Retailers that can鈥檛 adapt to these changes quickly are finding themselves on increasingly shaky ground.

The trend: Paper coupons are making a comeback as brands zig while their competitors zag. Direct-to-consumer upstarts like Viv For Your V, Culture Pop, and Blume are experimenting with print coupons to drive awareness and trial, per Modern Retail. The move runs counter to an industry leaning heavily digital, where advertising costs are climbing and consumer attention is fragmented. And it鈥檚 not just startups. Kroger recently introduced paper versions of its weekly digital deals after hearing from shoppers who struggle with online access, aiming to bridge the so-called 鈥渄igital divide.鈥� Our take: Brands鈥� use of paper coupons mirrors retailers like Dollar General, Neiman Marcus, and Amazon, which have experimented with print catalogs to grab attention in a digital-first world. With shoppers increasingly price-sensitive, less brand loyal, and actively seeking deals, a tangible coupon in hand may be just the nudge that turns browsing into buying in today鈥檚 cautious consumer climate.

The news: Target is offering select customers a free year subscription to its Target Circle 360 membership program if they spend $199 on qualifying purchases by September 20, per Modern Retail. The $99 per year membership program offers free same-day delivery from Target, Kroger, CVS, Petco, and other stores via Target鈥檚 Shipt service, along with early access to Target sales, exclusive discounts and deals, and an extended returns window. Our take: Target should borrow a page from Walmart and lean on partnerships to expand Circle 360. That could mean teaming up with companies like Burger King for perks or with credit card issuers like American Express to bundle free memberships. The real power of paid memberships isn鈥檛 just subscription revenues鈥攊t鈥檚 their stickiness. Amazon has shown that once customers pay for Prime, they try to maximize every perk鈥攕treaming, prescriptions, food delivery, free shipping鈥攁nd the more they use, the more they spend. Nonmembers, by contrast, often plateau or pull back. If Target wants to keep pace, it needs to find ways to broaden Circle 360鈥檚 offerings.

Amazon is expanding same-day delivery for fresh groceries to over 1,000 US cities, with plans to reach 2,300 by late 2025. The rollout integrates perishables into its core app for single-cart checkout alongside other goods, offering Prime members free delivery on orders over $25. Early pilots saw strong adoption, especially from first-time grocery buyers who shopped more frequently after trying fresh food. The move pressures rivals like Walmart, Instacart, and Kroger in a slowing but sizable $271 billion online grocery market. If Amazon can convert trial users into loyal customers, it could reshape expectations for grocery delivery speed and convenience.

Walmart and Kroger would be hit hard by SNAP benefit cuts: Democratic lawmakers warn Republicans could make steep cuts to food assistance, producing significant challenges for grocers.

Grocery is the second-largest ecommerce category we track, garnering $220.48 billion in 2025, according to our 鈥淯S Digital Grocery Forecast 2025鈥� report. Walmart is the top digital grocery retailer, capturing 31.6% of US grocery ecommerce sales in 2025, followed by Amazon (22.6%) and Kroger (8.6%).

Albertsons looks ahead: With the proposed Kroger merger in the rearview mirror, the grocer raised its annual profit forecast and mapped out its growth plans.

Albertsons blames Kroger for blocked merger: The grocer is seeking billions in damages, claiming the latter failed to make necessary concessions to appease regulators.

FTC scores another antitrust victory after judge blocks Kroger-Albertsons merger: The deal would reduce grocery competition and raise prices for shoppers, the court decided.

Our take: While Aldi must compete on multiple fronts鈥攚ith fellow discounters like Trader Joe鈥檚 and Lidl as well as traditional grocers like Kroger鈥攊ts Times Square store could give the chain fresh brand momentum.

Kroger. LendingTree. Lowe鈥檚. Placer.ai. Publix. Ross Stores. Sprouts Farmers Market. SRS Distribution. Target. TJX. Walmart. Wayfair.

Kroger opened a Hispanic-focused concept in Houston in late 2023, alongside a private label, Mercado, that features products like chile lime seasoning and plantain chips. The takeaway: The rationale for opening these stores is clear: Hispanic consumers wield increasing buying power and account for an outsize share of growth in categories like CPG, beauty, and food and beverage.

The organizations sent letters to several pharma players, including Costco, Kroger, Walmart, and Albertsons, urging them not to offer the pill. They noted the millions of dollars they have in each company鈥檚 stock. For context, Kroger, Albertsons, and Walmart have already chosen not to dispense the abortion pill in their pharmacies, but CVS and Walgreens do in states where it鈥檚 legally permissible.

By narrowing their assortments to products guaranteed to sell, CPGs are opening the door for retailers to use innovation to drive customers to their private labels鈥攁n opportunity that Walmart, Kroger, and Albertsons are taking full advantage of. 3 in 4 shoppers say private label products are just as good as name brands, while 49% actively seek out store brands, per a February Ipsos survey.

Other players like Walgreens, Kroger, Target, Instacart, CVS, and Home Depot impose their own rules, ranging from creative approval requirements to prohibitions on alcohol or pharmaceutical ads.

Kroger is also streamlining delivery through its Express Delivery service, which leverages Instacart鈥檚 infrastructure to offer delivery within two hours. What it means for advertisers: The retailers with their own delivery infrastructure have an advantage over others, according to Droesch.

Or a financial institution like Chase Media Solutions could partner with a retailer like Kroger to uncover a more robust picture of their consumers.

In November, retailers made strategic moves across grocery, apparel, and beauty. Amazon turned Black Friday into a weeklong event and launched its Shein competitor, Haul. Meanwhile, e.l.f. Beauty strengthened its value proposition through a new Dollar General partnership, while Kroger announced plans for specialized Asian experience stores in North Texas. Here are our eight unofficial picks for the most interesting retailers in November.

As the US population diversifies, retailers like Kroger and Save A Lot are opening new stores catering to Hispanic and Asian consumers for a more personalized and engaging shopping experience.

That would make it the third-largest US supermarket chain by store count, behind Walmart and Kroger. Trader Joe鈥檚 has announced 41 store openings this year. That follows 34 locations in 2024, which was roughly triple 2023鈥檚 total and more than five times 2022 openings. Lidl has opened 10 stores so far in 2025, with the most locations concentrated in the Washington, DC, metro and tri-state areas.