蘑菇AV

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.

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.

Retailers, streamers embrace shoppable TV ads to shorten the path to purchase: WBD, Amazon, Kroger, and The CW Network are relying on the format to drive product discovery and sales.

Retailers prepare for looser antitrust scrutiny under Trump: The environment is likely to be more favorable for blockbuster mergers like the Kroger-Albertsons deal.

Grocers experiment with new formats and products to target Asian, Hispanic consumers: Kroger, Walmart, and Save A Lot are among the retailers looking to attract a more diverse audience.

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.

The strategy: From Target鈥檚 perspective, the perk sharpens its value relative to other paid membership services, which are either confined to a single retailer (Walmart+, Kroger Boost), or force shoppers to pay higher prices in exchange for convenience (Instacart, Uber, DoorDash).

But it鈥檚 had less success in the physical grocery space, due both to entrenched competition from the likes of Walmart and Kroger as well as an inability to find an Amazon Fresh format that resonated with shoppers. That dynamic could be changing.

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

Kroger, for example, plans to launch more than 900 private-label products this year. Just last month, it rolled out a slate of trend-forward items like instant mushroom tea and Hatch Chile kettle-style tortilla chips.

Kroger and Albertsons are also vulnerable, with 9.1% and 6.5% shares of SNAP grocery dollars, respectively. Among non-grocers, Amazon and Target command 15.2% and 5.6% of SNAP recipients鈥� non-grocery spending, while Home Depot holds a notable 5.5% share鈥攈ighlighting just how far SNAP dollars extend across retail categories.

Albertsons is also working with vendors to lower prices, but its smaller size relative to companies like Walmart and Costco gives it less room to negotiate concessions鈥攚hich was one of the considerations that pushed it to seek a merger with Kroger. One lever it can pull to help margins is to increase its penetration of private labels, which accounted for 25.4% of Q4 sales.

Changes to SNAP could affect retailers that serve those recipients, which include Walmart and Kroger. Our take: Retailers, especially grocers and discounters, can set themselves apart by helping consumers save money and be more financially responsible.

With $400 million in media under management and clients like Biossance, Puma, and Gerber Childrenswear, the agency is deepening its commitment to platforms like Amazon, Walmart, and Kroger. Crush stands out for its performance-aligned model, charging based on growth instead of traditional agency fees鈥攁 strategy tailored to ecommerce-native clients.

The opportunity: The deal will let DoorDash provide a more personalized experience and give Ibotta, which partners with grocers like Kroger, Walmart, and Publix, access to a broader consumer base.

The lack of concern could be because most of these players鈥攊ncluding Walmart, Costco, Kroger, and Albertsons鈥攁lso operate pharmacies. So any spending decline for groceries could be offset by more customers picking up GLP-1 prescriptions. However, food and CPG companies are creating and changing products to meet the needs of GLP-1 patients.