These Grocery Chains Dominate As Industry Shrinks: New Data

ACROSS AMERICA — Grocery chains are getting bigger and bigger in a tectonic shift in the supermarket industry over the past several decades, according to an analysis by The Washington Post that looks at consolidation in the supermarket industry.

At the same time, major national chains have been operating at the highest profit margins on groceries in two decades, the White House Council on Economic Advisers said earlier this year.

The traditional grocery store industry has shrunk to the point that, according to The Post’s analysis, a third of U.S. grocery stores are now owned by just four companies — Walmart, Kroger, Albertson’s and Aldi’s (Süd), the fastest-growing supermarket chain in the country.

The analysis, which is based on OpenStreetMap location data, looks at grocery store ownership both regionally and by county.To search grocery store ownership where you live, choose your county in the drop-down menu.

Consumers may not always know they’re shopping at a large chain, though. Both Kroger and Albertsons, the second- and third-largest grocery store chains, each operate under about two dozen banners.

Walmart is especially strong in the middle of the country, Albertsons dominates in the Northwest, and Kroger has a strong presence in the mountain states and Ohio Valley, according to the analysis. Smaller companies have strong regional presences, including Publix in Florida, H-E-B in Texas, and the Dutch company Ahold Delhaize (Food Lion, Giant Food and Shop & Stop) throughout the East Coast.

Walmart has both the largest number of stores — about 90 percent of Americans live within 10 miles of a Walmart — and is the leader in market share, followed by Kroger, Costco, Albertsons and Amazon.

The supermarket industry could further tighten if a proposed $24.6 billion merger between Kroger and Albertsons is allowed to go through. A federal judge in Oregon is currently deciding if the merger will help or harm consumers.

The Federal Trade Commission and nine attorneys general who sued to block the merger say it could limit the competition between the two and result in higher food prices at a time when customers are still struggling to pay higher prices linked to higher manufacturing costs, lingering pandemic supply chain issues and bird flu.

The supermarkets say they would be better able to create the efficiencies of scale that result in lower prices, and more effectively compete with retailers like Walmart, Target, Amazon and others that have gotten into the grocery business.

It’s unclear when U.S. District Court Judge Adrienne Nelson will issue her decision. Also this week, testimony continued this week in an antitrust lawsuit filed in Washington State. A third antitrust lawsuit from the Colorado attorney general begins next week in Denver.