Shoppers shifted away from superstores in the first quarter of the year in favor of smaller grocery chains, according to a recent Placer.ai report. In an attempt by consumers to curb food spending, grocers like Metro Market (17.9% increase), Grocery Outlet (11.6%), Trader Joe’s (8.8%) and others have experienced a surge.
Despite the dip in overall traffic, superstores did not fare poorly in the first quarter; rather, the data shows that trips were just consolidated. Walmart remains king of the superstores, followed by Target, Costco and Sam’s Club, in that order.
Placer says that overall, inflation continues to keep shoppers away, as grocery store visits are down from the pandemic highs and are not showing any signs of a change. Between August 2021 and August 2022, shoppers experienced the largest annual percentage increase in grocery food prices since the 1980s.