Has anything changed at your grocery store ???

[HopperFan]

While I put time in at COSTCO & ALDI my primary grocery over the last 35 years has been Kroger. Pre then I had lived out of state for 10 years and missed my big, huge inventory stores. We bought a house about 2 miles from a Kroger Coming Soon sign and it did shortly thereafter. When built it was the flagship (80,000 sq ft) but has been beaten out a few times since.

Around the first of the year the huge windows across the front were now covered in a bright blue wrap you could no longer see in (they can see out) that says something about being happy to be part of the neighborhood. Strange, doesn't really fit the area "look". About 3 weeks ago I noticed a few "empty" shelves and shortly thereafter whole fixtures were disappearing with each visit. Produce area is half what it used to be but with clever movement of stock, so unless a regular you might not notice. Aisles lost a few end fixtures and suddenly we now have lots more room. Free standing shelves are gone and the big merchandise we used to have across whole front are now a line of cigarette cases and ice machine, permanent filling of that space. NOW the aisles just look strange, because the merchandise is now stocked horizontally and only about 2, maybe 3 deep. So instead of 8 rows of 4 different relish brands (maybe 6 deep) we have just 2 rows, 3 deep. I buy lots of Kroger brand items, specific items and some of them are gone totally, no longer carrying. One is a specific soap that comes from Canada. I went to buy a specific flavor of water enhancer and not only is the Kroger brand about 50% less, some other name brands are totally gone with MIO taking up all their space. Inventory is drastically down but they are spreading the food out on the shelves so they look full. Almost looks like those pixelated art because with more of the same showing it makes an impact.

During COVID we had shelves emptied out of some harder to get items, then spread out like this. But it was specific goods not an inventory across the whole store. And they didn't remove shelving and coolers etc. Pretty sure Kroger is not hurting and I'm in an established affluent area with no additional competition, just some new housing so more spending. So it seems more like planning ahead for supply line issues. I've been shopping here over 30 years, taking COVID out of the timeline, never seen anything like this. Is anyone else seeing big changes in their grocery stores?

 

[cabanafrau]

While I put time in at COSTCO & ALDI my primary grocery over the last 35 years has been Kroger. Pre then I had lived out of state for 10 years and missed my big, huge inventory stores. We bought a house about 2 miles from a Kroger Coming Soon sign and it did shortly thereafter. When built it was the flagship (80,000 sq ft) but has been beaten out a few times since.

Around the first of the year the huge windows across the front were now covered in a bright blue wrap you could no longer see in (they can see out) that says something about being happy to be part of the neighborhood. Strange, doesn't really fit the area "look". About 3 weeks ago I noticed a few "empty" shelves and shortly thereafter whole fixtures were disappearing with each visit. Produce area is half what it used to be but with clever movement of stock, so unless a regular you might not notice. Aisles lost a few end fixtures and suddenly we now have lots more room. Free standing shelves are gone and the big merchandise we used to have across whole front are now a line of cigarette cases and ice machine, permanent filling of that space. NOW the aisles just look strange, because the merchandise is now stocked horizontally and only about 2, maybe 3 deep. So instead of 8 rows of 4 different relish brands (maybe 6 deep) we have just 2 rows, 3 deep. I buy lots of Kroger brand items, specific items and some of them are gone totally, no longer carrying. One is a specific soap that comes from Canada. I went to buy a specific flavor of water enhancer and not only is the Kroger brand about 50% less, some other name brands are totally gone with MIO taking up all their space. Inventory is drastically down but they are spreading the food out on the shelves so they look full. Almost looks like those pixelated art because with more of the same showing it makes an impact.

During COVID we had shelves emptied out of some harder to get items, then spread out like this. But it was specific goods not an inventory across the whole store. And they didn't remove shelving and coolers etc. Pretty sure Kroger is not hurting and I'm in an established affluent area with no additional competition, just some new housing so more spending. So it seems more like planning ahead for supply line issues. I've been shopping here over 30 years, taking COVID out of the timeline, never seen anything like this. Is anyone else seeing big changes in their grocery stores?

I don't really shop Kroger anymore since they have moved, renovated or redesigned all of our local stores over the past ten years. I despise the various layouts so much I stopped shopping there altogether unless I am in search of an item I can't locate elsewhere -- although I generally walk away empty handed there, too.

I had read an article a while back that Kroger was in merger discussions with another grocery chain that I can't recall right now and if it went through it would make the largest chain in the country. Maybe the merger is coming and you're seeing the early prep for changes?

 

[lynxstch]

We don't have and never have had Kroger, so I couldn't tell you if anything changed or not

 

[Genie+]

Wasn’t Kroger/Albertson’s merger blocked?

Also there’s Instacart having some impacts to this realm.

Everything’s just going to end up huge monopolies and consumers protections removed one by one by one. That’s exactly what I’ve seen in my lifetime, and only getting worse.

 

[leebee]

We don't have Kroger in New England. Our big chain here (in Maine) is Hannaford, and Shaw's to a lesser degree. I have noticed at Hanny's that there is less variety and fewer brands of almost everything recently, including their own store brand. I don't know what it means, but it's noticeable.

 

[kdonnel]

I grocery shop 99% of the time at Aldi. No discernible difference. Sometimes it is well stocked, sometimes picked over. That has always been the Aldi way at the two stores I frequent.

 

[cabanafrau]

Wasn’t Kroger/Albertson’s merger blocked?

Also there’s Instacart having some impacts to this realm.

Everything’s just going to end up huge monopolies and consumers protections removed one by one by one. That’s exactly what I’ve seen in my lifetime, and only getting worse.

Ah, Albertson's. Couldn't remember the name, maybe because they're not in our area. I hadn't heard the merger was blocked.

I do know in the last year the Meijer chain where I live not only changed the packaging of their store-brand pasta, but actually changed the product itself. I absolutely loathe the taste of the current iteration and am really ticked off because I'm constantly scrambling around for reasonably priced pasta in specific varieties that are difficult to find outside of the high-priced brands or imports, which are great, but not $4 a pound great.

 

[dizneegirl]

Other than renovations (and then some), haven't seen those kinds of changes at our area Kroger stores. Walmart has drastically cut back on what they're stocking, though.

 

[snappy]

I shop mostly at Publix, but now that the Winn Dixie store near the beach was just converted to an Aldi, I will also shop there. I haven’t shopped enough at Aldi to tell a difference with this new store. Publix, although different ones around me have their aisles a bit different, I haven’t shopped enough not noticed a change since I started shopping at Publix a few years ago.

My favorite store is Sprouts, but there isn’t a Sprouts around here, sadly.

I haven’t seen a Krogers store in decades-none in Louisiana or in my area of Florida that I know of.

 

[Kitty 34]

We don't have and never have had Kroger, so I couldn't tell you if anything changed or not

This. We deal with Meijer.

 

[HopperFan]

Other than renovations (and then some), haven't seen those kinds of changes at our area Kroger stores. Walmart has drastically cut back on what they're stocking, though.

I don't even go there anymore. Their food prices are climbing so fast they are no longer a value. They do have a nice big meat department but I can still do better at COSTCO.

 

[LoveDaisy]

I have not noticed any changes at the grocery stores I shop at.

It’s interesting how regional grocery stores are I have never been to or heard of some of the ones mentioned. By me we have stop and shop, ShopRite, big Y, Aldi, Trader Joe’s, Whole Foods, and Stew Leonard’s, plus some smaller local places.

 

[tinkerbellandpeterpan]

So far no major changes in our Shoprite or Aldi (where we do 95% of our shopping). Come to think of it, not at Acme either which we just go into very rarely. (Philly area for reference)

 

[easyas123]

I haven't noticed any changes - our local grocery stores are Redners, Food Lion, Safetway & Acme- the latter two being owned by same Company I think.

 

[FlyingDonut]

People in Texas are really into HEB, which is only here. They've been renovating basically every store near me, and I'm not far from a brand new one. They're all expansions; I haven't found anything missing. One of the main areas they're adding to is a bunch of pre-prepared and partially pre-prepared things.

 

[Kathryn Merteuil]

Meijer is my "go to", haven't noticed anything different other than the prices have gone up.

 

[Mommb]

Wasn’t Kroger/Albertson’s merger blocked?

Yes, state and federal courts rejected the deal:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Attempted_acquisition_of_Albertsons_by_Kroger

 

[SM1992]

I used to work for a grocery chain in the NorthEast. I've seen similar and this sounds almost like they're getting ready to close the store? They stop ordering product and spread out what's left so they don't have to transfer out the leftover items. Any rumors of it closing?

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

Walmart is where we primarily grocery shop and most of what they are in the process of doing is shifting the displays around to be more like a department store but that is primarily concentrated towards clothing. The closest Walmart doesn't have that remodel but should eventually get it, the one located up the highway (but takes only a few mins longer than the other location) did that remodel a while back.

One thing I will say is that Walmart's new pricing and label strategy (meaning getting in "higher" brands) is not to my forte. I don't go to Walmart to spend $40 on a jacket when I can get that for less at a department store, in other words their pricing is trying to compete more with department stores but they don't have sales like them only clearance.

 

[tvguy]

I have noticed they carry fewer brands at our regional chain grocery store, The store shelves are still full but less variety.
Some things have disappeared. They no longer carry fully cooked frozen hamburger patties, We used to buy fresh beef short ribs, but they rarely have them anymore. The butcher says they might get just two packages in, and they sell out immediately. Low salt ham, no longer carried. I used to buy canned figs, they don't carry those anymore.
Walmart Neighborhood Market seems to be about the same variety. They might be out of an item for a week because their business model is to never have a product on the shelf more than 14 days before it sells. No dusty canned goods at Walmart like at the regular grocery store. They aim for 100% turnover of the entire store twice a month. Once in a while they will get in a product that is not a familiar brand in this part of the country. Two products that seem to be popular with DISers in the eastern U.S. turned up at my Walmart, Fluff and Dukes Mayo. They both ended up in the closeout bin at the front of the store. The manager said they just didn't sell.