Source: Supermarket News
I’ve often discussed the heroic work traditional supermarkets have done feeding America during the pandemic, again proving they are pillars of thousands of American communities, as they have been for generations. Unfortunately, even after the great service their millions of essential teammates have provided the country during its time of need, supermarkets’ place in the ever-evolving grocery landscape is often misunderstood and taken for granted.
I had a conversation recently with an important industry observer that astounded me. The observer suggested that traditional supermarkets still comprise the preponderance of American grocery sales, and that non-traditional, “alternative grocers” beyond Walmart, namely Target, Amazon, Costco, Dollar General, Dollar Tree/Family Dollar, Aldi and Lidl are not true competitors to traditional supermarkets. After confirming my time machine was not set to 1991 or 2001, and putting away the groceries delivered to my home that day from four different online grocers (yes, four — all investment-grade credits), I responded with a fairly strong reality check that I’ve summarized below.
