It costs 14.8% more to shop at Kroger than to buy the same items at Walmart, and Costco’s prices for those items are 21.8% cheaper than Walmart’s, according to a study commissioned by Consumer Reports.
Even the Kroger-owned discount brands King Soopers (7.9%) and Food for Less (9%) come in with higher prices than the Walmart baseline, while many of the chains it operates actually have higher prices than Kroger itself
Price, of course, isn’t the only factor consumers consider when picking a grocery store, but traditional supermarket chains have lost sales to rivals including warehouse clubs, and department store chains like Walmart and Target, which also offer groceries. “In an effort to fulfill their unique definitions of value, consumers visit more than five separate grocery store banners on average per month despite growing omnichannel grocery shopping trends,” FMI CEO Leslie G. Sarasin said in The Food Industry Association’s (FMI) U.S. Grocery Shopper Trends 2026 report, which was released in May.
Value isn’t the same as price, but price does matter for many cash-strapped Americans. That leaves new Kroger CEO Gregory Foran walking a narrow tightrope as he has openly said that his company won’t be the lowest-priced option, while also admitting that its prices are too high. Kroger CEO admits need to lower prices Foran spent his first 100 days in spending time in his chain’s stores and came to his first earnings call as the CEO with some observations. “Over time, our promotions have gotten too complicated, and our price position has not kept pace where it needed to,” he said during Kroger’s first-quarter earnings call.