Kroger, Hy-Vee pull in the most shoppers in Midwest for January

Just because you are good at one thing does not mean you are good at everything. Aldi grew the most in the supermarket market in 2022, but it did not have the most visits in the Midwest in January. That title belongs to Kroger and Hy-Vee according to the latest Pacer.ai report titled Many Ways to Win: Midwest Grocery Deep Dive.

Kroger claimed big shares in the states of Ohio and Indiana, while Hy-Vee was the one with the most foot traffic in three states: Iowa, South Dakota and Nebraska.

Nine different grocers had the largest share of grocery visits in at least one of the 12 Midwest states.

Aldi’s numbers were still encouraging. The discount store landed in the top three in six of the 12 Midwest states.

Hy-Vee was the clear winner in Iowa, where it captured 65% of the visits share, South Dakota (58%) and Nebraska (41%). Kroger was No. 1 in Ohio (43%) and Indiana (35%). Meijer was most visited in Michigan (49%) and was second in Indiana (25%). Jewel-Osco (27% in Illinois), Dillons (42% in Kansas), Cub Foods (31% in Minnesota), Shnucks (28% in Missouri), Cash Wise Food (27% in North Dakota), and Pick ‘n Save (22% in Wisconsin) also drew in the most customers in Midwest states.

With a merger with Albertson’s still pending, grocery giant Kroger continues to be a force all its own, and 2023 could be a monumental year.

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Kroger unveiled fourth quarter results on March 2. Total company sales were $34.8 billion in the final quarter of 2022, compared to $33 billion for the same period last year. Excluding fuel, sales increased 5.9% compared to the same period last year. Total company sales were $148.3 billion in 2022, compared to $137.9 billion for the same period last year. Excluding fuel, sales increased 5.2% compared to the same period last year.

Kroger’s progress in the digital arena helped bolster gains not only in the fourth quarter, but also for all of FY 2022. The grocer’s digital revenue grew 12% over the final three months, and for the year delivery sales were up 22%. Digitally engaged household numbers went through the roof, with Kroger reaching about 900,000 more than the previous year.

Cost savings also exceeded $1 million for the fifth consecutive year.