Where and how consumers shop for food and beverages continues to evolve as eCommerce reshapes the path-to-purchase. Despite growth in supercenters, mass-format stores experienced the sharpest decline of all the channels and formats, with sales down 12.5 percent and store counts decelerating by 7.3 percent, according to Long Grove, Ill.-based Willard Bishop’s “The Future of Food Retailing, 2017” report.
Willard Bishop’s Senior Director Jon Hauptman also notes the decreases experienced by mass merchandisers, but highlights that overall supercenters have performed well. “Grocery and consumables sales within traditional mass merchandisers (not including supercenters) has declined significantly (down 12.5 percent) over the past year, with mass merchandisers losing half a point of market share for these products,” he explains. “Supercenters continue to increase sales and share. Additionally, we’re seeing significant growth in both the limited assortment channel (e.g., Aldi, Lidl) and among fresh formats.”