Kroger’s hybrid ecommerce offerings will deliver accelerated online growth, using its growing store footprint, established third-party delivery providers, and automated fulfilment facilities where applicable.
The Kroger Co. has announced updates to its ecommerce plan, resulting in a differentiated and simplified customer experience, new households shopping at Kroger, and immediate ecommerce profitability improvements.
Kroger expects these updates to have a positive effect on the ecommerce operating profit of approximately $400 million in 2026. This will be used to improve the customer experience through lower prices and better store conditions while also improving operating margins.
Kroger’s hybrid ecommerce offerings will deliver accelerated online growth, using its growing store footprint, established third-party delivery providers, and automated fulfilment facilities where applicable.
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“ecommerce remains a core part of serving customers who want better value, wide selection and flexible ways to shop,” said Ron Sargent, Kroger’s Chairman and CEO.
“We are building on a strong foundation with five consecutive quarters of double-digit ecommerce sales growth and increased profitability improvements.”
“We are taking decisive action to make shopping easier, offer faster delivery times, provide more options to our customers, and we expect to deliver profitable sales growth as a result.”
Kroger expanded its Instacart relationship as its primary delivery fulfilment provider across Kroger.com and the Kroger app. The companies recently announced Kroger will be one of the first retailers to offer customers access to Instacart’s AI assistant, Cart Assistant, on Kroger’s iOS mobile app.
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To reach more customers and fulfil more shopping trips, Kroger also broadened its relationship with DoorDash, giving tens of millions of customers access to food and grocery essentials on-demand through the DoorDash Marketplace.
In addition, Kroger announced the upcoming launch of a new customer experience on Uber Eats Marketplace in early 2026 to fulfil more customers’ shopping needs by providing access to groceries when customers order meals from their favourite local restaurants, as well as offering standard grocery delivery.
Increased customer traffic and trips through these third-party providers will also fuel Kroger’s retail media business growth through capabilities, creating new opportunities for CPGs to reach and engage customers with relevant advertising.
“Every customer is different, and they expect more options to access fresh, affordable food, without compromising on the value or convenience,” said Yael Cosset, EVP and Chief Digital Officer for Kroger.
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“Our differentiated approach, combining the proximity of our stores with high-capacity automation, the wide assortment of the fresh food they love, allows us to fulfil more trips for the families we serve.”
“Being able to deliver food and groceries to tens of millions of families who shop with us every year, in as little as 30 minutes. is a winning model for Kroger and our customers.”
In geographies where Kroger sees a higher density of demand, the company will continue to take advantage of automated customer fulfilment to increase customer engagement, capacity, and improve productivity and profitability.
As part of its comprehensive hybrid fulfilment network, Kroger will also pilot capital-light, store-based automation in high-volume geographies to improve fulfilment capabilities and elevate the in-store customer experience.
This flexible, hybrid network balances an expanded store footprint, third-party delivery, and automation, providing customers with the products they love, the value they want, through the options they need, while building a sustainable and profitable business.
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