One of the best parts about the modern retail era is having access to so many choices.
Previous generations, for instance, may not have had the same degree of variation. And if they did, they likely had to travel vast distances for it.
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Nowadays, however, most of us just need to take a trip through town and we see dozens of different stores, restaurants, and services at our disposal.
In fact, we may not even need to get into the car for this kind of access.
With the internet at our fingertips, most U.S. consumers are able to find millions of products from thousands of different stores without even leaving the couch.
That’s why the average U.S. consumer shops at 39 different stores each year.
And several of those stores are grocery stores; gone are the days of customers just making one weekly visit to the same store.
Nowadays, most of us actually visit several different grocery stores in search of better prices, selection, quality, or new items.
Walmart is introducing a new lineup of items that may interest customers.
Image source: Getty Images
Grocery warehouses face tough competition
While plenty of us are traipsing through different stores and aisles in search of the best deals, there’s a lot going on behind the scenes to actually keep us there (and coming back).
The list of the largest grocers in America, by market share, are:
Walmart: 21.2%Kroger: 8.9%Costco: 8.5%Albertsons & Co: 5%Publix: 4.1%
Walmart (WMT) is an easy number one, and combined with its warehouse grocery chain Sam’s Club, the retail superstore takes over one quarter of the market.
More Walmart:
Walmart, Kohl’s raise alarm bells about a growing threatSam’s Club making big new Costco-style membership changeWalmart’s Sam’s Club drops self-checkout, adds new anti-theft techSam’s Club making major change to rival Costco
That’s no small feat, but Walmart is constantly working to keep competitors at bay.
Costco (COST) , for example, has a loyal following of growing members.
And it’s been rapidly gaining market share.
In 2023, for instance, Costco’s captured about 7.6% of the market. It’s gained almost two full percentage points by 2025, and many members value not just its prices but its accessible variety of fresh baked goods, which can be harder to find at Walmart.
Walmart makes key bakery addition
But this is changing.
Walmart has introduced a new lineup of bakery items, which may be viewed as a competitive move against Costco.
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It brought the following new baked good items into its lineup:
Pineapple and mango with tajin cheesecakeGuava cheesecakeHot honey cheesecakeChurro tres leches parfait Piña colada-inspired cake
“I tried the hot honey cheesecake. I didn’t taste any heat but other than that, it was delicious,” one customer wrote on Instagram of the new release.
“I tried the pineapple mango tajin cheesecake. It was pretty good. My store also had a Limoncello cheesecake and a hot honey cheesecake. I liked the hot honey one best, but it is more of a cheesecake with a slight honey flavor,” another wrote.
“I will try all of those cheesecake flavors. No questions asked,” another wrote.
