Connecting with the store - how Kroger has avoided the mistake of neglecting the offline asset aspect of the retail omni-channel equation

The first part of this look at Kroger’s post-pandemic omni-channel retail transformation progress focused primarily on the e-commerce strategy for the US grocery giant. But the other side of the omni-channel coin, the one that so many retailers have neglected to pay enough heed to, is the physical stores.

Here, Kroger has an enormous set of assets at its disposal with around 2,700 outlets across the US, both under the main Kroger brand and as regional chains owned by the group, such as Fred Meyer, Ralphs and Pick n’ Save. That reach helps enormously when it comes to fulfillment of online orders, now managed in the main via local third party providers such as Uber and Instacart following Kroger’s highly-publicized estrangement from Ocado.

But the stores themselves need love and attention to keep them in a fit state to play their own part in the omni-channel play. Ensuring that...

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