Walmart Remains Price Discount Juggernaut

www.zerohedge.com

Cash-strapped consumers are pulling back on spending—particularly on big-ticket items—as economic uncertainty and tariff risks continue to plague outlooks and squeeze household budgets. Goldman's latest grocery pricing survey for June offers a clear framework for value-seeking shoppers: among all major supermarkets, Walmart remains the most competitively priced, especially for perishable goods.

Goldman analysts, led by Leah Jordan, sampled 38 SKUs across dairy, frozen, dry grocery, household-personal care (HPC), and produce of Kroger (KR), Albertsons/Randalls (ACI), Walmart (WMT), Sprouts (SFM), Whole Foods (WFM) and Dollar General (DG) for June. 

The biggest takeaway that Jordan found is that Walmart continued to have the "lowest prices" of any supermarket chain:

As highlighted in Exhibit 1, WMT had the lowest prices at -12.6% vs. the group average (widened from -12.2% last month), followed by KR at -4.7% (vs -2.6% last month). WFM had the highest prices in the group at +10.0%, followed by SFM at +9.9%. KR had the highest SKU availability for the products surveyed at 38, followed by WMT at 37.

Grocery Pricing Survey Analysis: Walmart Offering Best Prices 

Category Pricing Summary: 

  • Walmart led on price in dairy (-14.0%), frozen (-15.2%), and dry grocery (-11.0%).

  • Dollar General had the lowest prices in household & personal care (-17.3%).

  • Kroger was cheapest in produce (-15.4%) but priciest in HPC (+5.6%).

    • Cash-strapped Consumers Should Avoid: 

  • Whole Foods: highest in dairy (+16.3%) and frozen (+13.8%).

  • Sprouts: highest in dry grocery (+32.0%) and produce (+10.8%), though SKU availability was limited.

    • Month-on-month trend

  • Overall basket: essentially flat versus May; dairy, frozen and HPC down, offset by upticks in dry grocery and produce.

  • Big movers: KR cut prices in all five categories; SFM raised in three.

    • Walmart has long dominated as the lowest-priced retailer—even before the onset of tariff wars (read here)—as U.S. grocers have launched a value battle to capture a larger share of budget-conscious consumers.

    Loading...