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that Sam’s generated a 4% increase in net sales excluding fuel in the fourth quarter, and comparable sales excluding fuel rose 4%. Ecommerce sales increased 23%, and membership fee revenue grew 6.1% year over year. Watkins said Sam’s has been focused on growing the company’s ecommerce busi- ness, including fast delivery. Sixty percent of members now have access to delivery in under three hours, she said, “and we won’t stop there.” “We are growing our ability to give members their items quickly,” she said. That includes speeding up the in-store experience as well, Watkins said, citing a positive response from members to the retailer’s Scan & Go frictionless checkout offering. Also key to Sam’s Club’s performance has been a renewed focus on prepared foods, including a popular sushi program that has become a go-to item for many customers. New prepared food items in 2026 focus on easy-to-prepare family meals under the retailer’s Member’s Mark private label. The company has also invested in revamping the Member’s Mark private-la- bel food assortment by removing artificial additives. The effort launched in 2022 with the goal of removing more than 40 synthetic ingredients, a goal the company said it has achieved as of this year. Sam’s Club is especially popular in the Southeast, where it topped the regional ASCI rankings this year. 7. Aldi The simple, affordable shopping experience that Aldi provides has proven to be a per- fect antidote for consumers seeking relief from grocery-price inflation. Now in its 50th year of operating in the U.S., Batavia, Ill.-based Aldi, which is owned by German retailer Aldi Süd, has become one of the largest and fastest-grow- ing retailers in the U.S. The company is in the midst of a $9 billion, five-year invest - ment in its U.S. operations that will include another 180 store openings this year and three new distribution centers over the next three years to support its ongoing expansion. It expects to have close to 2,800 locations by the end of this year and is
7.
Aldi also continues to improve its ecommerce capabilities, including a website revamp that’s on the table for 2026.
targeting 3,200 stores by the end of 2028. Aldi also continues to improve its ecommerce capabilities, including a web- site revamp that’s on the table for 2026. Plans call for offering tailored product recommendations, expanded nutritional information, shoppable recipes and built-in tools to support meal planning. The company’s no-frills operations are a model of supply chain and merchan- dising efficiency, but Aldi’s success lies in its ability to translate those skills into an enjoyable shopping experience for many consumers. It has built a loyal following of millions, including several Facebook fan groups, one of which now totals more than 3.8 million followers. Although its just-in-time delivery model sometimes results in out-of-stocks, the com- pany is willing to live with that. “You might have to shop at another store, and that’s actually okay with us, but what we want our customers to do is shop Aldi first,” said Scott Patton, chief commer- cial officer at Aldi U.S., in a recent CNBC interview. 8. Whole Foods Market Whole Foods Market continues to be the national standard-bearer for consumers seeking natural, organic and specialty products. Although the retailer’s strategies con- tinue to evolve under the ownership of Amazon, customers still pack Whole Foods
stores seeking high-quality meats and pro- duce as well as better-for-you center store items and an expansive assortment of pre- pared foods offerings, often including full in-store restaurants. Despite the closure of physical stores in Amazon’s Amazon Fresh division, the company remains bullish on the expansion of Whole Foods locations, said Jassy in a recent earnings call with analysts. “We’ve become a go-to grocery desti- nation for over 150 million Americans, mostly through online shopping and Whole Foods,” he said, citing the impor- tance of offering perishables delivery to boost online sales. “We plan to expand [perishables delivery] to many more com- munities in 2026, and we also plan to open more than 100 new Whole Foods Market stores over the next few years as we work to make grocery shopping easier, faster and more affordable for customers.” Whole Foods currently operates 532 U.S. stores, plus 12 in Canada and six in the U.K. The retailer is also expanding its small- er-format Whole Foods Market Daily Shop format, which averages about 10,000 square feet. The company opened its fifth location of the concept late last year in Hoboken, N.J., and a sixth is planned for early this year in Brooklyn’s Williamsburg neighborhood. Meanwhile Amazon is experimenting with new strategies at other Whole Foods
22 SUPERMARKETNEWS.COM SPRING 2026
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