According to TransUnion's 15-minute chart, the Moving Average Convergence Divergence (MACD) indicator has recently triggered a "death cross," a bearish signal that suggests the stock price is likely to continue declining. Additionally, the Bollinger Bands, which measure volatility, have narrowed at 08/28/2025 11:15, indicating a potential decrease in the magnitude of stock price fluctuations. Overall, this technical analysis suggests that the stock price has the potential to continue falling, with a reduced range of price movements.
Grocers have shown remarkable resilience in the face of persisting inflation and economic uncertainty, continuing to open new locations and adapt to changing consumer behaviors. According to JLL's Grocery Tracker, despite the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) blocking the Kroger-Albertsons merger, other grocers like Aldi and Grocery Outlet are scaling up their retail footprints through mergers and acquisitions, entering new markets in the process. The elevated cost of groceries has led consumers to seek out private-label brand catalogs and discount grocers, with Aldi and Grocery Outlet seeing significant increases in foot traffic. This shift in consumer behavior has driven the growth of grocery-anchored retail properties, with investment in these properties surpassing 2023 levels in 2024, indicating that investors remain enticed by the sector's resilience.
The grocery industry has seen a notable decline in foot traffic due to the pandemic, but consumers have since returned to grocery stores, with foot traffic bouncing back to pre-pandemic levels in 2022. Since then, grocery stores have continued to see a steady rise in foot traffic, reaching nearly 17.2 billion visits in 2024. However, the average dwell time of in-store shoppers has slowly declined, indicating that consumers are spending less time shopping in-store due to the growth of grocery e-commerce. Inflation-weary consumers are visiting multiple grocery stores to purchase their groceries, taking advantage of deals and comparing prices between grocers.
Grocery-anchored retail fundamentals remain strong, with tightening availabilities due to minimal new supply additions and a persisting demand for grocery-anchored retail space helping sustain higher levels of rent growth. Despite persistent capital market challenges, investment in grocery-anchored retail properties in 2024 surpassed 2023 levels, an indication that investors remain enticed by the resiliency of grocery-anchored retail. The top 10 most visited grocers accounted for nearly 44% of total grocery industry visit share in 2024, highlighting the sector's dominance and growth potential.
Looking ahead, the grocery industry is expected to continue growing, with investors likely to play a more significant role in the investment landscape. The ongoing expansion of grocery stores is driving demand for retail space, making grocery-anchored retail properties increasingly attractive to investors. This trend is expected to persist, with REITs and grocery operators likely to play more significant roles in the investment landscape, complementing traditional private capital investors.
References:
[1] https://www.jll.com/en-us/insights/market-perspectives/grocery-tracker
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