Kroger Extends Its Traffic Winning Streak in Q2 2026

Five Straight Quarters of Visit Growth

Kroger has spent the past year sharpening its value proposition and optimizing its store fleet. And location intelligence data suggests the strategy is keeping shoppers coming through the doors.

Overall visits across Kroger's portfolio of banners increased 0.5% year over year (YoY) in Q2 2026, marking the grocery giant's fifth consecutive quarter of positive YoY visit growth. While this represented a moderation from the previous two quarters, it came against a strong Q2 2025 comparison, when visits rose 1.7% YoY. And notably, the overall traffic increase came even as Kroger continued to rationalize its fleet, with average visits per location rising an even stronger 1.6% YoY.

The gains come amid a broader value push by Kroger, including price cuts on more than 3,500 products since the start of 2025 and continued growth from the company’s Our Brands private label. They also align with Kroger’s recent financial performance, which saw identical sales excluding fuel rise 1.0% YoY. 

Same-Store Strength Across the Portfolio

A closer look at Kroger’s five largest banners – Kroger, Fred Meyer, Harris Teeter, Ralphs, and Smith’s – shows that the Q2 strength was broad-based across the portfolio. All five posted positive same-store visit growth during the quarter, even as overall visits edged down at Harris Teeter and Fred Meyer amid store closures.

And a month-by-month view shows that the broad-based Q2 strength carried into July, when same-store visit growth accelerated across much of the portfolio. Though August brought a slight softening, this may say more about the broader macroeconomic environment than about Kroger’s own trajectory, coming as consumer sentiment declined following two consecutive months of improvement. Three of the five leading banners still posted positive same-store visit growth, led by Ralphs at 2.6% YoY.

A Leaner Fleet, A Steady Shopper Base

Kroger enters the back half of 2026 with a tighter fleet and steady momentum. With same-store visits positive across its five largest banners in Q2 and a $1.65 billion agreement to acquire Giant Eagle's nearly 200 supermarkets on the horizon, the company appears well positioned to keep winning grocery trips in the second half of 2026 and beyond.

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