It’s time to rethink Kroger. Consider this headline from MarketWatch: “Kroger edges out Costco to land in the top 10 among U.S. e-commerce companies.” Kroger has created a major online e-commerce platform and, yes, they do carry toys. As the article by Tonya Garcia puts it:
Kroger’s digital sales are expected to reach $11.28 billion in sales in 2020, up 79% year-over-year. Costco is expected to come in at $11.18 billion.
Here is a list of the Top 10 e-commerce providers in billions of dollars as compiled by eMarketer:
1. Amazon: $309.58
2. Walmart: $46.20
3. eBay: $38.61
4. Apple: $27.51
5. The Home Depot: $16.71
6. Best Buy: $15.70
7. Target: $13.82
8. Wayfair: $11.66
9. Kroger: $11.28
10. Costco: $11.18
That puts Kroger in shouting distance of Target. I checked the Target and Kroger websites and found that Target lists 34,383 toys on its website. Kroger says that it carries 9,134. That means that Kroger only has one-quarter the number of toys carried by Target.
That gap is a significant opportunity for Kroger and the toy industry. With the absence of Toys R Us and many of our toy stores’ closing, Kroger would greatly benefit by increasing its toy footprint. An expanded toy selection appears to me to be a win-win for Kroger, the toy industry, and the consumer.
Bottom line, all of us need to take a step back, and begin thinking of Kroger in the same opportunistic way we think of Walmart, Target and, yes, Costco.
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