A LOT IN STORE

On Oct. 14, a $24.6 billion deal between Kroger Co. and Albertsons was proposed that would make a 5,000 grocery store giant. Today we look at the national landscape of the grocery business.

The deal would create a beefed-up competitor to Walmart Inc. and other rivals, so it's sure to face tough antitrust scrutiny as U.S. regulators under President Joe Biden cast a more skeptical eye on big mergers.

The massive merger is among the retail industry's biggest transactions in years, such as Amazon.com Inc.'s purchase of Whole Foods Market in 2017 for $13.7 billion.

The merger would give Kroger entry into the Northeast, filling out its national footprint. The Cincinnati-based parent of Ralphs and Fred Meyer is the No. 2 grocery seller in the U.S., with a 9.9% market share compared with Walmart's almost 21%, according to Numerator. Albertsons ranks fourth with 5.7%, and its portfolio includes the Acme, Jewel-Osco, Safeway, Shaw's and Tom Thumb chains as well as its eponymous stores.

By the numbers

$811.5 billion

The 2022 grocery store market size in the U.S.

$6.7 billion

How much the U.S. grocery store market grew since 2021.

$129.72 billion

What online grocery stores are projected to reach by 2023.

1.4%

What the U.S. grocery store market size grew annually between 2015 and 2020.