Kroger Co. (NYSE: KR) plans to invest $5 billion in customer value through 2029 as the supermarket chain looks to lower grocery prices, attract more shoppers and strengthen sales. The strategy also includes 110 new stores, a wider private-label range and simpler promotions, while cost savings and corporate restructuring are expected to help fund the investment.
Kroger unveiled the plan on October 20 as CEO Greg Foran sets out his strategy for returning the retailer to stronger growth. The company wants to make everyday prices more competitive and improve the shopping experience as consumers remain cautious about spending.
The three-year strategy outlined by Kroger includes greater investment in fresh food and prepared meals, more store-brand products and an expanded Boost membership program. Kroger also plans to simplify promotional offers that management says have become too complicated for shoppers to navigate.
The push comes as higher living costs continue to influence where Americans buy groceries. Some households are switching to cheaper products and discount retailers, a trend visible in Dollar General's growing number of higher-income shoppers trading down.
Kroger’s goal is to make its value proposition easier to understand without relying exclusively on temporary sales. Foran has said the company's pricing perception weakened as promotions became harder to follow and store performance varied across its network.
How Kroger Plans to Spend $5 Billion and Attract Customers
The company intends to direct more resources toward everyday pricing while improving its product selection and stores. The $5 billion customer-value plan is designed to be self-funded through operational savings rather than treated as a one-time price reduction.
Those savings are expected to come from more direct sourcing, better purchasing discipline, streamlined processes and technology. Kroger is also planning to reduce its corporate workforce from about 8,200 positions to 5,200 over three years. The reduction of roughly 3,000 jobs forms part of the broader effort to simplify operations, as detailed in the company's corporate restructuring plan.
Kroger is also planning to open 110 new stores by 2029 in markets where it expects attractive returns. Three refreshed store formats will place more emphasis on fresh food, prepared meals and space for online order fulfillment, while reducing room for general merchandise and apparel that do not fit the retailer's food-focused strategy as closely.
The company intends to introduce about 1,000 additional private-label products over the next three years. It aims to increase the share of sales from its own brands from 35% to 40%, giving shoppers more options at different price points while allowing Kroger to manage sourcing and product development more directly. FoodNavigator's report on the new store formats and product strategy provides further details of the plan.
Digital sales are another priority. Kroger generated more than $16 billion in e-commerce sales in fiscal 2025 and wants to expand online grocery shopping, pickup and delivery. It also expects its retail-media business, which sells advertising opportunities to brands, to contribute more to growth and profitability.
For customers, the most immediate changes should be visible in pricing and promotions. Kroger said some stores have already lowered prices on thousands of products and simplified offers. Stores that had implemented the changes for a year reported sales growth 2.3 percentage points above the company's average, according to executives cited by FoodNavigator. The early results suggest the approach may help, although they do not guarantee the same performance across the entire chain.
What the Plan Means for Kroger's Sales and Profits
Kroger is targeting approximately 3% comparable-sales growth in 2029, excluding fuel and pharmacy. It also expects adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization to grow by 3% to 6% annually and adjusted net earnings per share to rise by 7% to 11% annually from fiscal 2027 through fiscal 2029. The targets exclude the pending acquisition of Giant Eagle.
Those goals would represent an improvement from the company's recent sales performance. Kroger's second-quarter identical sales growth, excluding fuel and pharmacy, was just 0.2%, down from 3.4% in the same quarter of 2025. The weak comparison highlighted the challenge facing Foran as he tries to restore momentum while investing in prices and store operations.
Competition remains intense. Walmart (NYSE: WMT) has built its grocery offering around everyday value and a large national footprint, while Aldi competes with a narrower assortment and low prices. Kroger must make its own pricing more attractive without sacrificing the margins needed to support its stores and supply chain.
Food costs may also complicate the effort. The September US inflation report showed annual inflation rising to 3.7%, adding pressure to household budgets. Higher fuel and production expenses can also feed through the food supply chain, although the timing and impact vary by product. Government support for farmers, including the recent $8 billion harvest relief program, does not guarantee lower supermarket prices.
For investors, the central question is whether Kroger can cut prices enough to attract more customers while delivering the cost savings needed to protect earnings. The plan calls for a balance between lower prices today and stronger profitability over time.
Kroger reaffirmed its 2026 financial guidance alongside the announcement. The new targets provide a longer-term framework, but achieving them will depend on whether pricing changes translate into sustained sales growth and whether the company can execute its store expansion and efficiency plans.
The $5 billion initiative marks a broad reset of Kroger's customer strategy. Lower everyday prices may help it win back shoppers, but the results will become clearer as the company rolls out the changes across more stores and reports its sales and earnings over the next several quarters.