Kroger’s sales growth offers a playbook for value retailers like Big Lots

Kroger’s latest quarter is a reminder that in value retail, the stores that win are not just cheap, they are convenient, measurable, and hard to ignore. The company posted 1.0 percent identical sales growth excluding fuel, $1.407 billion in operating profit, and 19 percent growth in adjusted eCommerce sales, while also saying Kroger Precision Marketing profit rose more than 20 percent. For Big Lots workers, that gap matters because it shows what a successful chain now expects from every aisle, app tap, and promotion tag.

What Kroger’s quarter says about the new value-retail playbook

Kroger’s first quarter ended May 23, 2026, and the company reported results on June 18. Net sales came in at $46.1 billion, and sales excluding fuel and Vitacost rose 0.5 percent from a year earlier. Kroger also kept its 2026 guidance in place, signaling that it sees the current demand pattern as durable rather than a one-off burst. Analysts were watching exactly this mix of identical sales, e-commerce, and traffic because cautious shoppers tend to trade down, shop more selectively, and reward chains that make the trip easy.

The headline number here is not just sales growth. It is the combination of traffic resilience and channel mix. Kroger said adjusted eCommerce sales increased 19 percent, and outside coverage noted that the company’s e-commerce business turned profitable in the quarter for the first time. That matters because digital is no longer a separate side hustle for grocery chains. It is part of the way they pull shoppers back repeatedly and make each trip more predictable.

Kroger also said Kroger Precision Marketing profit grew more than 20 percent. That is a reminder that retail media is now part of the earnings engine, not just a marketing add-on. When a retailer can profit from both the shopping trip and the attention around it, the whole model gets sturdier. For workers on the floor, that usually translates into tighter expectations around execution because every display, coupon, and featured item becomes part of a larger system.

Why the digital numbers are more important than they first look

The 19 percent adjusted eCommerce increase is strong, but Kroger also spelled out what is not included in that figure. The company said adjusted eCommerce sales exclude the effect of fulfillment center exits in markets where it does not operate stores, the sale of Vitacost, and the discontinuation of Ship Marketplace. In other words, the growth is real, but it is not a simple apples-to-apples total of every digital activity Kroger has ever run.

That nuance is useful for Big Lots employees because it shows how much leadership teams now care about clean measurement. If a retailer can separate the parts of the business that are growing from the parts it is exiting, it can make faster calls about what deserves labor, inventory, and capital. At store level, that usually shows up as more pressure on accuracy: shelf labels have to match prices, online pickup orders have to be right, and seasonal sets have to be ready when the customer walks in.

Kroger’s digital gains also point to a broader shift in shopper behavior. Customers are not only looking for the lowest ticket price. They want speed, searchability, and confidence that the trip will work. That changes the job on the floor. A clean shelf, a correctly placed sign, and a quick answer to where something is located can mean as much as a markdown. In a value environment, convenience is becoming part of the value proposition itself.

What Big Lots workers can read into the Kroger comparison

For Big Lots employees, the Kroger story is not a distant grocery headline. It is a benchmark for what a stressed value retailer can still do when it keeps drawing repeat visits and makes digital part of the daily business. Grocery remains the strongest traffic driver in retail because households buy it constantly, but the playbook now stretches beyond food. Loyalty, retail media, and online engagement are all feeding the same customer relationship.

That puts a particular kind of pressure on morale and staffing. When a chain is trying to stay top-of-mind, stores are often asked to do more with less time, less space, and less room for error. The customer may compare not only price, but also whether the store is easy to navigate, whether the promotion is obvious, and whether the trip feels worth repeating. Big Lots teams know that a confused shopper rarely becomes a loyal one.

The practical lesson is that store-level execution can no longer be treated as background work. Kroger’s quarter shows that a mature retailer can still grow by making the shopping trip more measurable and more personalized. For Big Lots, that means the basics are not basic at all. It means keeping shelves accurate, seasonal sets timely, and promotions simple enough that a shopper can decide fast. It also means store associates are being judged on the speed and clarity of the experience, not just on whether the product is there.

Big Lots is working from a much harder starting point

The comparison gets sharper when you look at Big Lots’ recent history. Big Lots filed for Chapter 11 on September 9, 2024, in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware. Later reporting said the company converted its case to Chapter 7 liquidation in November 2025 after a sale process. That is a very different operating backdrop from Kroger’s, where management is talking about guidance, digital profitability, and how to improve an already massive store base.

Reporting on the restructuring said Variety Wholesalers was set to acquire 200 to 400 Big Lots stores and two distribution centers, and 2025 coverage later put reopened Big Lots locations at 219 stores under new ownership. That smaller footprint changes everything for workers: labor allocation, inventory depth, seasonal execution, and even how much each store matters to the brand. In a recovery setting, every open location has to work harder to stay visible.

This is why Kroger’s results are useful as a benchmark story. They show what winning retail operations look like in 2026: traffic that holds up, digital that does not sit on the side, and loyalty economics that can be measured in profits, not just clicks. For Big Lots workers, the gap is the message. The business that survives is the one that makes the customer feel like the trip is worth repeating, and the store floor is where that promise either holds up or falls apart.

The part that should matter most inside the store

Kroger’s quarter is a reminder that value retail is now won in small moments that add up. A correct price, a stocked shelf, a clean endcap, a quick digital order handoff, and a promotion that makes sense all help convert a cautious shopper into a repeat visitor. That is the real playbook, and it is why traffic, digital execution, and loyalty are now inseparable.

Big Lots workers can read the comparison as a warning, but also as a practical map. Retailers are still fighting for the same household wallet, and the winners are the ones that make the store easier to trust, easier to shop, and easier to return to.