Study reveals independent grocers proving resilient in today’s ever-changing industry
Despite a growing number of competitive formats, independent grocers’ margins were slightly ahead of where they were a year ago.
FMS Solutions Holdings LLC (FMS), Pasadena, Md., and the National Grocers Association (NGA), Arlington, Va., released the 2018 edition of the Independent Grocers Financial Survey, which covers fiscal year 2017. The survey, now in its 13th year, showed that independent grocers’ same-store sales were down 0.6% compared to the previous year. Despite the decline, it is an improvement over last year’s results, which showed a 1.62% decrease in same-store sales.
In fiscal year 2017, food at home price deflation continued to be a drain on sales. Average food at home prices were 0.2% lower than they were a year prior, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Washington, D.C. Deflation was especially drastic toward the beginning of the year, however by December, monthly food at home prices began to show improvement.