Kroger’s Retail Media Profits Hit New Highs, Marking Fastest Growth Since 2021
Kroger Precision Marketing recorded a 24% increase in second-quarter profit, delivering the company’s strongest retail media profit expansion since 2021. According to the latest earnings report, this achievement was bolstered by an 88 basis point rise in monetization of media, while e-commerce sales climbed 20%—the second consecutive quarter in which this segment remained profitable for the supermarket chain.
During the Friday earnings call, CEO Greg Foran brought immediate attention to digital commerce and retail media, placing them ahead of traditional merchandising topics. By prioritizing these areas early in the discussion, Foran signaled the growing significance of retail media as a primary component of Kroger’s growth plans and as a key concern for the investment community.
Retail Media Growth Driven by New Partnerships and Initiatives
Kroger’s standout retail media results stemmed from a combination of new initiatives and active partnerships. Kroger Precision Marketing’s spokesperson attributed higher profits to both increases in on-site user traffic and broader collaborations—encompassing interactive ads, campaigns synched across social media and programmatic channels.
Innovations this year include rolling out ad placements within the artificial intelligence-based assistant integrated throughout Kroger’s main websites and mobile apps. These enhancements help shoppers with meal planning, recipe discovery, and cart building customized to budget and dietary needs. This follows an industry-wide move, as similar digital assistants from companies like Walmart and OpenAI initially launched without ad functionality but have since added it.
March saw Kroger Precision Marketing announce a collaboration with Google, allowing advertisers to employ Kroger’s data for targeted ads on YouTube, YouTube TV, and across Google’s Display & Video 360. More recently, in June, a direct partnership with TikTok was introduced, enabling brands to access Kroger’s audiences using TikTok’s self-service advertising platform.
Building Out Digital Products and In-Store Screen Networks
Experts observe Kroger’s commitment to developing retail media as a layered ecosystem that combines first-party data and cross-channel advertising. Drew Cashmore, who now serves as chief strategy officer at Vantage and was previously with Walmart Connect, highlighted how the comprehensive approach across TikTok, Google, on-site advertising, and connected TV ultimately enhances both shopper experience and the efficiency of the path to purchase.
SMG’s North American managing director, Sean Crawford, noted the retailer’s expanded digital ad inventory gives Kroger the means to compete with dominant social media ad providers. He stressed the movement among retailers to deploy their valuable first-party data for both on- and off-site advertising, offering advertisers unique targeting possibilities and returns.
Crawford also predicts further growth from Kroger’s increasing use of digital in-store screen networks. Nearly 600 stores had video screens installed in their wine-and-spirits departments last year. In 2024, Kroger revealed a collaboration with Barrows Connected Store to extend these digital screens to end cap displays, although the company has not published specifics on the number of stores or displays. The rollout is happening nationwide, but Kroger has yet to release comprehensive statistics.
Strategic Leadership Shapes the Future of Retail Media
At the helm, Greg Foran draws on substantial experience, having previously spent six years leading Walmart’s U.S. operations before departing in 2019. Foran played a key role in launching Walmart Connect, facilitating close cooperation between merchandising, media, marketing, and operations to set brand investment direction. Drew Cashmore, a former Walmart Connect colleague, sees Foran’s cross-team strategy as the driving force behind accelerated progress—one Foran is now deploying at Kroger.
Foran is overseeing tighter integration between merchandising and media, citing stronger collaboration as the reason brand partners benefit from increased ad availability, higher conversion rates, and improved visibility in Kroger’s programs.
Kroger’s focus on data-based retail media initiatives and strategic alliances with technology leaders reflects a clear ambition to make advertising a central part of revenue, alongside its traditional grocery business. The retailer’s ongoing digital evolution suggests that momentum in retail media growth will persist in the foreseeable future.