Leading Grocery Store Brands in the US: Q1 2025 Analysis

Introduction

In the competitive landscape of grocery retail, Kroger, Publix Super Markets, and Whole Foods Market have emerged as leading brands in the US. Leveraging Sensor Tower’s comprehensive data insights, we explore the performance and trends of these brands from Q4 2024 to Q1 2025. This analysis highlights the monthly deduplicated audience across their websites and apps, offering a unique perspective on consumer engagement.

Kroger

Kroger's digital footprint is vast, with its website, kroger.com, and the Kroger app playing pivotal roles.

• Audience Trends: Kroger.com experienced fluctuations, peaking in December with over 8.4M unique visits. The monthly deduplicated audience surpassed 14M in March 2025, with a notable balance between web and app users.

• App Engagement: The Kroger app maintained steady engagement with around 1.4M monthly active users, reflecting consistent consumer interest in mobile shopping.

• Ad Spend & Channels: Kroger's advertising strategy peaked in January 2025, with monthly spending over $17M and impressions exceeding 2B. Facebook and YouTube were key channels, driving significant impressions.

Publix Super Markets

Publix maintains an active digital presence with its website, publix.com, and the Publix app.

• Audience Trends: Publix.com saw a surge in visits, with unique visits reaching nearly 4.8M in March 2025. The monthly deduplicated audience was consistently above 5M, with a blend of web and app interactions.

• App Engagement: The Publix app attracted about 580K monthly active users, indicating stable app usage.

• Ad Spend & Channels: Monthly ad spend peaked in November 2024 at over $4.6M. Facebook led the charge in impressions, complemented by a significant presence on Instagram and OTT platforms.

Whole Foods Market

Whole Foods Market has leveraged its website, wholefoodsmarket.com, and the Whole Foods Market app to engage consumers.

• Audience Trends: Wholefoodsmarket.com saw a peak in November 2024 with over 4M unique visits. The monthly deduplicated audience was robust, exceeding 5M by March 2025, showing a preference for web interactions.

• App Engagement: The app maintained around 380K monthly active users, highlighting a stable mobile user base.

• Ad Spend & Channels: Whole Foods Market's monthly ad spend reached its zenith in November 2024, with over $5.7M spent and impressions around 640M. OTT and Facebook were key channels, delivering substantial reach.

Conclusion

Sensor Tower’s data insights reveal that Kroger, Publix, and Whole Foods Market have effectively utilized both web and app platforms to engage their audiences. Each brand's strategy, from robust advertising to maintaining active user bases, underscores their leadership in the grocery sector. Sensor Tower’s unparalleled data offerings, including Web Insights, App Performance Insights, and Pathmatics, provide critical insights into cross-platform user behavior, essential for navigating the dynamic digital landscape.

With Sensor Tower’s consolidated data, decision-makers gain unique advantages, enabling strategic planning and competitive positioning in the fast-evolving market.