Kroger, the largest grocery chain in the United States, is capitalizing on major swings in shopping patterns since the COVID-19 pandemic as it expands its retail media business.

For one thing, online and in-app groceries went from being a barely consequential fraction of Kroger’s daily shoppers to a primary source of demand. And the trend is holding. Even compared to the worst period of nationwide lockdowns last year, Kroger’s online ordering continues to grow. Online sales have more than doubled since the end of 2019, according to the grocer’s most recent earnings in June, and the company predicts another doubling by the end of 2023.

On top of this secular trend, Kroger Precision Marketing VP of media strategy Michael Schuh said the online advertising industry has come to realize that “a reset needs to happen” soon with a focus on first-party data as a source for targeting and measurement.

The opportunity for retail media in the new programmatic landscape is hardly new – Amazon, Walmart and Target, among other large retailers, are all investing heavily in ad tech.

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