By Patrick Thomas

It's hard being a grocery seller in 2026, says Albertsons Chief Executive Susan Morris.

Grocers including Albertsons are trying to manage consumers' sensitivity to rising prices while addressing their own escalating costs for things such as wages and utilities, Morris said in an interview.

Other factors are weighing on how much consumers are spending at grocery stores, too. Rising prices are prompting cost-conscious shoppers to shrink what they put in carts. Users of GLP-1 weight-loss medications are shifting what and how much they buy.

Also dampening the Idaho-based grocer's sales in the three months ended Nov. 29: Less foot traffic at stores near the U.S.-Mexico border and the West Coast and the pause in federal government funding for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.

"This is a challenging year," Morris said in an interview. "Industry wide, it's tough."

Albertsons is also facing pressure from competitors such as Kroger and Walmart that are trying to attract customers through discounts. Morris said the company has also been trying to lower prices on key food items and hold the line on cost increases, which has helped it gain market share, especially for some of its store-branded products.

Albertsons sales grew about 2% during its fiscal third period to $19.12 billion, slightly below what Wall Street analysts were expecting. Profits were down about 27% from a year earlier. Shares of the company were down about 6% on Wednesday.

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(END) Dow Jones Newswires

January 07, 2026 15:35 ET (20:35 GMT)

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