Two states accounted for nearly 30% of grocery store openings last year

The Lone Star State and Golden State are ripe areas for grocery store expansion.



In 2016, more than 440 grocery stores opened in the United States, adding 18.8 million sq. ft. of space. And 27% of those stores opened in two states: Texas and California.



That’s according to JLL’s latest Grocery Tracker JLL’s latest Grocery explores four trends transforming the grocery shopping sector.



After Texas and California, the next three largest states in terms of new grocery store space were North Carolina, Virginia, and New Jersey, which each accounted for 5% of total space delivered in 2016.



Aldi and Grocery Outlet dominated California, while Kroger and H-E-B continued their push into the Texas market. Overall, Aldi and Whole Foods were the biggest movers in the sector, opening the most stores by count.



“In 2016, new grocery stores openings were slightly above average, thanks to grocers expanding their presence in California and Texas,” said James Cook, director of retail research, JLL. “I expect the number of new grocery stores opening their doors to be slightly less this year, but we will see an uptick again in 2018 as Lidl makes a strong push along the East Coast.”