4 Grocery Stores That Are Taking Over 2025

It's no secret that grocery staples like coffee, beef, and even canola oil are going to cost more in 2025, and shoppers are starting to feel the squeeze. Consumer focus on locally sourced food is just one grocery store trend you may notice this year, particularly as President Donald Trump's tariffs take effect and grocery chains start passing those elevated costs onto customers. Yet, despite these fluctuations, some grocery stores are finding ways to thrive.

Chains such as Walmart, Aldi, Publix, and Trader Joe's are leveraging new consumer markets to grow their respective footprints. In addition to certain chains seeing increased quarterly profits, numerous store openings are slated to take place before 2025 draws to a close.

One reason these select chains are able to support this growth is that they appeal to budget-minded shoppers on the lookout for low-cost food solutions. Regardless of income, people are seeking ways to cut down on food spending, and as these chains continue to expand, more customers will (hopefully) have access to affordable goods.

Trader Joe's is famously selective about where it opens new locations, with factors like population density and traffic patterns playing a major role in the chain's decision making. However, in 2025, a host of cities across the country will finally welcome this grocery store into their communities, as the popular chain plans to open "'dozens' of additional outposts" in 2025 (via Progressive Grocer).

A few of these cities include Northridge, California; Tracy, California; Westminster, Colorado; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma; Myrtle Beach, South Carolina; and Berwyn, Pennsylvania. A total of 13 states (plus Washington, D.C.) will see new Trader Joe's locations, with others including Alabama, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Texas, and Washington. This growth serves as a continuation of the chain's 2024 expansion, which resulted in 34 new stores.

While the chain promised dozens of new locations in 2025, the total doesn't quite live up to this claim. Outlets report that 21 new locations will crop up throughout the year in addition to two stores that opened in April: one in Seattle, Washington, and one in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. The Trader Joe's website, however, does promise additional 2025 openings in states like Oregon and Connecticut.

Walmart may be a superstore that sells everything from TVs to clothing to enormous children's play sets, but for many shoppers, the chain is a go-to for affordable groceries. While this affordability may be thrown into question thanks to tariff-related price hikes announced in May, 2025 still stands to be an impactful (and no doubt profitable) year for Walmart's grocery division.

For Walmart's 2025 fiscal year, which ended January 31, the corporation's grocery department brought in $276 billion in net sales. This is nearly 60% of Walmart's total net sales, an increase of 4% compared to grocery performance the previous year. Given this growth and that other departments such as general merchandise are seeing sales dips, it's fair to assume that Walmart will continue pushing its grocery department toward new peaks.

The first quarter of fiscal 2026 seems to confirm this, as a Walmart quarterly report from May 15, 2025 cites "U.S. comp sales up 4.5% with strong growth in health & wellness and grocery." The report also notes that "grocery share gains continued" during the quarter, indicating that this department is still poised to drive the superstore's sales throughout the year.

Aldi is preparing for big changes in 2025, and massive expansion seems to be top of the list. By 2028, the low-cost grocery chain plans to open no less than 800 new locations, an effort that has already begun in states like California and Nevada. In April 2025, the chain announced in a press release that it opened its "first two stores in the Las Vegas area," one at 621 Marks Street in Henderson and another at 2106 W. Craig Road in North Las Vegas. That same month, a new location opened in Fontana, California.

Even in the short term, the company has set its sights on tremendous growth. In a February press release, the company announced a record-breaking 225-plus store openings in 2025 alone, stating, "This is the most stores Aldi will open in one year in its nearly 50-year U.S. history."

Part of this expansion will entail transforming select Winn-Dixie and Harveys Supermarket locations into Aldi stores, with the estimate for the number of 2025 re-openings sitting at "approximately 100." Aside from these acquisitions, Aldi cites "organic growth" as the other primary method of expansion.

Publix, a grocery chain with nearly 1,500 locations across the Southeastern U.S., is the largest employee-owned company in the country. This success extends to its annual profile, made public via a March 2025 press release. By the final months of 2024, the chain had increased sales by 5.5% over the previous year, totaling $15.5 billion. Similarly, its comparable store sales rose by 4.1% during the same three-month period, setting Publix up for success as 2025 began.

The first quarter of this year was similarly high-performing, with a May 1 press release announcing that sales grew 5.1% compared to the first quarter of 2024. That said, Publix's spending has also been on the rise as the chain seeks to expand its store count and make technological advancements, among other goals.

More than 10 new Publix locations have opened since the beginning of the year, including several stores in Florida, Kentucky, and North Carolina. Three additional stores — one in Kentucky, one in North Carolina, and one in Georgia — are slated to open before summer's end, according to Publix. While a dip in earnings due to a stock slump has somewhat dulled the chain's shine, sales continue to rise, indicating that growth will likely persist throughout the rest of the year.