Has the Coronavirus Changed Grocers' Profitability? Actually, No.
The premise makes enough sense. The expansion of curbside pickup in the age of COVID-19 -- along with the growth of online orders -- means more grocery store employees are needed. At the same time, since consumers are shopping online, at least some of them will hunt for the lowest prices. Smart food retailers will make a point of being price-competitive.
As it turns out though, grocery store operators like Kroger (NYSE: KR) and Albertson's (NYSE: ACI) aren't being overwhelmed by new expenses.
That's not to say they haven't seen their costs go up. They have seen their operating spending increase. Those increased costs, however, have only more or less mirrored their respective increases in revenue. The coronavirus pandemic has evenly scaled up the size of grocers' operations.
Source Fool.com
