Thyme is money, convenience matters; skinny on grocery

The Lone Star State was home to the most new grocery store openings with 3.04 million sf or 16.13 percent of new grocery space leased. 

Much of this expansion was driven by Kroger and HEB in and around the Houston and Dallas metro areas. 

Kroger opened approximately 35 percent of all new stores in Texas in 2016. Those stores mostly focused in the suburbs of major metros, but also clustered in urban cores. 

Not surprisingly, regional grocer HEB continued to expand across the state.

Looking forward, the number of new grocery stores opening their doors may be slightly less than last year, but we can expect retailers to continue to focus on cities like Houston and Dallas with smaller store concepts and creative layouts.

And while you may not see iPads replace people in every grocery store in 2017, expect more and more grocers to experiment with mobile ordering technologies that link to curbside pickup or deliveries.

To learn more about the trends coming to a grocery store near you, download JLL’s Grocery Tracker 2017.​