22 • November / December 2026• abasto.com • Continuation of page20 • ECONOMY FOCUS The Scale Gap However, adapting comes at a cost. Wal- mart reported that more than 36% of its home delivery orders in the first fiscal quarter arrived in less than three hours, and by May 2026, it was already offering 30-minute or faster delivery in 33 mar- kets. Target reported a more than 27% rise in same-day delivery sales. Amazon, for its part, expanded its Amazon Now servi- ce to new cities. Penetration rates reflect the gap: 59.2% of online shoppers used Walmart in the past 12 months, and 45.1% used Amazon. Kro- ger, the best-positioned among traditional supermarkets, barely reached 16.8%. Co- resight also warns that relying on external platforms can pressure margins and reduce control over customer data. A two-speed market? A socioeconomic dimension adds to this. A 2025 Coresight survey found that 37.3% of consumers with incomes of $100,000 or more regularly pay for expedited de- livery, compared to 19.7% of the rest. At the same time, cumulative inflation, rising fuel prices, and cuts to the SNAP program are pushing other households to prioritize price. What Online Shopping Can’t Replace In this context, brick- and-mortar stores must earn every visit. Coresight proposes four actions: • An engaging in-store experience. • Differentiation in fresh produce. • Local products. • Helpful service. Consumer data supports this. Among those who do not plan to buy groceries online, 54% prefer to see and select pro- ducts in person, and 50.5% enjoy shopping in-store. Likewise, the firm recommends that tra- ditional chains return to their core spe- cialty—retail—with stronger private-label brands, better staff, and store renovations. The Key Move Which step yields the greatest return? The study does not point to a single action. Still, its central recommendation is to expand the fast- delivery assortment beyond convenience items to include fresh produce, essential household goods, and the full weekly grocery haul. In other words, the regional supermar- ket needs to bring its proximity—which the map no longer guaran- tees—directly to the customer’s doorstep. The report does not mention a two-tie- red market, but it does foresee polariza- tion between value-driven purchases and health-driven purchases. Whoever caters to one of them—or both—will have better prospects. The Challenge of AI Another front is advancing in parallel. Coresight Research believes that AI-powe- red shopping assistants could shift com- petition from the shelf to the assistant to whom the consumer delegates their deci- sions. Walmart reported that users of Sparky, its shopping assistant, generate orders that are about 35% higher than those of other users. The firm describes this shift as a multi-year transformation, still in its early stages, and advises investing in pro- prietary tools sooner rather than later. Consolidation on the Horizon Consequently, financial pressure is moun- ting. The report anticipates that the in- vestment required to sustain a profitable e-commerce business will become increa- singly difficult for small chains, leading to partnerships, market exits, and mergers. Kroger’s acquisition of Giant Eagle, an- nounced in July 2026 and scheduled to close in 2027, illustrates this dynamic.