Dive Brief:
- Visits to H-E-B rose 6% for the period between January and August compared to the same time last year, according to Placer.ai.
- The Texas grocer’s visit growth is more than six times higher than the 0.9% increase the grocery category as a whole saw during that same time period, according to the research firm, which tracks foot traffic at retail locations using anonymized cell phone location data.
- H-E-B’s strong foot traffic comes as the chain continues to bolster its operations in Texas as rivals like Kroger and Whole Foods Market ramp up their presence in the state.
Dive Insight:
Placer.ai said that part of H-E-B’s visit growth comes from the Texas chain’s store growth, especially in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. The grocer’s strong shopper engagement also plays a key role. Placer.ai’s research found that H-E-B customers stay longer and are more than twice as likely as overall grocery shoppers to visit more than four times a month.
“[H-E-B’s] locally tailored assortments and strong community ties appear to sustain unusually strong customer loyalty. And beyond the shopping itself, amenities such as the True Texas BBQ restaurants at a growing number of locations may give customers another reason to linger,” Placer.ai wrote.
H-E-B continues to grow its store fleet across the state. So far this month, the grocer announced that it purchased land for a store that will serve southwest Fort Worth and opened its third store in San Marcos, a city in central Texas.
Austin, Texas-based Whole Foods Market has plans for a store outside Houston and another in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, according to Trademark Property Company, the investor, developer and operator of the properties where the stores will be located.
Meanwhile, Kroger, which combined its Dallas and Houston divisions last year, has been adding stores under its Marketplace format across Texas.
