Grocery Stores NAICS 445110

Jul 14, 2025 - Cyberattack Leads to Empty Shelves

• Shoppers at Whole Foods Market and other grocery stores encountered sparsely-stocked and empty shelves following a cyberattack on distributor United Natural Foods (UNFI) in June, The Wall Street Journal reports. The cyberattack cut into sales over several days as Whole Foods and UNFI’s other retail customers weren’t able to place orders through regular digital channels leaving many grocery store shelves bare, according to WSJ. The incident exposed the food supply chain’s vulnerability to cyberattacks, with some retailers unable to place orders with the distributor and UNFI unable to order from food companies. Retailers heavily dependent on a primary distributor are especially vulnerable to supply disruptions from cyberattacks and must rely on manual processes or scramble to find backup suppliers during outages. Whole Foods’ contract with UNFI requires it to maintain cyber insurance and a business-continuity plan that's tested regularly, with written results provided to Whole Foods.
• A new study finds consumers often can’t tell the difference between private labels and national brands, Supermarket News reports. The study –“The Quiet Takeover of Private Label” – from retail platform First Insight found 72% of consumers surveyed failed to differentiate between them when shown side-by-side images of store-brand and national-brand products. Duplication of some name-brand products has gotten so subtle it sparked lawsuits, with Mondelez International suing discount grocer Aldi for copying its packaging designs for products including Oreos and Chips Ahoy! cookies. Consumers don’t seem to mind, however. The study finds shoppers enjoy finding “the dupe,” with 47% of saying they’ve tried a private-label product specifically because it was a duplicate of a name-brand item. Broad consumer acceptance is driving sales, with store brands outperforming commercial brands in dollar and unit sales across all US retail outlets in the first quarter, according to the Private Label Manufacturers Association.

• Online grocery delivery orders soared in May, jumping more than 70% year over year from $2.2 to $3.9 billion, Supermarket News reports citing data from the Brick Meets Click Grocery Shopper Survey/Mercatus. Ship-to-home online sales rose 15% compared to May of last year, while online grocery pickup (including in-store, curbside, and lockers) fell about 3% over the same period. Overall, May online grocery sales totaled $8.7 billion, up 27% year over year, per the survey. Still, May’s $8.7 billion in online grocery sales marked the first time since August of last year that total monthly sales fell below $9.5 billion, which was blamed on seasonal variation in ordering. Delivery’s outperformance was driven by substantial gains in monthly active users driven by strong promotional activity, according to Supermarket News. Promotions for delivery that began last year paid off, per the report.
• One of the US’s largest supermarket operators is warning its suppliers that it won’t accept tariff-related cost increases, Supermarket News reports. An April letter from Albertsons’ head of merchandising to suppliers reads: “With few exceptions, we are not accepting cost increases due to tariffs,” adding “Suppliers are not permitted to include tariff-related costs in invoices without prior authorization by Albertsons Companies. Any invoices that include such charges without prior authorization will be subject to dispute and may result in payment delays.” Once submitted, the company will take up to 30 days to review the forms and approval is not guaranteed, per SN. While Albertsons says it sources 90% of its products domestically, even domestic purchases can be impacted by tariffs on imported ingredients. Product shortages could result if suppliers refuse to absorb losses, according to Consumer Affairs.