Shoppers Are Flocking to Sprouts Farmers Market in Droves—Here's Why
Competition in the world of groceries is fierce nowadays between all of the popular, fast-growing chains available to consumers, like Trader Joe's and Costco. However, the natural and organic foods grocery chain Sprouts Farmers Market appears to be thriving amid all the rivalry as customers flock to its stores in droves.
The foot traffic platform Placer.ai recently dug into its data for Sprouts and compiled the findings into a new report published on April 18. One of the key takeaways from the report was that the chain's customer traffic is soaring.
Sprouts saw its year-over-year visits increase every single month in 2023, and the trend has continued into 2024 with 13.3% and 11.9% traffic increases in February and March, respectively. This means that the chain is consistently driving more patrons to its stores than it has in the past, signaling that it's "going through a growth spurt," Placer.ai wrote.
While there are probably a myriad of reasons at play, the report broke down several factors that may have contributed to Sprouts' stellar traffic performance. For one, it has been expanding rapidly and introducing the Sprouts brand to more markets. The chain opened 30 new stores in 2023 alone, bringing its total to 407 locations across 23 states as of the end of last year.
Another key reason could be the comparatively high income levels among Sprouts' fan base. According to the report, the median household income (HHI) in areas where Sprouts stores get their business are higher than the overall country's median HHI. This means that many Sprouts shoppers have the means to keep visiting and spending at the chain even at a time when food costs are elevated.
"The relative affluence of Sprouts shoppers means that this segment may not be as impacted by high food prices as other grocery shoppers – so the retail headwinds predicted this year are not likely to slow down Sprout's growth potential as the chain continues expanding its reach in 2024," Placer.ai wrote.
Sprouts reported a 3.4% increase in same-store sales in 2023 and anticipates seeing an increase of up to 3.5% in 2024. The chain is also poised for plenty of additional expansion with 35 planned store openings for this year.
"As the chain continues making its presence felt in newer markets, location intelligence suggests that Sprouts has plenty of room to grow in 2024 and beyond," the Placer.ai report concluded.
Sign up for our newsletter!
