Walmart is on track to bring in $191 billion in grocery store sales this year, seeing a 3.6% increase in its latest quarter.
The number maintain's Walmart's position as the country's largest grocery seller, giving it approximately 27.5% share - up from 27.1% last year - of all U.S. grocery sales in 2019 according to The Food Institute.
The retailer's growth is following a similar trend that has been seen in overall grocery store sales in the United States. Meanwhile, grocery and consumables sales at Sam's Clubs during the quarter rose 4.6%.
Walmart's total online sales for the year are reportedly on pace to reach $21 billion, grabbing 6-7% of the market. The Food Institute reports that fresh produce has played a major role in Walmart's growth.
At a conference, the company's executive vice president and chief merchandising officer Steve Bratspies said that the retailer has spent a lot of time on produce.
"We're headed towards our national meeting with all of our store managers in two weeks at Indianapolis... and we're going to show them Produce 2.0, which is the next set, and take that even further," Bratspies said.
Walmart has been improving its supply chain, requiring that all suppliers put food on its blockchain system. For the last two years, the company has been running tests with International Business Machine Corp.'s blockchain platform. Walmart is now ready to use the technology on its grocery business, according to Frank Yiannas, the retailer's vice president of food safety and health.
Meanwhile, the retailer has improved produce processes in stores as well. Bratspies told attendees that the process of how associates cull and stock merchandise is different as well.
