Everything You Want to Know About Food Retail in 2026

Research evidence excerpt

Everything You Want to Know About Food Retail in 2026

Foundation

July 13, 2026 09:30 PM GMT

Morgan Stanley & Co. LLCMHardline/Broadline/Food Retail | North America Simeon Gutman, CFA

Equity Analyst

Everything You Want to Know Simeon.Gutman@morganstanley.comBrian Nowak, CFA +1 212 761-3920

Brian.Nowak@morganstanley.com +1 212 761-3365

About Food Retail in 2026 Pedro Gil, CFA

Pedro.Gil@morganstanley.com +1 212 761-2022

Our Food Retail primer hits the industry's most topical issues: Zachary Abraham

industry growth, pricing/inflation, competition & big getting ResearchZach.Abraham@morganstanley.comAssociate +1 212 761-5977

bigger, margins, online grocery penetration, stock valuations and Skylar Tennant

more… ResearchSkylar.Tennant1@morganstanley.comAssociate +1 212 761-9963

Kavya A Narayanan

Everything you want to know about Grocery in 2026. Research Associate

Kavya.Narayanan@morganstanley.com +1 212 761-4183

Food Retail industry trends appear relatively stable in aggregate, though the sector

Hardline/Broadline/Food Retail

is operating against a more dynamic backdrop in 2026. Industry growth is returning

North America

to historical levels, inflation is modestly reaccelerating, competitive intensity is Industry View In-Line

increasing through price investments, and online grocery continues its steady

expansion. Beneath these headline trends, performance across retailers is widening,

with share gains concentrated among a small group of operators while others face

mounting pressure to defend traffic, margins, and market position. Key debates

within Food Retail include the durability of industry growth, inflation pass-through,

competitive pricing, e-commerce profitability, AI adoption, and the long-term

winners in an increasingly omni-channel market.