Albertsons digital sales grew more than 10% year over year in its fiscal Q1 2026, as both net and identical sales remained nearly flat during the same period.
Albertsons’ net sales and other revenue reached $24.94 billion in its fiscal Q1, which ended June 20, 2026. That was a 0.2% increase from $24.88 billion the prior year.
Meanwhile, identical sales decreased 0.8% year over year in Albertsons’ Q1. Identical sales refer to those from the same store locations that were open in the previous fiscal year, as well as those stemming from ecommerce channels.
CEO Susan Morris told analysts on the retailer’s earnings call that the results were below Albertsons’ expectations. She said the retailer is working to improve traffic, units sold, loyalty and Albertsons’ overall trajectory. However, those efforts are weighing on near-term earnings, she said.
Morris noted that Albertsons is implementing changes to its merchandising operations through what it calls ACI Edge. The operating model consolidates 11 divisions in the U.S. to four regions.
Albertsons is No. 17 in the Top 1000 Database. The market research tool ranks North America’s largest online retailers by their annual ecommerce sales.
Albertsons digital sales in Q1 2026
In its fiscal Q1 2026, Albertsons digital sales increased 13% year over year. Digital represented about 10.5% of Albertsons sales in Q1, Morris said.
Additionally, Albertsons’ digital sales grew at least 10% year over year for the 17th straight quarter in Q1 2026.
Including both Albertsons’ first-party and third-party businesses, Morris said, ecommerce was profitable in Q1.
“This milestone demonstrates that we are successfully growing digital sales while improving the underlying economics of the platform and creating a business that can generate profitable growth over time,” Morris said.
She said Albertsons digital sales and loyalty program remained key drivers for both company growth and customer engagement in Q1. Furthermore, the retailer expects digital and loyalty to be its main levers for increasing frequency, retention and lifetime value, according to Morris.
Albertsons is working to deepen its engagement through more personalized experiences, improvements in the online journey and expanded fulfillment capabilities, she said. Specifically, Flash delivery (in under an hour) was Albertsons’ fastest-growing segment within its digital offerings in Q1.
Morris referred to that growth as highlighting the retailer’s proximity to customers and its product offerings.
“Our loyalty ecosystem continues to scale personalization, and we’re seeing clear behavioral benefits,” Morris said. “Engaged members shop more frequently and with higher average basket than nonmembers, contributing meaningfully to both sales growth and customer lifetime value.”
Albertsons also has integrated sponsored product discovery into artificial intelligence (AI)-powered conversational search, Morris said.
How Albertsons is using AI in 2026
Morris said Albertsons is using AI in its digital customer experience as well. She said those AI-powered experiences improve engagement, increase basket size and make the shopping journey smoother.
Customers using conversational search and planning tools continue to spend more and engage more deeply with Albertsons, she said. Meanwhile, retention trends are improving as adoption grows, she added.
Morris noted that Albertsons is expanding its partnerships with leading AI providers. She specifically named Google, OpenAI and Microsoft.
She said Albertsons is deploying AI to improve:
- Category planning
- Promotions
- Vendor collaboration
- Margin management
“Our early pilots continue to produce encouraging results,” Morris said. “And we’re expanding those capabilities into broader planning processes with selected vendor partners. These tools will help merchants make faster, more informed decisions and negotiate lower costs while reducing friction across the organization. All of this is a key foundation for our center store centralization.”
Albertsons is using machine learning (ML) in its supply chain optimization efforts. Morris said Albertsons is using ML to improve forecasting, inventory productivity and replenishment decisions.
She said Albertsons’ improved forecast accuracy has lowered manual intervention and strengthened in-stock performance.
Albertsons is building a unified AI-powered ordering platform, Morris said. The platform will bring into one decision engine the retailer’s demand planning, supply planning and replenishment.
The retailer also has scaled computer vision capabilities that Morris said help to improve freshness and quality through its supply chain.
Recently, Albertsons partner Instacart acquired Arpalus, a computer vision company that uses AI to provide real-time shelf information for grocery retailers.
Percentage changes may not align exactly with dollar figures due to rounding. Check back for more earnings reports. Here’s last quarter’s article on Albertsons digital sales.
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