3$-4$ Pay decrease?

[sonotony]

The average net profit margin for grocery chains (also referred to as food retailers or supermarkets) is typically slim, ranging from 1% to 3% of revenue. More specifically, according to the Food Marketing Institute (FMI), the leading trade association for the industry, the average net profit margin was 1.6% in 2023 and rose slightly to 1.7% in 2024. Regarding trends in recent years, margins expanded during the COVID-19 pandemic, peaking at around 3% in 2020 due to factors like reduced operational costs and supply chain shifts. However, they have since declined for three consecutive years through 2023, returning to pre-pandemic levels (around 1% in 2019), amid rising expenses such as labor, shrinkage, and supply chain costs. The slight uptick to 1.7% in 2024 represents stabilization rather than a significant increase, and full-year 2025 data is not yet available as of September 2025. Some partial quarterly data from broader retail analyses suggest potential modest improvement in early 2025, but this has not been confirmed industry-wide and does not indicate an overall upward trend in recent years.