Food Industry Facts brings together current topline statistics about U.S. supermarkets, food-industry employment, shopper spending, ecommerce, and store operations. The figures below summarize the report; the complete source document is available to read or download on this page.
The food retail system is enormous in scale but operates on narrow margins. FMI’s research shows a sector with roughly $1 trillion in annual supermarket sales, millions of workers, tens of thousands of stores, and continued shifts toward online ordering and self-checkout.
Food industry facts at a glance
About the data: FMI compiles these figures from its research publications and supermarket trade sources, including The Food Retailing Industry Speaks, U.S. Grocery Shopper Trends, NielsenIQ TDLinx, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Figures reflect the dates stated in the report and may change as new research is released.
Read the complete FMI report
Use the document viewer below to review the complete source, including additional measures for store size, weekly sales, sales per square foot, sales per labor hour, and food spending as a share of disposable income.
Key takeaways
- U.S. food retail is a trillion-dollar industry supported by 6.3 million grocery and manufacturing jobs.
- Supermarkets offer broad product choice while operating at an average net profit of only 2.1%.
- Online grocery and self-checkout are meaningful parts of current shopping behavior.
- Online supermarket transactions are substantially larger on average than in-store transactions.
Frequently asked questions
What is FMI?
FMI—The Food Industry Association represents and conducts research for companies across the food marketplace, including food retailers, wholesalers, and product suppliers.
How large is the U.S. supermarket industry?
The report lists approximately $1 trillion in supermarket sales for 2025 and 45,575 U.S. supermarkets in 2024.
What is the average grocery spend per household?
FMI’s cited shopper research reports average U.S. household grocery spending of $169 per week as of February 2026.
How profitable are food retailers?
The report gives an average food-retailer net profit of 2.1% for 2025, illustrating the industry’s relatively narrow operating margins.
How much grocery shopping happens online?
Online channels accounted for 8.9% of grocery-item sales in 2025. The average online transaction was $106, compared with $49.06 in-store.
Where can I verify these statistics?
Open the embedded report or follow the FMI research link above. Each statistic in the source document identifies the publication or public dataset from which it was drawn.