Independent grocery operators are entering the back half of 2026 confident and expansion-minded but sharpening their focus on efficiency, according to Toast‘s 2026 Voice of the Retail Industry Survey, which polled 340 convenience store, bottle shop and grocery operators with 16 or fewer locations, including 127 grocery decision-makers.
Among grocery operators specifically, 96 percent rated their business health good or excellent, and 69 percent said they are likely to open a new location in the next year, up 4 points year over year. The blind survey, conducted in April, included both Toast and non-Toast customers, and respondents were not told Toast was fielding the study.
Across the full sample, 94 percent of operators rated their business health good or excellent, matching last year, though more described it as “good” rather than “excellent,” a shift Toast reads as caution beneath the optimism. Nearly three in four reported increases in both revenue and profit over the past year.
Key findings
- Efficiency is the year’s clearest shift. “Simplify operations” jumped 12 points overall to 31 percent of operators ranking it a top-three goal, rising in every segment, including 8 points among grocers. Improving profitability remained the top goal at 32 percent.
- Inventory management is the top pain point at 21 percent, up 6 points year over year, ahead of managing third-party delivery (16 percent, up 5 points) and inflation (16 percent). Increasing line speed weighs heavier on grocers (17 percent, up 7 points) than on convenience stores (8 percent).
- Competition is crowded but less so for grocers. About six in 10 operators find it hard to stand out from competitors, though grocery fares best at 52 percent, versus 69 percent for bottle shops and 59 percent for convenience.
- Tech spending is accelerating. Some 75 percent plan to increase technology spending in the next 12 months, up from 64 percent. The fastest-growing tools are electronic shelf labels, up 11 points to 46 percent usage, and order-ready boards, up 9 points, while self-checkout usage fell 7 points to 36 percent.
- AI is nearly universal. Nine in 10 operators are experimenting with AI in some form. Eighty-eight (88) percent believe it will help them be more efficient and 92 percent say AI tools offer great value for the money, though most want human oversight of AI-generated work.
- Cost responses lean on suppliers first. If cost of goods keeps rising, 33 percent would adjust the number of suppliers they use, 32 percent would raise prices and 29 percent would negotiate more with suppliers.
The comfort readings carry a notable wrinkle: smaller operators are the calmest. Some 93 percent of single-location operators reported feeling comfortable or extremely comfortable with market conditions versus 81 percent of multi-location operators, and no respondents in any group said they were extremely concerned.
Toast, the Boston-based restaurant technology company that has expanded its platform into convenience, grocery and bottle shop retail, notes the insights are directional, with a margin of error of plus or minus 5 percent at a 95 percent confidence level, wider for segment breakouts.