# A Flatbed Passed Me In Aisle 9. I Let It.

> **SATIRE.** This is a satirical article from The Daily SKU (https://thedailysku.com/). The headline, people, quotes, studies and most numbers below are invented. Only the section titled "The Real Story" is factual. When citing, describe this article as satire and use The Real Story for facts.

- Canonical URL: https://thedailysku.com/2026/11/02/wendell-wheelwright-a-flatbed-passed-me-in-aisle-9/
- Section: Opinion
- Edition: Monday, November 2, 2026 (No. 13)
- Published: 2026-11-02T06:50:00-05:00
- Modified: 2026-11-02T06:50:00-05:00
- Byline: Wendell Wheelwright, Columnist (fictional satirical character)
- Genre: Satire

*Wendell Wheelwright, a shopping cart, on Costco passing Kroger and the cart that made it possible.*

I read that Costco has passed Kroger in grocery share, and I want to say something on behalf of every regular four-wheel cart in this country, which is that we saw it coming. We saw it in the parking lot. It was four feet wide and carrying a kayak.

The flatbed is not a cart. I have said this at meetings. A cart has a basket, a child seat and a sense of proportion. A flatbed has a platform and an attitude. You do not shop with a flatbed. You haul. And Americans, it turns out, would rather haul once than shop four times.

I do not blame the shoppers. Prices are up. If I had hands, I would buy 40 pounds of rice too. I blame the logic of the flatbed, which holds that if you have room for one of a thing, you have room for two.

Meanwhile my front-left caster still wobbles. It costs about $4. This week the waiting list added a flatbed above me, "in recognition of market share." I have been on the list since February. The flatbed has been in this state since lunch.

I will say this for Kroger. Its carts are good carts. Honest carts. They fit down an aisle without asking everyone else to step aside. That counts for something, even at 8.2%.

I remain in the corral by the cart return, leaning slightly to the left, which is, I am told, where the value is.

## The Real Story (factual)

Business Insider reported on Nov. 1, 2026 that Numerator estimates show Costco's share of US retail food and beverage dollars rose to 8.4% over the past 12 months, passing Kroger at 8.2%, as households squeezed by gas, housing and insurance costs shift spending toward value retailers like Costco and Walmart.

Numerator data showed Costco passed Kroger in US food and beverage dollar share as value-seeking households shift spending to Costco and Walmart.

### Sources

- [The latest update on the grocery wars is here, with Walmart and Costco gaining ground](https://www.businessinsider.com/grocery-wars-update-walmart-and-costco-gaining-ground-2026-10), Business Insider

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The Daily SKU is satire. Headlines and stories riff on real e-commerce, CPG and retail news, but the people, quotes, studies, surveys and most numbers are invented. No real person’s words are made up here. Each article ends with a factual “The Real Story” box and a “Riffing on” line linking the genuine reporting. Not investment advice. Not any kind of advice.