Wegmans’ locations include this store at 675 Connecticut Ave., in Norwalk, Conn., as seen on July 14, 2026. The Norwalk store, which is Wegmans’ first location in Connecticut, opened on July 23, 2025.
Arnold Gold/Hearst Connecticut Media
Target’s locations include this store at 680 Connecticut Ave. in Norwalk, Conn., as seen on July 2, 2025. The store opened on Aug. 17, 2025.
Arnold Gold/Hearst Connecticut Media
Emily Gee, Wegmans’ Norwalk store manager, is interviewed at the store, at 675 Connecticut Ave., in Norwalk, Conn., on July 14, 2026.
Arnold Gold/Hearst Connecticut Media
Sue Pianin, left, eats lunch with friend Joan Levy in the second-floor cafe at Wegmans’ store at 675 Connecticut Ave., in Norwalk, Conn., on July 14, 2026.
Arnold Gold/Hearst Connecticut Media
The produce area in Wegmans’ store at 675 Connecticut Ave., in Norwalk, Conn., as seen on July 14, 2026.
Arnold Gold/Hearst Connecticut Media
The produce area in Wegmans’ store at 675 Connecticut Ave., in Norwalk, Conn., as seen on July 14, 2026.
Arnold Gold/Hearst Connecticut Media
Signs for Hot Zone prices are displayed in Wegmans’ store at 675 Connecticut Ave., in Norwalk, Conn., on July 14, 2026.
Arnold Gold/Hearst Connecticut Media
A customer walks by ears of corn in the produce section in Wegmans’ store at 675 Connecticut Ave., in Norwalk, Conn., on July 14, 2026.
Arnold Gold/Hearst Connecticut Media
The wing bar in Wegmans’ store at 675 Connecticut Ave., in Norwalk, Conn., as seen on July 14, 2026.
Arnold Gold/Hearst Connecticut Media
A price comparison chart is displayed in Wegmans’ store at 675 Connecticut Ave., in Norwalk, Conn., on July 14, 2026.
Arnold Gold/Hearst Connecticut Media
The coffee-and tea-area in Wegmans’ store at 675 Connecticut Ave., in Norwalk, Conn., as seen on July 14, 2026.
Arnold Gold/Hearst Connecticut Media
ShopRite’s locations include this store at 360 Connecticut Ave., in Norwalk, Conn.
H John Voorhees III/Hearst Connecticut Media
Stop & Shop’s locations include this store at 385 Connecticut Ave., in Norwalk, Conn.
File photo
Stew Leonard’s locations include this store at 100 Westport Ave., in Norwalk, Conn.
File photo
Walmart’s locations include this store at 650 Main Ave., in Norwalk, Conn.
File photo
Costco Wholesale’s locations include a store in the building at right, at 779 Connecticut Ave., in Norwalk, Conn.
File photo
NORWALK — Connecticut Avenue, the two-mile stretch of U.S. Route 1 that runs parallel to Interstate 95 on the west side of Norwalk, hosts an array of retail and restaurant chains. One year ago, the corridor welcomed two prominent newcomers.
The openings in the summer of 2025 of a Wegmans supermarket and a Target store on Connecticut Avenue highlighted the appeal of Norwalk to regional and national retailers. But the intense competition means that stores on this road must continually find ways to stand out. At the same time, a number of them are contending with declining foot traffic, as many shoppers scrutinize their spending in response to stubbornly high inflation.
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“We have really started to see over the past few months a consumer that is much more discerning, that is looking for one-stop-shop options or really that must-visit reason,” said Elizabeth Lafontaine, director of research at Placer.ai, a firm that specializes in foot-traffic analytics. “I think grocery competition is really increasing because everybody is focused on value, everybody is focused on providing the lowest possible prices.”
Headwinds for grocery retailers
Many millions of Americans have acutely felt cost-of-living pressures since the COVID-19 pandemic, and 2026 has been another trying year. While inflation ran below 3% for the majority of 2025, it has hovered above that level in the past four months, according to data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The contributing factors include spikes in gas prices since the start of the war with Iran at the end of February.
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Those trends have likely contributed to the drops in foot traffic in the past year at several of the supermarkets in Norwalk. At ShopRite’s store at 360 Connecticut Ave., monthly visits declined, on a year-over-year basis, every month between July 2025 and June 2026, according to data from Placer.ai. Visit estimates by Placer.ai are based on mobile devices at the locations it tracks. The firm notes that changes in foot traffic can reflect a number of factors, including “economic and tariff uncertainty,” consumer confidence, time of year, store closings for holidays, as well as weather conditions.
“While we don’t discuss specific sales numbers or third-party traffic data, we welcome competition and believe we are well-positioned in the market,” Tom Cingari Jr., vice president of produce, floral and e-commerce at Cingari Family Markets, which owns and operates ShopRite of Norwalk, as well as several other ShopRite stores in Connecticut, said in a written statement. “Our focus remains on providing customers with a superior shopping experience, competitive pricing, quality fresh foods and the personalized service that comes from being a family-owned business deeply rooted in the community. Those strengths have earned the loyalty of shoppers across Connecticut for generations, and we remain confident in the value we provide.”
Across the road, at Stop & Shop’s store at 385 Connecticut Ave., monthly visits declined, year over year, every month between August 2025 and June 2026, according to Placer.ai. About four miles north, at 380 Main Ave., Stop & Shop’s other store in Norwalk saw monthly visits decrease every month between July 2025 and April 2026, before producing increases again in the following two months.
Stop & Shop officials declined to comment on the performance of their stores or competitors such as Wegmans. However, they said that Stop & Shop has lowered prices on thousands of items, including national brands and private-label products, across its stores.
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“This investment is part of our broader, multi-year strategy to lower prices, improve the customer experience and help customers save on the items they buy most often,” Stop & Shop officials said in a written statement. “We also continue to offer a number of ways to save every day at our stores, including weekly sales on more than 10,000 items, Deal Lock pricing on hundreds of products, Meal Deals and personalized digital offers available through our in-store Savings Stations and loyalty program.”
About four miles east of Wegmans’ Norwalk store is the home turf of another family-owned business, Stew Leonard’s. The Stew Leonard’s store at 100 Westport Ave., on U.S. Route 1, saw monthly visits decline, year over year, every month between September 2025 and March 2026, but foot traffic increased in each of the following three months, according to Placer.ai.
Stew Leonard’s officials said that they were heartened by the increased foot traffic at their stores in the past few months. They added that they have a “tremendous amount of respect” for the family that owns Wegmans, but declined to comment further on Wegmans’ expansion to Norwalk.
“Right now, our biggest opportunity is just meeting people wherever they are,” Jake Tavello, Stew Leonard’s chief operating officer, said in a written statement. “That might mean quick curbside pickup, shipping gourmet treats on StewsGifts.com or catching us on social media.”
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Tavello added that, “The toughest part for any grocery store today is dealing with rising costs while keeping prices fair for families. Thanks to our family’s long-standing relationships with our farmers and suppliers, we’re doing everything we can to keep prices down and keep giving shoppers a reason to park the car and come shop with us.”
About three miles north of Stew Leonard’s stands the Walmart store at 650 Main Ave. Its monthly visits declined, year over year, every month between July 2025 and June 2026, according to Placer.ai.
“Connecticut is an important market for Walmart and we’re proud to serve customers at our stores and online through pickup and delivery,” Walmart officials said in a written statement. “We continue to deepen our commitment to Connecticut and have invested more than $68 million in store upgrades over the past five years, as well as remodeling 10 stores in the state this year as we continue helping families save money and time by making shopping faster and more convenient.”
Meanwhile, Costco Wholesale’s warehouse at 779 Connecticut Ave., has rebounded from year-over-year declines in monthly visits in the first 10 months of 2025 to produce eight-straight months of increases, according to Placer.ai.
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At 330 Connecticut Ave., Indian-grocery chain Patel Brothers’ store has performed even better. Monthly visits there increased, year over year, every month between January 2025 and June 2026, according to Placer.ai.
A message left for Patel Brothers was not returned.
There has been a similar mix of results in other parts of Connecticut, including the Danbury area, which is comparable to Norwalk in its concentration of supermarkets and department stores. The stores of ShopRite in Brookfield, Stop & Shop in Ridgefield, Target in Bethel and Walmart in Danbury have each experienced year-over-year declines in monthly visits in at least six of the past 12 months, according to Placer.ai. In contrast, the Costco warehouse in Brookfield and the Stew Leonard’s store in Danbury have each seen monthly visits increase in nine of the past 12 months.
Membership-based retailers such as Costco, BJ’s Wholesale Club and Sam’s Club have “cemented themselves, particularly since the beginning of 2025, as the new one-stop-shop vehicle for consumers,” Lafontaine said. “They really leave feeling like they got a full stock-up opportunity there.”
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A message left for Costco was not returned.
While Placer.ai provided data on percentage changes in monthly store visits, it declined to share data on the total number of visits, during any period, for any of the stores referenced in this article.
Major arrivals
Norwalk’s abundance of supermarkets was well-known to executives at Wegmans, which has more than 100 stores across nine states on the east coast. But they still wanted Norwalk to host their first store in Connecticut. Norwalk is the sixth-most-populous city in Connecticut, with about 95,000 residents.
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The area’s affluence probably contributed to the decision to expand to Norwalk. Median annual household income in Norwalk is about $108,000, while it exceeds $240,000 in neighboring Darien, Westport and Wilton, according to U.S. Census Bureau data. The statewide median is about $96,000, while the national median is nearly $81,000.
“I think competition makes everyone better and raise their standard because someone new is coming into town,” Emily Gee, Wegmans’ Norwalk store manager, said in a recent interview at the store. “We’re very cognizant that there are a lot of other options for customers to go to in this area. That is what really sparks us to have a high standard and put our best foot forward every day.”
The debut of Wegmans’ newly constructed 92,000-square-foot store, at 675 Connecticut Ave., was one of the most anticipated retail openings of recent years in Connecticut. Several thousand people visited on the supermarket’s first day, on July 23, 2025.
Wegmans has benefited from strong brand recognition in Connecticut, reflecting many state residents’ familiarity with its stores in New York and Massachusetts.
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“There’s a breadth of offering,” Darien resident Shannon Susko said during a recent visit to the Norwalk store. “There’s everything you need at one store versus having to go to multiple specialty stores. The bakery is good. The fresh-food section is really good. There are lots of organic options. It’s bigger than other stores in footprint, and the quality is consistent.”
Susko previously shopped at Wegmans’ store in Brooklyn, New York, when she lived in Manhattan. She said that she would “rather support a family-owned company than a conglomerate” because Wegmans “has a vested interest in the communities where they operate.”
She has passed her affinity for the business onto her 10-year-old son, Liam. He nodded and flashed a smile when he was asked whether the boxed slice of Belgian chocolate mousse cake in his mother’s cart was for him.
The Norwalk store has impressed many other customers.
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“If you wanted to entertain at home and buy things quickly, you could certainly come here and find everything you needed,” Stamford resident Sue Pianin said during a recent visit, while she was having lunch with a friend in the store’s second-floor café.
Like its competitors, Wegmans aggressively markets its deals. Brightly colored signs for “hot zone” prices are displayed throughout the Norwalk store. During a recent visit by this reporter, those offerings included a family pack of chicken drumsticks for $1.29 per pound, a 32-ounce bottle of store-brand ketchup for $1.99 and red, seedless grapes for $1.99 per pound.
Wegmans officials declined to provide data on sales or foot traffic at the Norwalk store. However, they said that they were pleased by the customer growth in the first year.
“We do have folks that come consistently on the weekends from the Stratford-Milford area, and it’s nice to see them making the trip down. There are folks from Greenwich, Stamford, Westport, Weston. It’s a nice mix,” said Gee, who leads a team of about 400 employees at the store. “We are still seeing new shoppers every day, and they’re like, ‘When did you open?’ Well, actually, we’re going on a year. So I think word of mouth takes time to spread.”
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Target officials, meanwhile, have been much quieter about their store at 680 Connecticut Ave., which opened on Aug. 17, 2025. The opening of that establishment, along with the launch of a Target center in Guilford on the same day, increased the company’s in-state store count to 23. A company spokesperson confirmed receiving an inquiry from CT Insider but did not provide an on-the-record response.
The Target stores in Norwalk and Guilford are in buildings that previously housed Walmart stores. The closing of the Walmart store at 680 Connecticut Ave., in November 2023, resulted from the landlord’s decision to not renew the lease and a lack of viable options for relocating, according to Walmart officials. Walmart’s store in Guilford shut down in May 2022, but its remaining establishments in the area include one in Branford.
Ever-changing landscape
When supermarkets struggle for sustained periods, their operators often consider shutting them down. In 2024, Stop & Shop closed five stores, across Ansonia, Danbury, Milford, Stamford and Torrington. On Oct. 29, it plans to close its store in Clinton. Stop & Shop officials said that the Clinton store’s lease would not be renewed because the establishment was “not meeting financial expectations.” Monthly visits there decreased, year over year, every month between December 2025 and June 2026, according to Placer.ai.
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Nonetheless, Stop & Shop does not appear to have lost confidence in the Nutmeg State. After the closing of the Clinton store, it will have 80 stores statewide, still No. 1 among supermarkets in Connecticut.
Aside from the Wegmans and Target launches in Norwalk, there have been a number of other supermarket openings since last summer. For instance, Trader Joe’s opened stores in Shelton and Hamden, while Whole Foods Market made its debut in Cheshire.
Meanwhile, Norwalk is set to soon gain yet another supermarket. A Key Food store is tentatively scheduled to open in mid-October at 190 East Ave., on the east side of the city. It will operate in a building that formerly housed a Rite Aid store. It will be Key Food’s second location in Norwalk, alongside its existing establishment, at 717 West Ave., in the city’s downtown.
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Wegmans has not announced plans for a second store in Connecticut, but it has not ruled out eventually expanding to other parts of the state.
“Our real estate team is always looking at surrounding areas and where we want to continue to grow,” Gee said. “I know they are definitely always looking to see what might be a good fit.”
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