Supermercados en México convierten tiendas en CeDis

· 2 min read · Ecommerce
Supermarkets in Mexico convert stores into Distribution Centers

Walmart, Soriana, Chedraui and La Comer are transforming their physical stores into logistics centers to reduce e-commerce costs.

E-commerce growth and the value of the physical network

According to data from the Mexican Online Sales Association (AMVO), the retail e-commerce market in Mexico reached a value of 941,000 million pesos in 2025, gathering 77.2 million buyers. Digital sales represent 17.7% of retail trade in the country, and 71% of consumers combine physical and digital channels during their purchases.

In this context, Julián Fernández, CEO of Mar Capital, highlights that the location and inventory of branches provide a key competitive advantage for managing perishable and high-turnover products, reducing delivery times and costs by bringing merchandise closer to the final consumer.

Strategies and operating models by chain

Companies are advancing with differentiated models to digitize their operations:

  • Organización Soriana: Will allocate more than 961 million pesos in the second half of 2026 to open, reopen, and remodel 26 omni-channel capable stores. Its digital sales have registered growth exceeding 60%, while branches equipped to fulfill online orders increased by 117% (concentrated mainly in Monterrey, Mexico Valley, and Jalisco). In 2025, the digital channel represented 1.75% of its total revenue.
  • Walmart de México: During the first half of 2026, its net e-commerce sales grew 15.4% and On-Demand GMV advanced 20.4%, reaching 1,490 stores enabled in more than 520 cities (representing 8.6% of its total GMV). In the second quarter of 2026, On-Demand orders grew 21.1%, while its marketplace fell 6.6%. The firm invested 400 million pesos in robotic automation in its Megapark center (Tepotzotlán) and launched its artificial intelligence assistant Sparky in September to guide purchasing discovery.
  • Grupo Chedraui: Achieved a digital penetration of 4.2% in its sales in Mexico during the first quarter of 2026. Its strategy combines its own infrastructure with alliances with third parties (such as Rappi) and the use of dark stores for quick commerce.
  • La Comer: Maintains a digital penetration close to 12% of its sales, where 8% corresponds to its own platform (La Comer en tu Casa) and 4% to aggregators such as Rappi, Uber Eats, and DiDi.
From the editorial perspective of next+, competition in supermarket e-commerce has entered a phase where sales volume yields priority to operational profitability. As Julián Fernández points out, selling more online does not guarantee greater profitability if the costs of fulfillment, packaging, and last-mile delivery devour the margin of products with low-contribution tickets. The ability to convert the physical network into capillary logistics nodes, automate distribution centers, and apply AI to personalize the offering will determine which chains manage to make omnichannel contribute positively to the income statement.    

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