Both Albertsons Cos. and The Kroger Co. are moving on from the chief executive officers who were at the helm for their failed $24.6 billion merger deal.

Rising in importance over the last eight years, the ability to provide customer savings via pricing, promotions and rewards now accounts for 38% of a grocery retailer’s long-term success.

The nation’s second-largest conventional supermarket operator took a good first step in the post-merger period by topping the high end of Wall Street’s earnings estimate for its fiscal 2024 third quarter and posting increased net and identical sales.