Kroger and Giant Eagle together control more than 64% of the grocery market in the Columbus, Ohio, area, according to data from analysis firm RetailStat.

That figure matters because of how antitrust regulators define markets. The Federal Trade Commission and the Department of Justice routinely evaluate mergers and competitive conduct at the metro level, not nationally. A combined share above 64% in a single metropolitan area gives regulators a concrete, localized data point when they examine the grocers' operations in central Ohio.

RetailStat, a retail analysis firm, compiled the market share figures for the Columbus area. The measurement captures the two conventional grocers' dominance in a region where they operate overlapping store networks and compete for many of the same shoppers.

For Kroger, the largest U.S. supermarket operator by revenue, Columbus represents one of several markets where its footprint is dense enough to draw attention. For Giant Eagle, the Pittsburgh-based regional chain, central Ohio is a core growth territory. The overlap between the two chains in this market is what puts the region under the antitrust microscope.

Market share data of this kind typically feeds into the government's screening tools. Regulators use concentration measures, such as the Herfindahl-Hirschman Index, to assess whether a market is already dominated by a small number of players. A market where two grocers hold more than 64% combined would score as highly concentrated under those standard thresholds.

The Columbus figures also illustrate a broader reality of the grocery business: competition that looks robust at the national level can look thin at the local level. Walmart, Aldi, Costco and other nontraditional grocers have gained share nationally, but in specific metros like Columbus, traditional supermarket chains can still dominate the conventional grocery segment that RetailStat measures.

Shoppers in concentrated markets tend to face the consequences most directly. When two operators control the majority of conventional grocery sales in a metro, price, promotion and assortment decisions by those companies shape what most local consumers pay at the shelf.

RetailStat's data gives regulators, competitors and industry observers a quantified view of that concentration. As scrutiny of grocery consolidation continues, metro-level market share figures like the Columbus number will keep serving as the evidence base for determining whether deals and competitive practices harm local shoppers.