Kroger, the biggest grocer in the US, is to launch its own online marketplace in a bid to compete with rivals such as Amazon and Walmart.

Products from thousands of third-party sellers will be offered through the Kroger Ship service.

The marketplace will go live this autumn, in partnership with marketplace software platform provider Mirakl, Kroger revealed.

Kroger Ship originally made its debut in August 2018. The expanded operation “will offer customers an extended aisle of products”, Kroger said. There will initially be an an additional 50,000 items in categories including natural and organic, international food, specialty goods, homewares and toys.

Kroger group vice-president of product experience Jody Kalmbach said: “Our customers are increasingly turning to our ecommerce solutions for their grocery and household essential needs. To better serve our customers, we’re continuing to invest in technology that enables us to expand our digital services to deliver anything, any time, anywhere.

“Leveraging Mirakl’s best-in-class marketplace solution, we are broadening Kroger’s ship-to-home capabilities by offering more relevant products for our customers through exciting new partnerships with reputable third-party sellers.”