Sept 12 (Reuters) - Kroger ( KR ) beat Wall Street

estimates for quarterly same-store sales and raised the lower

end of its annual sales forecast on Thursday, as its efforts to

offer freshly sourced groceries at lower prices helped pull in

customers looking to save dollars.

U.S. consumers still have tight household budgets that leave

little room to splurge, even on food, pushing them to buy items

at the best possible price in the market.

Grocers like Kroger ( KR ) and Walmart are also benefiting from

customers increasingly opting to make food at home rather than

spending at restaurants and fast-food chains such as McDonald's

and Burger King.

Identical sales, excluding fuel, rose 1.2% at the

supermarket chain in the second quarter compared with analysts'

average estimate of 0.93% growth, according to LSEG data.

Kroger ( KR ) now expects fiscal 2024 identical sales, excluding

fuel, to grow between 0.75% and 1.75%, compared with its prior

forecast of 0.25% to 1.75%.