Ease of navigation. Cleanliness. Price. Sales and promotion. Assortment. When it comes to what matters to grocery shoppers, retailers need to be aware of evolving preferences driving destination and brand loyalty.
That’s according to the second installment of Advantage Solutions 2025 Shopper Study. Out of 8,200 respondents, 63% said being able to easily get around the store was their top consideration. That’s up 12 points from 2023 and moves from the fourth most important consideration into the top spot.
A stress-free shopping experience
Although promotions continue to be a tool for brands and retailers to utilize, shoppers indicated that they want to get through their trip smoothly with as little friction as possible. Aisle signage, shelf signage and clear aisles free of displays were ranked as important elements by over 75 percent of survey respondents. By contrast, less than half of survey respondents indicated that endcap promotions, exclusive events, free standing displays, sample kiosks or contests were important to them.
If retailers are planning on a major reorganization or store renovation, clear communication and signage is even more crucial to ensuring a positive experience for their customers.
“What we’re seeing overall is that customers are dissatisfied with rising costs and are increasingly choosing where they shopped based on points of differentiation beyond price or promotion,” says Nico Cattaneo, SVP of Analytics and Insights for Advantage Solutions. “This year’s data shows that retailers are getting the biggest return on investment by focusing on the factors most within their control—ease of shopping, store cleanliness—and providing a better in-store experience by reducing stress for the shopper.”
Resigned to Rising Prices
While price and promotion still matter, this year’s study showed that these two areas have decreased in importance despite increasing financial pressure for many shoppers. Everyday low price saw the biggest decline, dropping seven points, while Sales and Promotion was almost even year over year.
One area where rising prices have had a noticeable impact is the importance of exclusive products. Dropping 11 points from last year, this indicates that shoppers are moving away from hard-to-find items, especially those that carry a premium price.
What matters to grocery shoppers: Departments
When it comes to store choice, fresh produce and meat lead the way with dairy close behind. More than 8 in 10 shoppers say the fresh produce and meat departments are important to their store choice. By contrast, health & beauty and bakery influenced store decision half as much with fewer than 4 in 10 shoppers saying it was important to them.
While 98 and 94 percent of people purchase fresh produce and meat, both departments suffer from high lost sales rates if shoppers’ preferred products are unavailable. These departments drive shopper satisfaction, and when shoppers go elsewhere for fresh, retailers lose sales throughout the store.
On a mission
Not all trips to the store are the same. Stock-up trips, which account for over half of visits, tend to focus on staples like pasta and rice/beans/lentils along with dairy and fresh meat. By contrast, special occasion shopping only accounts for 1 in 10 trips and tend to focus on seasonal items, alcoholic beverages, baking mixes and international foods.
“Retailers need to understand what types of trips shoppers take, how often they take them and what they purchase on each one,” says Cattaneo “Bread and salty snacks purchases are slightly below average on stock-up trips but far above average for fill-in and quick trips. Understanding these dynamics, coupled with shopper loyalty data and retail media networks, allow retailers to better target promotions and build brand loyalty.”
Health & Beauty can use a makeover
When it comes to health & beauty care, shoppers are particularly loyal to brands, leading to store switching when their needs are not met. At the same time, HBC categories received some of the lowest satisfaction scores in the store, presenting an opportunity for retailers to improve their selection and stand out among food-focused competitors.
When shoppers were satisfied with HBC, price was cited as the number one reason across categories. The data also revealed that while shoppers were less likely to purchase health & beauty care items during a stock-up trip, they showed higher than average purchase rates on quick trips.
Explore how retailers can better meet shoppers’ changing needs by downloading the full What Matters to Grocery Shoppers report.
This is the second of five installments of the Advantage360 Shopper Study. Download previous reports:
