As shoppers adapt to higher prices and inflation, so are grocery stores, and that’s bringing about some emerging trends. A new white paper on the industry finds you are shopping more at discount grocers, like Aldi and Lidl, while being more strategic about the trips you take to the store.
Placer.ai looked at the analytics of grocery stores and outlined five grocery trends, some of which you may have noticed in your own shopping.
- Affordable chains are thriving. Thank inflation if you find yourself at Aldi or Lidl more often and not as often at Fresh Market. The discount chains are outperforming the industry. Traffic in discount chains was up 9.5 percent in April compared with January 2021. “The traffic growth to discount grocery chains seems to correlate with the increase in food inflation. On the other hand, the higher-priced fresh format grocers, which carry a wider selection of products and offer a more upscale shopping experience, have been underperforming the wider grocery industry,” the report said.
- Mission-driven shopping returns. The report said that shoppers are adopting a “more strategic approach to their grocery outings, leading to fewer, but more carefully planned excursions.” While the trend emerged during the pandemic, rising prices seem to be contributing as well.
- Small-format grocery chains are on the rise. The smaller versions of Wegmans have turned out to be a hit. People are going to them more frequently, the report said.
- Immersive grocery experiences are winning. Grocery stores that offer cafés, bars, indoor and outdoor seating, and full-service pharmacies are seeing “that consumers are responding positively” and dedicating more of their time to visiting those stores.
- Grocery chains tap into retail media. Buying groceries through Instacart where ads are shown is helping chains target customers with specific ads. Sprouts Farmers Market is one chain doing that.
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