2026美国食品杂货消费者洞察报告

Grocery ShopperPerspectives 2026Report Contents Introduction03 “Realities” ofconsumer perception07 Variables raising thebar for value15 How shoppers areshiftingtheirspend20 Summary23 Introduction New AlixPartners consumerresearch pulls back the curtain onthe value perception challenge fortraditional grocery, and our teamof experts examines what thenew consumer reality means forlongstanding industry practices. Responses to this year’s consumer survey of more than1,600 primary shoppers surfaced three macro trends thatcontinue to challenge traditional grocers: •Younger shoppers, more affluent households, andfamilies with children increasingly spend most of theirgrocery budgets in other channels. •Many consumers continue to exercise greater disciplinewith their budgets even as their confidence has increasedand the rate of inflation has eased. •Tried-and-true pricing and promotion tactics aren’tengaging and compelling shoppers like they once did. All these shifts proceed from the simple fact that consumersat large don’t think about groceries the same way they didfive years ago.The rules of the game have changed, yetmany traditional grocers are still relying on an old playbook. Market share erosion The clearest sign consumer preferences have evolved—and that traditional grocery has not followed theirlead—is the erosion of market share, particularly among desirable groups including younger shoppers, moreaffluent households, and families with children. The data shows that not only are smaller percentages of those groups shopping a traditional grocer as theprimary store but that the same holds true overall. Conversely, channels seeing growth in overall engagement—meaning a greater percentage of consumers visitedthem in 2025 versus 2024—include club (from 39% in 2024 to 41% in 2025); discount (38% to 43%); natural (16%to 25%); ethnic and specialty (7% to 11%); and digital retailers (17% to 26%). Problematic “best practices” The reason traditional grocery’s share continues to decline is that many traditional grocers persist in threestrategic decisions that, as the competitive landscape has changed, have contributed to a significant perceptiondisadvantage for the channel. Hi-loPricing Marketing Focusedon Price Private Brand asa Side Project While clubs, discounters andspecialty stores use private brandto differentiate assortment andcreate more favorable “apples tooranges” comparisons, traditionalgrocers too often have little to offerthat’s unique. Overreliance on promotions as away to offset high everyday pricescreates a dynamic in which, onany given day, a traditional grocerwill be exposed as out of touchwith the market on hundreds, oreven thousands, of items. Most traditional grocers can’tcredibly claim low prices, as thehuge global retailers have thatmarket cornered. Yet prices—rather than fresh, quality, service orother attributes—continue to bethe centerpiece of most marketing. These practices rose to prominence in a different competitive landscape. EDLP players weren’t nearly asprevalent, and they tended to be one-trick ponies, with price their strongest selling point by far. All of that haschanged, and traditional grocers who want to stay competitive need to change, too. Consumer priorities Both for everyday prices and for promotions, fresh is first in the minds ofshoppers, with center store a distant second. What’s ahead In this report, we provide a closer lookat how consumer perceptions of price,promotion and value have changed; thevariables that have informed thoseshifts; and the moves consumers aremaking to maximize value as theirspending power remains considerablydiminished compared to just a fewyears ago. Matt HamoryPartner & Managing Directormhamory@alixpartners.com David RitterPartner & Managing Directordavidritter@alixpartners.com Adam GoodlissPartner & Managing Directoragoodliss@alixpartners.com Marco Di MarinoPartner & Managing Directormdimarino@alixpartners.com John ClearPartnerjclear@alixpartners.com We know your time isvaluable. Thank you for takingthe time to read this research,and we look forward tocontinuing the conversation. “Realities” ofconsumer perception Reality Check #1 You don’t have loweveryday prices We asked consumers to describe prices at their primary storeas either low compared to other stores, fair compared toother stores, or high compared to other stores. Everydayprices are a primary marketing focus for most grocers, butour survey shows that few shoppers believe the hype. Only 17% of consumers said their store haslow prices compared to other stores. Consumer price perception of primary store Traditional grocery isn’t the only channel with a price perception challenge, but it’s definitely not viewed as havingcomparatively low prices—even by the people who still shop there regularly. Most consumers insteaddescribed prices as fair. Thisdata serves as a reminder thatfair everyday prices are tablestakes. If you don’t have a “fairprice” perce