Holiday Survey Preview: Grocery Shopper Insights to Inform Your Brand’s Advertising Strategy

As brands and media buyers iron out their fall campaign plans, it’s important to keep a pulse on how consumers are feeling. Given that economic uncertainties, inflation, and health concerns are on the table— what’s top of mind for your audience? How and where will they be shopping over the holidays?

Our team decided to survey 1,000 grocery shoppers across the U.S. to learn about their holiday plans and shopping behaviors, which can help establish how to efficiently spend your media dollars.

Here’s a preview of our findings:

Most people prefer a mix of in-store and online shopping

Although ecommerce plays a crucial role during the holidays, our survey showed that only 14% will be shopping entirely online. Most consumers will be headed to stores in-person, especially big-box/superstores (Walmart, Target, etc.) and grocery stores. That means adding in-person touchpoints to your media mix, alongside online and mobile campaigns, will be a valuable strategy.

Grocery stores will see a huge bump in traffic

96% of consumers visit physical stores to buy groceries, and 73% say they plan to take more grocery trips over the holidays. This suggests that 1) People will be gathering frequently with their loved ones and 2) Grocery will remain a top category despite concerns about inflation. Both endemic and non-endemic brands can leverage this activity by running campaigns in supermarkets.

Shoppers are cost-conscious, but most aren’t necessarily shopping less

When asked about how they expect to react to inflation/economic uncertainties over the holidays, nearly 60% said they’re going to have stricter budgets. However, the majority either plan to spend the same amount (45%) or more (20%) on holiday shopping. Brands should be considerate of economic concerns in their messaging this fall while also determining which products their audience will prioritize.

More holiday insights coming soon!

This is only a portion of the survey data we collected.

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