7 Grocery Retail Trends from the Grocery Value Study 2026

“Do I get good value if I shop here?” – That’s the question on today’s grocery shopper’s mind. And the grocery retail trends we have uncovered look at the whole shopping experience from prices, savings, product assortments and customer experience.  

Today, we are staring at an increasingly price-conscious market, especially while the U.S. food-at-home index remains 2.7% higher than a year ago. In response, grocers have looked at multiple ways of appealing to the customer, especially through their pricing, promotions and product diversity.

 So, we at Intouch Insight set out to measure the grocery retail trends in an industry-first Grocery Value Study 2026.

The crucial insight that our study revealed was that while price is the baseline for how shoppers perceive value, great store execution is what converts that perception into loyal customers.

Methodology: For our 2026 Grocery Value Study, we followed the real path to purchase. We completed 302 in-store mystery shops across 15 chains and 175 digital and curbside pickup shops across 13 chains. Each mystery shopper bought the same five staples: white bread, eggs, milk, spaghetti, and bananas. Along the way, they documented prices, availability, receipts, screenshots, and what the transaction felt like. 

 Here are the seven grocery retail trends of 2026 and beyond.

1. Clear Prices Are the Starting Point for Grocery Promotions

Grocers are doing a good job showing shoppers what things cost.

Prices and unit prices were displayed clearly in 95% of in-store visits and 99% of digital shops. Prices and deals were easy to understand in 94% of stores and 99% of digital shops.

That is a strong result, but it also means basic price visibility isn’t something to set one grocer apart from another.

The challenging part is making the deal easy to use. Nearly one-third of visits included a promotion that required shoppers to buy more than three items or spend at least $25. That works for a family stocking up, but it is less helpful for someone buying  groceries for tonight's dinner tonight's dinner.

Weekly ads on the other hand still have plenty of influence. About 72% of shoppers check them on every or most trips. When one of our tracked staples appeared in the ad, it was in stock in 94.3% of visits.

But shoppers remember the times a promoted item is missing. Only 10.7% believe sale items are always available, and 86% react negatively when an advertised product is out of stock.

The grocery promotions in the ad, shelf tag, loyalty account, cart, and receipt all need to tell the same story. Well-planned retail innovations can help connect those pieces, but the test is: Did the shopper understand the deal, qualify for it, and receive it?

2. Store brand (Private label brand) Availability Sways Value Ideals

A store brand (private label brand) can be the best-priced item in the aisle. That only helps when it is actually there.

FMI's 2026 private brand research found that 92% of U.S. grocery shoppers have store-brand products at home. Nearly half, 49%, bought more over the past year, and 94% expect to keep buying them even if grocery prices decline.

Store brand or private label brand availability created the biggest gap between high-value and low-value visits in our Grocery Value Study. Every eligible store brand staple was available in 84% of high-value visits. That fell to 52% when shoppers rated the experience as low or neutral value.

The difference gets bigger when the basket costs more at premium grocery stores.

For baskets priced above the study median, 89.6% of shoppers felt they received good value when all tracked store brand items were available. When availability was incomplete, that result fell to 73.2%.

That is a 16.4 percentage point gap where value perception can be increased.

These store brand grocery products give shoppers a practical way to lower the bill without leaving the store. When those options disappear, a higher-priced grocer has fewer ways to prove value.

Grocery mystery shopping programs should be used to check the products shoppers choose to build their everyday baskets. Bread, eggs, milk, pasta, and other staples may look ordinary, but they tell shoppers whether affordable choices are a real part of the store experience.

3. Freshness Is a Quick Trust Check

Grocery shoppers don’t need a scorecard to judge produce. They can look at produce such as a bunch of bananas and form an opinion in seconds.

In our study, bananas were in good condition in 61.9% of store visits and about 80% of digital orders. That leaves plenty of room for bruising, over ripeness, or product that simply doesn’t look worth the price.

The banana result also told us something bigger.

Stores with bananas in good condition had an average mystery shop score of 84.7%. When the bananas were in very poor condition, the average score fell to 69.0%.

One item does not define the entire store experience, but it can signal how closely teams manage freshness, stocking, and quality.

Fresh produce, clean displays, stocked shelves, and tidy departments give shoppers visible proof that a grocery chain is paying attention. That proof matters even more when prices are higher or a shopper is trying a store for the first time.

Use mystery shopping scores to connect freshness with the rest of the trip. Then turn the findings into simple daily checks.

4. Grocery Loyalty Programs Must Work at the Frontlines

Your customer can belong to a grocery loyalty program and still miss the savings.

Maybe the offer was never loaded. Maybe the cashier didn’t ask. Maybe the self-checkout screen moved too quickly. The program exists, but the value never reaches the basket.

Therefore, the good value perception you worked so hard to create won’t materialize.

Our study showed that loyalty was mentioned in 50% of eligible grocery transactions. That was better than our convenience store and quick service restaurant benchmarks. But it still means half of the opportunities were missed.

The good news is that grocery employees already have a strong service base. Staff offered a polite greeting or closing in 94.3% of stores. When shoppers asked a question, employees stopped and engaged in 97% of visits. Nearly one-quarter of shoppers were offered help before they had to ask.

Now, that service can become more useful.

An employee who points out a loyalty price, explains a promotion, or suggests a lower-priced store brand helps the shopper save in that visit. Those small actions make the program feel real.

Self-checkout needs the same attention. It was available in 77.2% of stores. In 6% of those visits, no human cashier was available. When the screen is the only host, it needs to explain the savings clearly.

Grocers can use voice of customers (VoC) programs to learn whether members understand the program, trust the prices, and know how to use their rewards. They can go even further by personalizing loyalty programs with “just-for you” experiences that make customers feel like their habits and values are understood.

5. Grocery Pickup Can Still Feel Untrustworthy

The 2026 Grocery Value study showed that pickup orders were ready by the promised time in 97.1% of digital shops. Pickup took five minutes or less in 87.4%. The pickup area was clearly marked in 93.1%, and groceries were placed in the vehicle in 90.2%.

The operational aspect of the order pickups showed these strong numbers. But the problem shoppers had with the process was in the final receipt.

The final charge matched the online checkout amount in only 67.4% of orders. Fees were shown before ordering in 66.9% of shops. Minimum-order requirements were visible in 53.7%.

There are valid reasons for a grocery total to change: Produce is sold by weight. A substitution may cost more than the first choice. A promotion may depend on the final basket.

Shoppers can handle a change when they understand it. The problem is the surprise.

This is where grocery pricing transparency matters. The cart, messages, and receipt should make every change easy to follow.

Nearly 73% of online grocery shoppers in our consumer survey said added fees make online grocery feel like a worse deal or not worth it. Price clarity is also getting public attention. In April 2026, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission requested public comment on potentially unfair or deceptive fee practices in online food and grocery delivery.

Substitutions need clearer control too. A clear “allow or refuse” choice appeared in 89.7% of shops. Yet 79.7% of shoppers want to set their preferences in advance or approve replacements. Only about 7% are comfortable letting the store decide automatically.

This is an ideal place for grocery brands to use online mystery shopping, where their teams can place real orders, compare cart totals with receipts, review substitution messages, and see whether a customer can explain every change.

6. Almost Everyone is a Digital Grocery Shopper

Nearly eight in ten shoppers in our consumer research use a digital tool before or during a grocery trip. Some build a pickup order. Others check the weekly ad, compare prices, load a coupon, find an item, or look at loyalty rewards before walking into the store.

When shoppers need product information, 43.1% go first to a retailer's app or website. Search engines come next at 32.2%, followed by in-store browsing at 21.1%.

That gives the retailer's own digital channels a major role in the trip.

This is an omnichannel grocery journey in plain terms: shoppers move between the app, website, parking lot, and store while expecting the same prices, products, and rewards.

If the app shows the wrong price, the problem follows the shopper to checkout. If it says a product is available and the shelf is empty, the store visit starts with disappointment. If loyalty offers are hard to find, the program feels like a lot of work.

Any grocery customer experience solution has to treat the app and website like another store that needs regular checks.

Grocers also need a practical way to judge new tools. Current retail technologies can make shopping easier when the information is accurate and help is easy to reach.

7. Convenience Stores Are Coming for the Quick Trip

One of the most important grocery retail trends is the growing competition for quick trips from convenience stores.

Grocery currently has the stronger pickup infrastructure, with 13 of the 15 brands in our study offering curbside pickup at 84.6% of locations, compared with 17.7% of convenience stores.

Grocers are also well positioned to compete for quick trips with nearly 95% of the stores in our study having a clearly marked ready-to-eat or easy-dinner area. Prepared food was also available in 82.5% of stores, and curbside pickup was offered in 75.8%.

However, convenience stores do have a clear speed advantage. Shoppers here completed checkout within two minutes in 96.8% of visits in our cross-industry comparison. Grocery stores reached that mark in 79.5% of visits.

That speed is crucial when the shopper only needs a few things. About 42.7% of consumers said they would use a convenience store drive-thru for everyday essentials such as milk, snacks, or household products.

A grocery store can sell tonight's dinner, tomorrow's breakfast, and the rest of the weekly basket in one stop. The risk is making a small trip feel slower than it needs to be. For these baskets, speed is part of the grocery customer experience.

Competitive mystery shopping adds the local context behind market share. It shows what shoppers can see, buy, and complete more easily at nearby competitors across pricing, assortment, speed, service, and digital touchpoints.

See Your Grocery Store Experience Through the Shopper's Eyes

Put together, these grocery retail trends point to a clear need: grocers have to measure the trip the way the shopper experiences it.

Our mystery shopping service fills in every bit of context with real visits, orders, receipts, screenshots, photos, and direct observations. Programs can be built around your brand to show you how your standards land in real stores, apps, and pickup experiences, with objective evidence your teams can act on.

Interested? Talk to a Grocery CX Expert