Traditional, Practical & Digital

Shopping for Groceries

Evolving Trends in a Familiar Landscape

With ever-changing tech and consumer habits, every holiday shopping season is different. 

Consider this: In the past decade, we've witnessed the rise of Amazon-style free, fast delivery; the explosion of TikTok and influencers; and a pandemic that revolutionized the way we shop for groceries. We’re also seeing a potential renaissance of Gen Z frequenting malls, a tempering of inflation, and a hectic Q4 where media buys will be far more expensive because of the U.S. presidential election.

You know…little things like that.

SmartCommerce conducted its annual holiday insights survey to better understand and analyze holiday shopping trends for both gathering and gifting. We sought to understand what, if anything, is different about this year’s holidays and how consumers are (or are not) thinking about, planning for, and intending to celebrate the season.

This report will help brands and retailers prepare for the holiday shopping season.

Holiday Meals = Traditional, yet Digital

Ah…the holidays. It’s the busiest time of year with people trying to wrap up their work and school, so families can plan for meaningful celebrations of gathering and gifting. And the key word there is “plan.” Whatever the gathering, whatever the gifting scenario, some form of planning is usually required (even if it’s very last minute) to purchase the ingredients needed for those time-honored meals or to find the perfect item for the family gift exchange.

For gatherings, our survey respondents indicated this is a time when traditions reign supreme. 

While overall trends show a preference for in-store grocery shopping, a closer look reveals significant generational shifts in holiday food shopping habits, with younger generations more likely to embrace online options: 21% of Gen Z opts for all-online grocery shopping compared to just 10% of Baby Boomers, while 74% of Baby Boomers stick to all in-store shopping versus only 46% of Gen Z.

Holiday Spirits Still Spark Store Visits

When it comes to alcoholic beverages, even more consumers plan to visit a physical store, with 64% planning to purchase their wine and spirits either directly at a grocery store or local liquor store. This is consistent with our Omnichannel 2024 Report , which revealed that the trend toward online shopping is not as pronounced for the alcoholic beverages category.