<p>By: Steve Markenson, Vice President, Research & Insights, FMI</p><p><img src="https://www.fmi.org/images/default-source/homepage-curation-tiles/trends-2025-cover_cropped_lg.tmb-large-350-.jpg?Culture=en&sfvrsn=af4b147e_1" style="float:right;margin:10px;" alt="Trends 2025 cover" class="-align-right" sf-size="174451" /></p><p>The researcher in me often looks at what people do, while the insights professional in me seeks to understand the why behind what people do. The researcher in me knows shoppers don’t just buy food to fill their pantries or for sustenance. Meanwhile, the insights professional in me knows from this year’s <em><a href="https://www.fmi.org/our-research/research-reports/u-s-grocery-shopper-trends">U.S. Grocery Shopper Trends</a></em> report that consumers grocery shop to fulfill a range of needs and desires: to support their health, to express care for loved ones, to connect with others, to find comfort and joy, to discover new products and explore new cuisines and cultures, to live out their values and ethics. They shop to “eat well.” </p><h5>What does “eating well” mean to shoppers?<strong> </strong></h5><p>While every shopper has their own definition, “eating well” encompasses the needs, desires and values that guide shoppers’ decisions about what to buy, where to shop and whether something is worth its cost.</p><p>Understanding what “eating well” means to shoppers is essential for food retailers and manufacturers to understand how shoppers optimize their food spending and how they prioritize food within their larger set of expenses, especially in a time of mounting economic uncertainty and challenge. </p><h5>How do shoppers justify their food spending?</h5><p>For today’s grocery shoppers, value is more than just the numbers at the bottom of a receipt. Price and quantity matter, but they go beyond these considerations. Shoppers also determine value in terms of attributes such as quality, freshness, health, nutrition and ethics. They weigh how well products align with their personal preferences, needs and habits. Shoppers consider their own and their household’s desires for pleasure, novelty, variety and positive shopping experiences. And they balance these against convenience in both the products they use and in their shopping. </p><p>Shoppers prioritize these benefit areas in personal ways, within the limits of their financial situations and the broader context of their lives. And these priorities are not just related to food — they overlap with other spending categories and areas of their lives. For instance, shoppers may view products such as sports supplements not as groceries but as part of a fitness budget. Similarly, they may distinguish between snacks bought at the movies and those bought in a store for entertainment at home. While those hardest hit by rising prices face the most pressure to compromise in these areas, many still look for ways to protect or justify spending that aligns of their idea of “eating well.” </p><h5>What purchase drivers motivate shoppers to spend more?<strong> </strong></h5><p>Shoppers’ ideas about “eating well” often reflect a mix of needs and values. Our research highlights four key benefit areas that consistently stand out — benefits shoppers often refer to, directly or indirectly, when explaining their priorities and justifying spending a little more on both food and non-food expenses.</p><p>Shoppers try to stay committed to their goal, even if some have to make deeper compromises in response to their economic circumstances. For brands and retailers, these benefit areas represent potential strategies for positioning food and beverages in ways that resonate more deeply with shoppers’ values, help them feel more at ease about their spending and offer them opportunities to shift their budgets from nonfood to food expenses. </p><p><strong>Health, Entertainment, Exploration</strong> and <strong>Convenience</strong> are important purchase drivers and ways shoppers justify their food spending. They can help us better understand the logic behind grocery shopping today. </p><p><a href="https://www.fmi.org/our-research/research-reports/u-s-grocery-shopper-trends" class="button">Download U.S. Grocery Shopper Trends</a> </p><p><a href="https://www.fmi.org/forms/store/ProductFormPublic/u-s-grocery-shopper-trends-2025-data-tables" class="button-secondary">Data Tables</a></p>
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