As economic headwinds leave grocery shoppers hunting for deals and discounts, consumer behaviors have already demonstrably shifted.

In fact, shoppers who enter a grocery store are more open to unplanned purchases than just a few years, according to a recent Ibotta survey from November 2025.

• 32% of shoppers go into the store with only a loose plan for what to buy, or no plan at all, according to Ibotta, up from 25% in 2023.

Rising in-store grocery sales indicate a growing pool of shoppers retailers can capture with well-placed deals and other physical-store experiences.

In-store grocery sales are expected to increase 2.4% in 2026, per EMARKETER’s forecast.

Digital discounts lead the way

Price is the leading factor for shoppers purchasing new brands or products. Many shoppers are discovering these discounts online.

• 68% of those who purchased a new brand or product in the previous month did so because of a discount or cash back offer, according to Ibotta.
• 63% did so due to a recommendation from family or friends.

A deeper look at shoppers’ preferred discount method shows digital coupons leading the way.

• 64% of shoppers used digital discounts or cash back promotions to save on a purchase in the last month, per Ibotta.

In-store promotions were close behind, indicating some overlap between those seeking discounts online and in-store.

• 60% of discount shoppers used in-store sales, according to the Ibotta survey.

The prevalence of both in-store bargain hunting and online deals suggests that both channels are important for a segment of grocery shoppers who show up in-person but are also active digital users.

“Mobile-first perks like web or app-exclusive deals and omnichannel strategies like buy-online-pick-up-in-store will be essential to meet evolving consumer expectations,” said Worsfold.

Loyalty and value-shopping for premium brands

Deals are simply a bigger influencer on grocery shoppers than loyalty programs.

• Store loyalty cards only swayed 39% of shoppers, per Ibotta.

And this deal-hunting extends to brand names (versus store brands) and premium brands, the Ibotta study found.

• 55% of food shoppers say cash back justifies a premium brand purchase.
• The percent of grocery shoppers who agree that brand names are better than store brands dropped 6% from 44% in 2024 to 38% in 2025.

Yes, retailers should keep current with digital shopping trends. But while doing this, they shouldn’t lose sight of the impact in-store sales promotions and demos have on today’s grocery shoppers.

In-store opportunities

In-store demonstrations proved influential for grocery shoppers, according to Ibotta.

• 58% of shoppers who purchased a new or unfamiliar product in the last month did so after an in-store sample or product demo.

“The future of shopping is wherever the customer is, on their phone, online, or in-store,” said Simon Worsfold, head of data communications at Intuit QuickBooks. “To meet this growing interest in shopping across both, businesses must deliver seamless, integrated experiences across all channels.”

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