The news: YouTube has rapidly overtaken Meta as the leading driver of grocery purchase intent, according to our Industry KPI data provided by MikMak.

• YouTube’s share of average purchase intent clicks vaulted from 2.2% in Q1 2025 to 55.2% in Q1 2026.
• Meta’s share fell from 71.7% in Q1 2025 to 33.4% in Q1 2026—a major reversal in platform dominance.
• TikTok’s share declined modestly from 9.3% in Q1 2025 to 7.6% in Q1 2026.

Zooming in: The data indicates a growing shift toward video-led consumer decision-making, potentially reflecting more research-oriented behavior, as consumers become more deliberate about grocery spending.

YouTube’s rise in grocery purchase intent comes as Google continues to report strong retail ad growth and sustained momentum across the video platform. YouTube’s ad revenues rose 11% in Q1 2026.

Google is also expanding its AI-powered and retail-focused ad formats, giving brands more ways to turn YouTube discovery into shoppable moments. That matters because YouTube is showing up more often across Google’s discovery ecosystem: The platform makes up nearly a third of social media citations in Google’s AI Overviews, per Tinuiti and Profound.

Meta’s sharp decline suggests it is losing influence in grocery commerce, while TikTok’s small decline indicates it is more useful for discovery than driving conversions.

Implications for retail and CPG marketers: YouTube’s strong growth signals a key inflection point: Grocery intent is moving toward video-led, AI-enhanced platforms that better connect discovery to purchase.

As grocery costs remain elevated, shoppers are increasingly researching products, deals, and value-driven content before purchasing. Content such as product reviews, meal prep, and budget-focused videos—areas where YouTube excels— supports shoppers’ buying decisions in price-sensitive categories like grocery.

For marketers, the shift means YouTube should be viewed not only as an awareness channel but increasingly as a full-funnel commerce driver. As grocery shoppers spend more time researching before they buy, brands that pair useful video content with shoppable ad formats will be better positioned to capture intent at the moment it forms.

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