Consumer Habits

You’ve probably heard the word phygital  floating around, but at its core, it’s a simple idea. Phygital shopping is about blending the best parts of digital convenience with the trust and familiarity of shopping in person. Customers still want to walk your aisles, talk to your team, and choose their own produce. They also want accurate online information, easy ordering options, and a checkout experience that just works. Research published in the Journal of Retailing and Consu

The grocery industry is entering a period of strategic bifurcation. Instead of competing in the middle, retailers are increasingly finding success at one of two ends of the spectrum. On one side are value-driven grocers , focused on price, efficiency, and simplicity. On the other are fresh-format grocers , emphasizing quality, experience, and differentiation. Research from AlixPartners shows that shoppers are becoming less satisfied with “middle-of-the-road” grocery offerings

GLP-1 medications are starting to change how people think about food, and those changes are gradually showing up in grocery stores. These medications, originally used to treat diabetes and now commonly prescribed for weight loss, tend to reduce appetite and change how people experience hunger. What researchers are seeing is fairly consistent. People using GLP-1 medications often expect to buy less food overall and make more deliberate choices about what they do buy. Studies f

If it feels like technology keeps changing faster than stores can keep up, you’re not imagining it. We’re entering a new phase of digital commerce, often called agentic commerce , where software doesn’t just recommend products, but actively helps shoppers find, compare, and even purchase items on their behalf. This isn’t science fiction. According to Visa and Kearney research, AI-powered shopping tools are already influencing how consumers discover products today, and many sh