The 10 grocery insights shaping 2026 🛒
Happy New Year!
I hope you’ve had a chance to switch off, reset, and come back with a fresh lens for the year ahead.
As things ramp up again, here are 10 grocery insights already shaping 2026, the shifts that are gaining momentum now and will matter most over the next 12 months and beyond.
Grab a cuppa and read the highlights below, or head to our website if you’d like the full slide deck.
1. Retailers are reshaping the definition of value 💷
Inflation pressure has eased, but household costs remain elevated, keeping value a priority even as confidence improves.
Retailers now embed value through own label tiers, loyalty pricing and deal mechanics, not just shelf price.
Brands must fit the retailer’s value architecture or risk looking poor value, even when competitively priced.
2. Aldi & Lidl set the grocery benchmark 🛒
Aldi and Lidl are no longer secondary shops. They are now main-shop credible retailers for a large majority of UK households.
Their scale puts real pressure on traditional big four supermarkets, not just on price but on quality, range and execution.
Store expansion and rising shopping frequency mean Aldi & Lidl increasingly influence category norms, not just value perception.
3. Promotional value is locked behind loyalty 📲
Greater scrutiny from the CMA is making retailers more cautious about how they price and promote products.
Promotions are shifting from big, open price cuts to retailer-led mechanics, changing where and how shoppers see value.
Secondary space and in-aisle visibility are often linked to participation in retailer systems. This means brands can be competitively priced but still struggle to be seen as good value if they are not visible in-store or online.
4. Health shifts from claims to everyday functional benefits 🍎
The rise in GLP-1 usage is accelerating changes in food behaviour, including reduced snacking, fewer takeaways and lower calorie intake, with clear implications for range and portion design.
Functional ingredients, such as protein, creatine, nootropics, prebiotics and postbiotics, are moving beyond supplements into everyday food and drink categories.
Shoppers also remain wary of ultra-processed foods, but they are not cutting categories out entirely, instead looking for options that feel healthier without sacrificing convenience.
5. Sustainability moves from brand story to commercial requirement 🌱
From January 2026, Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) comes into force, requiring brands to pay the full cost of managing their packaging waste, including collection, sorting and recycling.
EPR shifts sustainability from a voluntary initiative to a direct cost and compliance issue, with pack choices affecting margins, pricing and retailer conversations.
Retailers are increasingly treating sustainability as housekeeping, setting clear expectations on recyclability, labelling and pack formats as a baseline for range.
6. Shelf space is earned through performance, not heritage 🏪
Heading into 2026, retailers are under more pressure than ever to remove inefficiency from the shelf, as high operating costs persist even while inflation eases.
Shelf space is being allocated more tightly to products that sell consistently, deliver margin and justify their space, rather than those kept for legacy or completeness.
Retailers still rely on suppliers to identify which lower-volume SKUs play a unique role, meeting specific shopper needs or protecting category choice.
7. Premium still sells but needs to earn its place ✨
Retailers are backing products that trade shoppers up through quality, function or experience, not those defined by price alone.
Premium own label has raised expectations, making it harder for branded ranges to justify their price gap without clear differentiation.
In a tighter range environment, premium SKUs are expected to earn their space, either through margin contribution or by playing a distinct role in the category.
8. Social media reshapes the shopping journey 📱
Social platforms are no longer just about awareness. They are driving real behaviours, from inspiration and recipe trial through to purchase online and in store.
TikTok in particular is shortening the gap between discovery and action, increasing impulse behaviour and trial of new products.
Social commerce is blurring the line between content, recommendation and transaction, shaping what shoppers decide to buy before they reach the shelf.
9. Convenience and immediacy change where and when shoppers buy 🛵
Rapid delivery is no longer a niche or experimental channel. Heading into 2026 it is a meaningful, operational part of UK grocery, influencing how retailers serve top-up and distress missions.
Supermarkets are moving rapid delivery in-house, signalling a shift from partnerships to long-term commitment and tighter control over economics, data and execution.
For brands, winning these missions requires thinking beyond the weekly shop and planning for availability in high-urgency, small-basket moments.
10. AI starts to influence shopper decisions 🤖
Shopping assistants and AI-led recommendations are starting to shortcut decision-making, reducing the role of traditional browsing and filtering.
Retailers and platforms are embedding AI into search, discovery and recommendations, increasing the importance of being surfaced by algorithms, not just winning shelf space.
Early adoption at scale shows AI can directly influence conversion, not just awareness. This builds on how UK grocery shoppers already use digital tools for recipes, meal ideas and shopping guidance.
So what does all of this mean for 2026?
For brands, success in 2026 will depend on aligning with the retailer’s system, not just the shopper’s needs, proving category value, operational relevance, and clarity of proposition at every point of decision.
If you’d like more information on these insights, you can download the full slide deck or get in touch to discuss how to embed these learnings into your strategy.
January 2026