Top Holiday Grocery Shopping Trends in 2022
It’s November, which means Mariah Carey is fully defrosted and we’re officially in holiday territory. Every year, Chicory keeps a close eye on changing grocery shopping habits, especially during the most wonderful important time of year. To do so, we surveyed 1,300+ American grocery shoppers to understand holiday grocery shopping behaviors ahead of this key timeframe for the CPG brands, grocery retailers and food publishers.
Shoppers are planning far ahead
Between rising grocery prices and supply chain disruptions, it’s frankly no surprise that shoppers are planning far ahead. Approximately 37% start planning their holiday meals two to three weeks in advance, but a surprising 27% start one month or more in advance.
On the bright side, this prolonged planning period means more opportunities for brands to reach shoppers, especially given prevalent omnichannel planning behaviors.
Budgeting keeps holiday magic flowing
According to our survey, 88% plan to cook homemade meals for their respective holiday events. This isn’t surprising given the impact of inflation on grocery shoppers’ behaviors. Homemade meals are generally more budget-friendly but they require more meal planning and ingredients. That means larger basket sizes, more time browsing online…and using digital recipes!
Research shows that 89% of shoppers use digital recipes but 46% are using digital recipes to decide what to whip up for the holidays.
Both quality and convenience will win
Budget constraints are making the holidays — an already stressful time for home cooks and hosts — worse. With nearly 50% of holiday grocery shoppers planning on hosting holiday events, CPG media should be positioned to help shoppers navigate this season more easily.
The vast majority (~90%) plan to use cooking shortcuts or easy-meal solutions in their holiday meals. But the main dinner meals aren’t all that need planning. Almost 60% plan on cooking homemade food in between holiday meals, and nearly 40% plan on repurposing leftovers. This year’s emphasis on homemade meals will mean bigger baskets and more sales opportunities for brands. Plus, leftover repurposing provides a niche content opportunity for food bloggers and recipe publishers and food bloggers as well.
If you’re ready to leverage our consumer insights and recipe data to meet your commerce media goals, let’s talk. If not, keep coming back here to learn more.