Impulse purchase on decline as shoppers change shopping habits to cope with rising costs

Shoppers are reducing their frequency of convenience visits to manage their spending. A slight uptick in basket size paired with high inflation has driven an increase in basket spend of +13 per cent year-on-year, Lumina Intelligence’s Convenience Tracking Programme (CTP) reveals.

The data also reveals that the food to go mission is leading growth in share, increasing its share of missions by +2ppts year-on-year as shoppers return to offices and seek out affordable meals on the go. The newsagent mission has seen the largest decline in share year-on-year (-4ppts), which can be attributed to a return to a longer-term trend of consumers turning to digital channels and social media for news consumption.

Impulse purchasing is in decline as shoppers adopt more stringent shopping habits. The proportion of shoppers purchasing on impulse has declined by -2ppts year-on-year, with a third of impulse purchases being influenced by temptation. This highlights the importance of packaging, in-store marketing, and retailers utilising HFSS compliant products.

Senior Insight Manager Katherine Prowse said: “Our data shows that shoppers are managing their spending by reducing the frequency of their convenience store visits. This trend is driven by high inflation and cost increases seeing more consumers opt for bigger shops at supermarket and discounter stores. Penetration has remained stable year-on-year, highlighting the importance of the convenience channel for consumer ease.”

Co-op and Tesco Express have seen the strongest growth in share year-on-year, up by +2ppt and +1ppts, respectively. Both retailers have benefited from shoppers returning to city and town centres for work.

The data also shows that the delivery share of occasions has declined -2.2ppts year-on-year, driven by shoppers returning to pre-pandemic habits and looking to save money.

Prowse added: “The report highlights the changing dynamics of the convenience channel, as shoppers adapt their behaviours to changing economic conditions and a return to pre-pandemic habits. Retailers will need to adjust their strategies accordingly to remain competitive in this dynamic market.”