Grocery Retail Trends 2025

As we enter 2025, grocery retail is being redefined by technology, shifting consumer values, and heightened expectations around price, convenience, and personalization. The industry is no longer just about stocking shelves—it’s about anticipating needs, automating decisions, and curating personalized experiences.

This in-depth guide covers the most critical grocery trends 2025, and reveals how you can stay competitive through smarter merchandising, strategic pricing, and the right tools.

Top Grocery Retail Trends 2025

1. Private Label Surge

Private labels are no longer the "budget" alternative—they're becoming the preferred choice. By mid-2024, 50% of global consumers reported buying more private label products than ever before. In 2025, this trend is expected to accelerate, transforming store-owned brands into serious competitors to national brands.
Grocers that want to thrive must shift focus toward merchandising strategies that elevate their private label lines. This means investing in quality, brand identity, and packaging that mirrors the expectations of modern consumers.
What This Means for Retailers:

• Develop compelling private label branding that resonates with your audience.
• Highlight sustainability, ingredient transparency, and quality parity with national brands.
• Strategically position private labels in-store and online using eye-level shelf placement, featured displays, and promo tie‑ins.

2. Omnisales

In 2025, grocery market trends emphasize not just multichannel, but omnichannel and now omnisales. The term refers to the seamless integration of sales and fulfillment across in‑store, online, mobile app, and even voice assistant channels. Around 86% of CPG sales now come from shoppers who engage with brands across multiple touchpoints.
But it goes deeper than presence. Success lies in coordination. For example, aligning your online promotions with in‑store discounts or syncing loyalty data across platforms can drive deeper engagement.
Key Actions:

• Use dynamic merchandising to update promotions across channels in real time.
• Offer unified loyalty programs and personalized discounts regardless of where shoppers check out.
• Make mobile and app‑based shopping frictionless, with features like shopping list sync and personalized product suggestions.

3. Smart Merchandising

As labor shortages and cost pressures persist, grocers are turning to technology to fill the gap. Grocery merchandising trends now center on efficiency and automation without sacrificing the customer experience.
Planogramming tools and shelf management software help ensure optimal product placement, reduce stockouts, and increase profit‑per‑square‑foot. A service like PlanoHero, for example, empowers retailers to track planogram compliance, monitor inventory placement, and manage new product introductions across locations with ease.
Benefits of Smart Merchandising:

• Faster planogram rollout and adjustments based on real‑time data.
• Improved shopper experience through clear navigation and strategic product placement.
• Lower operational costs with better shelf space utilization and staff optimization.

4. AI & VR Innovations

AI-driven personalization is no longer a futuristic concept—it's a cornerstone of grocery retail in 2025. From customized promotions to tailored product recommendations, shoppers now expect experiences that feel designed just for them.
Retailers are using machine learning to analyze purchase history, basket size, location data, and even weather patterns to predict behavior and make merchandising smarter. This enables personalized endcaps, regionally curated selections, and micro-targeted campaigns that increase conversion.
AI Use Cases in Grocery:

• Real-time inventory suggestions based on local demand forecasts.
• Shelf‑scanning tech to ensure product availability and optimal facings.
• Personalized email and app campaigns based on shopper profiles.
• AI Merchandising Assistant in PlanoHero for faster product analysis, smarter planogram decisions, and real-time shelf insights.

VR/AR Use Cases in Grocery:

• Use AR feature in PlanoHero Layout app to preview planogram before displaying products on store shelves.
• Virtual reality store simulations for layout testing and promotional display trials.
• VR‑powered staff training modules for planogram compliance and customer engagement.
• Immersive customer previews, letting shoppers “walk” a new concept store before launch.

5. Phygital Shopping

While online grocery sales are growing fast, physical stores are not going anywhere. Instead, the future lies in phygital experiences—retail strategies that blend the digital with the physical.
Shoppers today expect features like:

• Smart carts that scan and tally purchases as they go.
• Digital price tags that update in real time.
• Interactive displays that provide product info, recipe ideas, or nutrition tips.

Phygital integration doesn't just improve engagement—it reduces friction, speeds up the journey, and encourages exploration.

Implementing Phygital:

• Invest in‑store technology that enriches the shopping experience.
• Integrate mobile apps with in‑store features (e.g., aisle locators, AR wayfinding).
• Use kiosks or tablets to offer deeper product insights and self-checkout.

6. Value‑Driven Shopping

Shoppers are combining strategies like bulk buying, using digital coupons, and seeking out everyday low prices in response to budget pressures.
In fact, 87% of grocery shoppers have adjusted their behavior to save money, and they now employ nearly 4 cost‑saving tactics on average.
Winning with Value Merchandising:

• Use data to identify which promotions actually drive incremental sales (vs. subsidizing already‑loyal buyers).
• Consider tiered pricing strategies and loyalty‑based discounts.
• Ensure that promotions extend across all sales channels—not just one.

7. Wellness & Functional Foods

One of the most important grocery retail trends this year is the growing emphasis on wellness. Consumers aren’t just buying food—they’re buying health, energy, and vitality. This shift is especially pronounced in emerging markets like India, China, and the Middle East, where wellness spending is doubling.
Grocers are responding by expanding assortments of:

• Organic and non‑GMO products
• Free‑from foods (gluten‑free, dairy‑free, etc.)
• Functional foods with added health benefits (e.g., probiotics, adaptogens)
  In‑store wellness merchandising can include signage highlighting health benefits, recipe integration, and shelf tags that flag nutritional attributes.

8. Sustainability

Environmental impact is no longer an afterthought—it’s becoming a core purchasing criterion. Shoppers, especially Millennials and Gen Z, are seeking out retailers who align with their values. In 2025, grocers are focusing more than ever on climate‑friendly operations, sustainable packaging, and zero‑waste commitments.
However, 26% of digital shoppers still struggle to identify sustainable products online. Brands and retailers need to make these attributes more visible and searchable.
Sustainable Grocery Strategies:

• Use AI to optimize ordering and reduce spoilage.
• Offer more plant‑based, minimally processed items.
• Make packaging sustainability certifications easy to find in‑store and on product pages.

9. Social Commerce

As platforms like TikTok and Instagram continue to shape shopping behaviors, grocery merchandising trends now include influencer partnerships, hashtag campaigns, and shoppable videos. For younger consumers, discovery often happens on social media first—not in‑store.
Retailers are using these platforms to showcase seasonal recipes, product spotlights, and behind‑the‑scenes content. Transparency is also key—consumers expect to see sourcing, ingredients, and production practices upfront.
How to Leverage Social Commerce:

• Partner with micro‑influencers in health, parenting, and food niches.
• Tie social content to in‑store promotions for consistent messaging.
• Encourage user‑generated content through contests or branded hashtags.

10. Data‑Driven Execution

Data is the thread tying all 2025 grocery trends together. Whether it’s understanding what SKUs to keep, where to place a promotion, or how to optimize inventory, data‑backed merchandising is a non‑negotiable.
But the key isn’t just having data—it’s having the right data and knowing how to use it. Many smaller brands and stores are still operating in the dark, relying on incomplete or outdated insights.
Retailers that want to succeed will need a clear strategy for gathering, analyzing, and acting on real‑time data from both digital and physical sources.

The winners in 2025 will be those who embrace change, understand shopper behavior, and use intelligent merchandising to meet customers where they are—whether that's in a physical aisle or on a smartphone screen.

PlanoHero gives you the tools to do exactly that—empowering grocers to automate planogramming, tailor store-specific strategies, and align merchandising with what today’s shoppers expect.

Stay ahead of the competition by acting on the insights behind these grocery retail trends 2025 and make every shelf, every SKU, and every shopper count.