According to a recent white paper released by Placer.ai, specialty and value grocery chains were the leading performers in the industry for year-over-year visit growth in Q3 2024. The white paper, titled “Specialty and Value Chains Transform Grocery in 2024,” highlights how location analytics have shown an increasing trend of shoppers being drawn to these two types of grocery stores, which has the potential to reshape the overall landscape.
Some key points from the white paper include:
– While traditional grocery store visits decreased by 0.5% year-over-year, value and specialty chains saw increases of 5.0% and 5.2%, respectively.
– Consumers are willing to travel further distances for specialty groceries.
– Placer.ai’s Head of Analytical Research R.J. Hottovy stated that this is likely due to unique products offered at stores like Trader Joe’s and Sprouts.
On the other hand, visitors at ALDI and Trader Joe’s tend to spend more time in-store compared with those at traditional or specialty grocers (26.5% vs 23/4%-23/7%). This can be attributed partly due their focus on owned brands which offer lower prices than national brands.
Additionally, some traditional grocers are expanding or creating discount banners such as H-E-B’s Joe V’s Smart Shop or Hy-Vee’s Dollar Fresh as a response towards this trend.
Hottovy believes that both value chain supermarkets will continue attracting consumers even though inflation has slowed down because they still offer significantly lower prices compared with previous years; while he also sees no signs indicating slowing down for speciality supermarkets either since they cater towards evolving consumer preferences seeking unique product offerings .
