Global Grocery Market – Industry Trends and Forecast to 2031

Global Grocery Market, By Product Type (Packaged Food, Unpackaged Food, Drinks, Tobacco, Household Products, and Others), Distribution Channel (Supermarkets and Hypermarkets, Convenience Stores, Online Stores, and Others) – Industry Trends and Forecast to 2031.

Grocery Market Analysis and Size

The grocery market, also known as food retail, serves as a vital distribution channel for the consumer goods industry, offering a platform for manufacturers to reach a broad customer base. It facilitates the sale of various consumer products, including food, beverages, household essentials, and personal care items. Manufacturers rely on grocery stores to showcase their products, build brand awareness, and drive sales through effective merchandising and promotions. The grocery market also fosters competition among brands, encouraging innovation and product differentiation to meet evolving consumer preferences.

The global grocery market size was valued at USD 12.60 billion in 2023 and is projected to reach USD 19.34 billion by 2031, with a CAGR of 5.50% during the forecast period of 2024 to 2031. In addition to the insights on market scenarios such as market value, growth rate, segmentation, geographical coverage, and major players, the market reports curated by the Data Bridge Market Research also include in-depth expert analysis, geographically represented company-wise production and capacity, network layouts of distributors and partners, detailed and updated price trend analysis and deficit analysis of supply chain and demand.

Report Scope and Market Segmentation       

Market Definition

Grocery stores are retail establishments that primarily sell food and household goods. They offer a wide variety of products including fresh produce, meat, dairy, canned goods, and cleaning supplies. Grocery shopping is essential for households to stock up on necessities for daily life, and stores often provide convenient services like online ordering and delivery.

Grocery Market Dynamics

Drivers

• Rising Incidence of Lactose Intolerance

Lactose intolerance is a common digestive disorder characterized by the body's inability to digest lactose, the sugar found in dairy products, due to insufficient levels of the enzyme lactase. As awareness and diagnosis of lactose intolerance increase, more individuals seek alternatives to traditional dairy products to avoid digestive discomfort. This growing consumer segment drives demand for lactose-free options, leading to the development and expansion of lactose-free product lines by manufacturers. Additionally, healthcare professionals often recommend lactose-free alternatives to patients with lactose intolerance, further contributing to market growth.

• Increasing Environmental Sustainability

Environmental sustainability leads to the growing changes in the industry, with grocers sourcing locally produced goods to reduce carbon emissions from transportation, implementing sustainable packaging solutions to minimize waste, and promoting organic farming practices to preserve soil health and biodiversity. Additionally, there's a growing demand for transparent supply chains and certifications such as Fair Trade and Rainforest Alliance, indicating a shift towards more ethical and sustainable sourcing practices in response to emerging grocery trends. Grocers are recognizing the importance of aligning with these values to stay competitive and meet the evolving expectations of environmentally conscious consumers, thereby driving a transformation towards a more sustainable grocery market.

Opportunities

• Growing Technological Advancements

The adoption of digital technologies, such as mobile apps, online ordering platforms, and artificial intelligence, has streamlined the shopping experience, offering convenience and personalization. Automated checkout systems, self-service kiosks, and cashierless stores enhance efficiency and reduce wait times. Moreover, data analytics and machine learning algorithms empower retailers to optimize inventory management, pricing strategies, and product recommendations, improving profitability and customer satisfaction. Additionally, advancements in supply chain technologies enhance traceability, freshness, and sustainability, ensuring the quality and reliability of products on shelves.

• Growing Urbanization

Urbanization significantly influences the grocery industry as more people migrate to urban areas, driving changes in consumer behavior and preferences. With urban populations growing, there's an increased demand for convenient grocery options that cater to busy lifestyles. This has led to the rise of smaller-format stores, urban grocery delivery services, and click-and-collect models tailored to urban dwellers' needs. Additionally, urbanization fosters diverse cultural communities, sparking demand for a wider range of ethnic and international food offerings in grocery stores. Urban areas also provide opportunities for the grocery industry to experiment with innovative store formats, such as urban micro-markets and pop-up stores, to better serve dense urban populations.

Restraints/Challenges

• Intense Competition among Grocery Retailers

Large supermarket chains, discounters, and specialty stores, along with online platforms, compete fiercely for market share, often engaging in price wars and aggressive promotional tactics to attract customers. This competition can make it challenging for smaller, independent grocers to compete effectively, leading to consolidation and market concentration. Moreover, the constant battle for customer loyalty necessitates significant investments in marketing, technology, and customer service, including efficient online grocery shipping infrastructure, adding to operational costs.

• Rising Operational Costs

Rising operational costs impacts the profitability and pricing strategies for retailers. These costs encompass various factors, including labor, real estate, energy, and supply chain expenses. Increased wages, regulatory compliance, and investments in technology further exacerbate operational expenditures. The pressure to invest in modernizing infrastructure and adopting sustainable practices adds to the financial strain.

This market report provides details of new recent developments, trade regulations, import-export analysis, production analysis, value chain optimization, market share, impact of domestic and localized market players, analyses opportunities in terms of emerging revenue pockets, changes in market regulations, strategic market growth analysis, market size, category market growths, application niches and dominance, product approvals, product launches, geographic expansions, technological innovations in the market. To gain more info on the market contact Data Bridge Market Research for an Analyst Brief, our team will help you take an informed market decision to achieve market growth.

Impact and Current Market Scenario of Raw Material Shortage and Shipping Delays

Data Bridge Market Research offers a high-level analysis of the market and delivers information by keeping in account the impact and current market environment of raw material shortage and shipping delays. This translates into assessing strategic possibilities, creating effective action plans, and assisting businesses in making important decisions.

Apart from the standard report, we also offer in-depth analysis of the procurement level from forecasted shipping delays, distributor mapping by region, commodity analysis, production analysis, price mapping trends, sourcing, category performance analysis, supply chain risk management solutions, advanced benchmarking, and other services for procurement and strategic support.

Expected Impact of Economic Slowdown on the Pricing and Availability of Products

When economic activity slows, industries begin to suffer. The forecasted effects of the economic downturn on the pricing and accessibility of the products are taken into account in the market insight reports and intelligence services provided by DBMR. With this, our clients can typically keep one step ahead of their competitors, project their sales and revenue, and estimate their profit and loss expenditures.

Recent Development

• In October 2023, Unilever injected €19.4 million into its Poznan facility in Poland, enhancing its capacity to cater to the rising need for noodles, underscoring the lucrative prospects within the convenience food segment
• In September 2023, Nestlé unveiled its ambition to boost sales of its nutritious offerings by 50% by 2030, prioritizing Health Star Rating products and advocating for balanced diets and ethical marketing practices

Grocery Market Scope

The market is segmented on the product type and distribution channel. The growth amongst these segments will help you analyse meagre growth segments in the industries and provide the users with a valuable market overview and market insights to help them make strategic decisions for identifying core market applications.

Product Type

• Packaged Food
• Unpackaged Food
• Drinks
• Tobacco
• Household Products
• Others

Distribution Channel

• Supermarkets and Hypermarkets
• Convenience Stores
• Online Stores
• Others

Grocery Market Regional Analysis/Insights

The market is analyzed and market size insights and trends are provided by country, product type and distribution channel as referenced above.

The countries covered in the global grocery market report are U.S., Canada, Mexico, Germany, France, U.K., Netherlands, Switzerland, Belgium, Russia, Italy, Spain, Turkey, Rest of Europe, China, Japan, India, South Korea, Singapore, Malaysia, Australia, Thailand, Indonesia, Philippines, Rest of Asia-Pacific (APAC), Saudi Arabia, U.A.E., South Africa, Egypt, Israel, Rest of Middle East and Africa (MEA), Brazil, Argentina and Rest of South America.

Asia Pacific dominates the market is due to the region boasts a substantial population base, driving significant demand for grocery products. Secondly, rapid urbanization across Asia Pacific nations further fuels this demand as more individuals move to cities and adopt modern lifestyles. Lastly, evolving consumer preferences within the region, influenced by factors such as economic growth and cultural shifts, continually shape the dynamics of the grocery market, solidifying its dominance on the global stage.

North America is expected to experience notable expansion, driven by increasing disposable incomes and evolving consumer behaviors within the region. This growth trajectory is propelled by shifting preferences and purchasing patterns, indicating a significant market shift toward grocery consumption. Rising affluence coupled with changing lifestyle choices are poised to fuel this surge, positioning North America as a key focal point for the global grocery industry during the forecast period.

The country section of the report also provides individual market impacting factors and changes in regulations in the market domestically that impacts the current and future trends of the market. Data points such as down-stream and upstream value chain analysis, technical trends and porter's five forces analysis, case studies are some of the pointers used to forecast the market scenario for individual countries. Also, the presence and availability of global brands and their challenges faced due to large or scarce competition from local and domestic brands, impact of domestic tariffs and trade routes are considered while providing forecast analysis of the country data.   

Competitive Landscape and Grocery Market Share Analysis

The market competitive landscape provides details by competitor. Details included are company overview, company financials, revenue generated, market potential, investment in research and development, new market initiatives, global presence, production sites and facilities, production capacities, company strengths and weaknesses, product launch, product width and breadth, application dominance. The above data points provided are only related to the companies' focus related to organic coffee market.

Some of the major players operating in the market are:

• Nestlé (Switzerland)
• Procter & Gamble (U.S.)
• Unilever (U.K.)
• The Coca-Cola Company (U.S.)
• PepsiCo (U.S.)
• Mondelez International (U.S.)
• Kellogg's (U.S.)
• General Mills (U.S.)
• Mars, Incorporated (U.S.)
• The Kraft Heinz Company (U.S.)
• Danone (France)