There has been a “massive shift” in the way people shop since the pandemic, analyst firm Kantar has told the BBC.
Among the changes, shoppers now visit the supermarket less often, spend more on own-label goods and are turning to loyalty schemes to get discounts.
The cost-of-living crisis has also helped drive the changes, according to the analyst.
The BBC has identified five key ways shopping has changed based on data exclusively compiled by Kantar:
1. People shop less often but spend more
The figures show the average household made 18 trips to a grocer a month before Covid, but now it is down to around 16 times a month.
2. The shift to online has slowed
The Kantar data reveals that 11.7% of UK grocery spending today is online, down from a peak of 15.4% in February 2021 at the height of the pandemic.
McKevitt said this is because many older people who took up online shopping in lockdown have given it up.
That said, online shopping is still more popular that than it was just before Covid, when it accounted for around 8% of grocery spending.
3. The rise of own-label brands
In 2005 about 45% of grocery sales were own brand, but by the end of 2022 it had risen to 51%, according to Kantar.
4. The discounters are here to stay
Sales at the discounters Aldi and Lidl soared by more than 23% year-on-year in the 12 weeks to 14 May, according to Kantar.
That’s more than twice as fast as sales are growing at the UK’s top two supermarkets, Tesco and Sainsbury’s.
The discounters have been gaining share for a decade but have been boosted by the cost-of-living crisis, as customers look to save.
5. People turn to loyalty schemes for discounts
The number of in-store deals at supermarkets has fallen sharply since 2014 when they accounted for 40% of all grocery spending, today it’s 25%, according to Kantar.
Instead, shoppers are increasingly turning to supermarket loyalty schemes to access discounts.
Fraser McKevitt, Head of Retail and Consumer Insight at Kantar, told the BBC: “We still haven’t got back to the shops like we used to. People are working from home a bit more which cuts down the opportunities to shop.”
