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Introducing Beyond Spend: A New View of UK Grocery Behaviour

  • Writer: William Beresford
    William Beresford
  • 2 days ago
  • 2 min read

This week marks the launch of Beyond Spend, a new quarterly report from Beyond: Putting Data To Work, designed to answer a simple question: where is consumer money going, and why?



Built on observed transaction data rather than surveys or stated intent, the report provides a real-time view of how people are actually behaving. The first edition focuses on the UK grocery market in Q1 2026 and establishes a baseline for how behaviour is evolving under continued economic pressure.


The initial picture is a stable market in terms of spend, but a changing one in terms of behaviour.


Average basket values have held following the Christmas period, indicating that households are continuing to prioritise grocery spending. At the same time, the way that spend is being managed is becoming more deliberate. As outlined in the report , shoppers are less likely to rely on a single retailer and more likely to organise their shopping across a set of clearly defined missions.


The traditional weekly shop is no longer the dominant pattern. In its place is a sequence of trips, each with a specific purpose. Households are combining a main shop with value-led stock-ups, convenience purchases and occasional premium spend, often across multiple retailers. Around 80% of shoppers now use at least two supermarkets, with many regularly using three.



This is not a sign of instability. It reflects a more structured approach to managing grocery activity. Different retailers are being assigned specific roles within the week, and those roles are becoming more consistent over time.


The data also shows how behaviour adapts depending on context. Convenience-led shopping remains a significant part of the market, particularly among high-frequency segments such as lunchtime buyers. Despite being among the most price-sensitive, this group continues to spend at a relatively high level per visit, reflecting the influence of time, location and routine on decision-making.


At the same time, the post-Christmas period has reinforced the importance of value. Discounters show the strongest growth momentum in Q1, benefiting from a return to more controlled household budgeting. Premium retailers, which typically see increased activity during the festive period, have experienced a natural reduction in momentum as those occasions pass.



Loyalty patterns also reflect a return to routine. Retailers that are embedded in regular weekly shopping continue to see more stable repeat behaviour, while those associated with occasional or convenience-led missions show greater variation in engagement.

What emerges from the first edition of Beyond Spend is a market that is becoming more organised. Shoppers are not withdrawing from grocery spending, but they are managing it more carefully, with clearer roles assigned to different trips and retailers.


This matters because it changes how performance should be understood. Growth is less about capturing a larger share of a single shop and more about being consistently chosen for a specific role within a broader shopping routine.


As future editions of Beyond Spend track these patterns over time, the aim is to separate short-term fluctuation from longer-term change. The first quarter establishes the starting point.


The direction of travel is already clear. Grocery behaviour is becoming more deliberate, more structured and more defined by how households choose to organise their spending.


 
 
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