This report looks at the following areas:
- Development trends and factors driving the fresh grocery retail market
- Consumers’ spending on fresh products and the purchase frequency of various fresh products
- Factors influencing consumers’ purchase of fresh grocery
- Offline and online channels consumers use to purchase fresh products
- Consumers’ perceptions of major retailers
Convenience, cost-effectiveness and quality form the three pillars of consumers' fresh grocery decisions. Retailers need to create differentiated channel advantages through diverse business models while building a comprehensive and detailed-oriented pre- and post-sale service framework based on product quality and safety to enhance brand trust.
Laura Liu, Senior Research Analyst – Retail & Home Appliances, China
Market Definitions
Fresh grocery includes fresh vegetables, fresh fruit, meat, seafood, ready meals (including ready meals and semi-finished products), freshly baked goods, ready-to-eat foods and other categories with short shelf lives. Packaged foods and drinks that can be stored for long periods are excluded.
Collapse All
-
Executive summary
- Key issues covered in this Report
- Definitions
- What you need to know
- Market factors
- Market opportunities: focus on key customer groups, strengthen product selection strategies
- Market opportunities: optimise business formats to target diverse and layered needs
- Market opportunity: build a detail-oriented pre-sale and post-sale service system to enhance the retailer influence
- Trend outlook
-
The market
- Industry overview
- Fresh grocery ecommerce is flourishing
- Supermarket platforms adopt a dual-channel approach, leading enterprises grow their sales
- Market factors
- Macroeconomic factors
- Health demand keeps consumption of in-home food buoyant
- Expanding production capacity and falling prices cater to the demand for cost-effectiveness
- Graph 1: price fluctuations for major categories of fresh grocery, 2025
- Policies support the development of rural ecommerce retail, promoting direct procurement
-
The consumer
- Summary
- Quality comes first in an era of pragmatic consumption
- Pragmatic consumption and hard discounts are reshaping the median price band of fresh produce
- Graph 2: average monthly household spending on fresh grocery, 2024-25
- Fresh fruit and vegetables are the main high-frequency products
- Graph 3: frequency of purchases in each fresh grocery category, 2025
- Health demand drives women in their 30s to frequently purchase fresh products
- Graph 4: buy fresh grocery once a day or more, by age, in 2025
- Men aged 25-29 and women aged 40-49 are potential key consumers for semi-prepared dishes
- Graph 5: buy semi-prepared dishes at least once a week, by gender and age, 2025
- The premium fresh grocery group prioritises quality, preferring products with high freshness
- Graph 6: buy fresh grocery once a day or more, by average monthly expenditure, in 2025
- Consumers primarily evaluate the quality of fresh produce by its appearance
- Graph 7: factors influencing fresh food purchases, 2025
- High-income groups value tangible quality markers over brand; only transparent traceability earns trust
- Accurately target consumer segments to create differentiated channel advantages
- Diverse offline channels meet the need for convenience, cost-effectiveness and quality
- Graph 8: offline channel repertoire analysis, 2025
- Graph 9: offline purchase channels for fresh grocery, 2025
- Competition in online channels is intense, and users have more diverse choices
- Graph 10: online purchase channels for fresh products, 2025
- Graph 11: offline channel repertoire analysis, 2025
- High-income groups seek a balance between quality and value for money
- Graph 12: offline purchase channels for fresh grocery, by offline purchase channels, 2025
- Graph 13: offline purchase channels for fresh grocery, by monthly household income, 2025
- Paid membership supermarket users trust personal validation, fresh grocery discount store users pursue speed and value for money
- Graph 14: online purchase channels for fresh grocery, by offline purchase channels, 2025
- Food safety is the cornerstone of trust, service guarantees earn favour
- Online-offline retail models help brands win recognition for both products and services
- Graph 15: views of retailer brands, 2025
- Openness and transparency earn trust, while attentive service wins favour
- Market opportunity: build a detail-oriented pre-sale and post-sale service system to enhance the retailer influence
-
Appendix – methodology and abbreviations
- Methodology
Mintel: Market Intelligence Made Easier
The first Mintel Market Intelligence report was published over 50 years ago. Since then, we have provided our unique insights and understanding of consumers, innovation and global markets to thousands of customers worldwide. Here’s why our customers rely on Mintel:
- Gain a comprehensive, 360-degree view of the market: Mintel reports blend consumer research, market forecasts, product innovation tracking, and competitive analysis, allowing businesses to see every angle of their industry and identify new opportunities quickly.
- Make decisions with confidence, grounded in robust data: Each report draws on up-to-date, reliable information from trusted sources and industry experts, ensuring your strategies are based on solid evidence rather than speculation.
- Benefit from expert analysis and practical recommendations: Mintel’s reports are written by experienced analysts who interpret complex data and provide clear, actionable insights you can trust to guide your next moves.
- Stay ahead with actionable intelligence on market trends and consumer behaviour: By combining fresh research with long-term market monitoring, our reports help businesses anticipate changes and adapt strategically. So you’re prepared to make informed decisions and drive growth.
What goes into a Mintel Market Intelligence Report?
Curious about how a Market Intelligence report comes together? We like to think of it as building a detailed puzzle. We start with individual pieces: data from consumers, market statistics, industry trends, and online conversations. Then our expert analysts add world-class human insight and industry knowledge. The pieces are assembled to reveal a clear, comprehensive picture of a market.
The Four Pillars of Our Research
We use a combination of four main research methods when creating our reports, each adding a valuable perspective:
- Consumer Research: Direct surveys with real people, giving us clear, current insights into what people think and do.
- Desk Research: In-depth review of trusted data sources. We use this rich database, plus powerful internal tools that track new products and market sizes, to detect trends and guide forecasts.
- Trade Research: Insights from conversations with industry experts. Their real-world experience helps us understand what’s happening behind the scenes.
- Brand and Social Media Research: Analysis of online opinions and trends. This lets us spot trends, measure brand sentiment, and capture feedback in real time, adding further depth to our research.
For further information about our research and analysis methods, visit our helpdesk.
Bringing It All Together
Each of these four pillars provides a different piece of the puzzle. Consumer research tells us what customers think, desk research provides the factual framework, trade research offers an insider’s view, and social media analysis reveals public sentiment.
Our expert analysts are skilled in weaving these diverse data streams together. They apply a range of quantitative and qualitative analysis techniques to uncover the deeper story, connecting the dots to deliver clear, actionable insights. This comprehensive, multi-layered process is how we transform raw data into a market intelligence report you can trust to inform your most important business decisions.
For a closer look at a Mintel Market Intelligence Report, take a look at the sample PDF report below:
Please Note: All of the figures, graphs, and tables in this sample report have been redacted.
£ 3,695 (Excl.Tax)
-
Download today with instant access
Pay via credit card or purchase order
-
Multiple formats provided
We send a PDF, Powerpoint and Excel Databook straight to your inbox. An interactive version of the report is also available on our online platform
-
Interactive databook included
Focus on the data that matters most to you with a customisable databook avaliable on our platform
-
Save 10% on all orders with the code INSIGHTS2026
Offer available until the end of December only
Next Starts Here
Whatever your business needs, we have the solution. From market intelligence reports to customised growth strategies.
Learn moreTrusted by global industry leaders
We’ve found it so useful working more closely with Mintel. They helped support our recent flagship event for our top suppliers by providing a really unique viewpoint on the future of online retailing.
Nick Carroll from their Retail Team was also an excellent panelist, sharing useful and actionable consumer insights. We definitely look forward to working with Mintel again on future projects.
Zac Steele, E-Commerce Trading Development Manager, Waitrose & Partners
When I’m investigating specific sectors I tend to use Mintel reports for their forecasting, which I’ve always found to be very accurate.
They also offer really broad and deep coverage in their reports. They are very, very detailed. For example, we were able to gain insight across a wide range of business areas from just one report, proving that Mintel is excellent value for money.
So overall, it’s the level of detail and the quality of forecasting that really stand out for me.
Rebecca Green, Market Insight Manager, Wincanton
Mintel helps us when we want to know something quickly – it provides fast answers to our questions. If we need to get a view of what’s going on in a particular market it’s very useful.
When carrying out background research, I find Mintel an excellent starting point.
The fact that it covers so many markets is a big plus for me– instead of having to buy specialist products in each area we are interested in, especially when we only require a brief view on a particular market, we can go to Mintel for help as a one-stop shop. I find Mintel a useful and valuable resource.
Ben Zeidler, Director - Research and Analytics, Tenth Wave
We use Mintel Reports, mostly for financial services and ecommerce markets, plus a few retail and technology ones.
As a leading payments provider, we value additional insights into consumer behaviour, opinions and trends that are shaping the many different markets we operate in. Mintel is a very good and very quick way for us to obtain those insights.
We use Mintel to get a view on where a particular market is going, which can support us in product development and help us identify opportunities or indeed risks, it is a very useful barometer of a market’s potential.
Andrew Neeson, Market Intelligence Manager, VocaLink
We use Mintel to inform our thinking and reinforce strategy. If you’re presenting new ideas, it’s essential they are underpinned by robust data and evidence, and clearly rooted in fact.
Mintel gives us all that. It’s a great brand and one that is trusted by clients.
Marie Stafford, European Director, The Innovation Group, VML
Next Starts Here
Whatever your business needs, we have the solution. From market intelligence reports to customised growth strategies.
Learn more
