Dive into regional shopping trends in the US with our survey-based insights on where consumers live versus where they shop. It is important for retailers to understand regional behaviors to optimize their store footprint and inform their differentiation strategies. Covering both food and nonfood shopping, Coresight Research shares insights on popular retailers by region and subregion, and discusses the "urbanness" of retailers' customer bases. Highlights including the dominance of Walmart in food shopping and the competition between Walmart and Amazon in nonfood shopping, as well as the rise of new players such as Temu in urban markets.
Takeaways
Chapters
00:00 This Week in Research: New Reports and Data
01:29 Geography's Influence on Food Shopping Patterns
03:44 Nonfood Shopping Dynamics and Regional Variations
05:37 Emerging Competitors in the Retail Space
06:28 Key Takeaways for Retailers
Dive into our full survey analysis: Where Shoppers Live vs. Where They Shop: US Consumer Survey Insights Extra
Welcome to Retaili$tic, the official podcast of Coresight Research for March 4th, 2025. This week, Stephan Deemer returns to discuss the impact of geography on shopping patterns across both food and non-food categories. But first, our head of editorial Georgina Smith highlights the latest research publishing this week on Coresight.com.
Hi Philip, among our research reports this week, we present regional trends in food and non-food shopping in the US, analysing proprietary consumer survey data to identify the most popular retailers and break down shopper penetration rates across multiple sub-regions. The latest monthly US StoreTracker Extra report will provide comprehensive data on US retailers' store closure and opening announcements from the last month and assess their square footage impact.
Our Earnings Insight series continues, bringing together recent management commentary from major retailers on their performance. We also explore the implications of TikTok's ban in the US for the social commerce landscape. Finally, we dive into the recent Mahakumbh Hindu Festival in India. Find out how convenience, technology and sustainability are powering a multi-billion dollar opportunity.
To make sure you don't miss out on what we're publishing each day, sign up on CoreSight.com to receive our free daily feed email, or even better, contact us to become a premium subscriber and you can access all our survey analysis, in-depth research on a range of topics in retail and technology, comprehensive data banks, weekly store trackers, events and much more. We look forward to welcoming you to the Coresight community.
Thanks Georgina. Today we're diving into some fascinating insights from a recent Coresight Research report about where US consumers shop based on their location. And joining me is Stephan Deemer from the editorial team. Stephen, welcome back to the show.
Well, thanks, Philip. It's always great to be here and talk about our latest findings.
So the report really highlights how shoppers' location influences their retail choices. Let's start with food shopping. What are some of the key takeaways?
Yeah, absolutely. So one of the biggest key takeaways is that Walmart just dominates food shopping across all U.S. regions. It probably comes as no surprise to here, but it has a massive presence with around 90 percent of Americans living within 10 miles of a Walmart store, according to the company, which just makes it the go-to choice for cost conscious shoppers.
When you break it down regionally, though, we actually do see some small variations, for example, Whole Foods has the strongest urban shopper base among food retailers that is that while dollar general is by far the most really focused food retailer.
That makes sense. Whole Foods is in high density areas where Dollar General thrives in small towns. What about regional shopping patterns?
Yeah, we definitely saw some strong regional preferences in our survey. Costco, Trader Joe's, and Albertsons, those are banners that are particularly popular in the Pacific region, while Aldi has a very strong foothold in the Midwest. Publix dominates in the South Atlantic, and Ahold Dehaize, banners like Stop and Shop, yeah, they perform particularly well in New England.
So even though Walmart is king, these regional players are carving out their niches.
That's exactly right. The regional chains have the ability to cater to local preferences and they can offer their shoppers products that resonate with the consumers in those areas, making them a little bit of a better fit than a major retailer like Walmart.
Interesting. Okay. Let's shift gears to non-food shopping. I saw in the report that Walmart and Amazon are neck and neck nationwide. What's happening there?
Yeah, so again, this probably doesn't come as a huge surprise, but Walmart and Amazon dominate non-food shopping. Their strengths do vary by region. Amazon performs better in urban areas, while Walmart really holds its ground in the rural markets. But what's really interesting is that Amazon's low urbanist score for non-food shopping suggests that it's actually starting to gain some traction even in the suburban and rural areas.
I definitely see more Amazon trucks out in the rural parts of the US today than in years past.
Definitely expanding. live in a rural area and there are Amazon trucks running up and down the roads all the time. So do you think this could be to Amazon's new Amazon haul initiative?
Yeah, I think that's probably definitely one of the biggest pushes. Amazon Haul, for people who don't know, which launched in just late last year, it offers ultra low price bulk items with fast shipping, which just makes it a great alternative to budget conscious shoppers, particularly if they live outside of big cities. So if Amazon continues expanding its logistics network, we could see it seriously challenge Walmart and suburban and rural markets in the months and years to come.
Okay, well let's talk about department stores. Macy's has the most urban consumer base for non-food shopping. What does that mean for them?
It means Macy's shoppers are concentrated in urban areas. They're particularly concentrated in the Pacific region of the U.S. And this really, you know, sort of aligns with the company's more recent strategy of offering premium assortments in metro locations. But that doesn't change what's going to be the real challenge and what has been the real challenge for department stores, which is going to be competing with e-commerce companies, with discount retailers, you know, companies like that.
What about TEMU? I was surprised to see it outpacing eBay and urban markets.
TEMU is making big moves in urban areas. That's thanks to its aggressive pricing, its flash deals, its social media driven promotion, things like that. It's really starting to focus and attract younger price sensitive consumers who just a few years ago probably would have shopped on eBay or Etsy or website like that. And now they can go on the TEMU app on their phone and that's really resonating with them.
Yes, that seems to be a major shift. If eBay doesn't innovate, it could lose ground to TEMU. Alright. Steven, let's wrap up with some key takeaways for retailers. What should brands be focusing on based on these insights?
Yeah, that's a great question. You know, obviously dive into the report for all the all the insights, but I think there are three major takeaways. First is going to be, you know, know your region. Retailers should start to tailor their strategies to regional shopping behaviors. So for instance, if you're a grocery chain and you're thinking about expanding into the South Atlantic, you are likely going to struggle against Publix or some of the Ahold Delhaize banners and In order to succeed there, you're going to need to differentiate with unique private labels, premium assortments, local assortments, things like that.
The second big takeaway, I think, would be to look to adapt to that growing urban versus rural divide that we're seeing. Walmart is strong in those rural areas, but Amazon is now finding ways to enter that market through Amazon Haul while still leading in the urban market. So Walmart might face new competition in the rural and suburban zones thanks to Amazon Haul.
And then finally, retailers really need to leverage their specialty, whether it's Costco with membership models or whether it's TEMU's focus on rapid urban expansion. Differentiation is the key now more than ever. So retailers need to emphasize what sets them apart, whether that's pricing, convenience, exclusivity, some other factor. That's really what needs to be emphasized in the in the months and years ahead
Stephen, an eye-opening discussion and as you mentioned, sure there's many more details in the report itself. So, for all of our premium subscribers, be sure and log in to Coresight.com and look up the latest report.
If you aren't currently a premium subscriber, you can find out how to become one on Coresight.com.
Thanks for having me, Philip. Always a good time.
Have a great day and we'll see you next week!