Food and beverage brands already know the value of reaching grocery shoppers digitally. Grocery ecommerce isn’t just growing — it’s transforming the entire shopper journey. In fact, Emarketer projects that digital grocery sales will account for 19% of all U.S. ecommerce sales in 2026, surpassing apparel and accessories as the largest ecommerce category!
Grocery consumers are loyal and consistent, often buying from the same retailer once or twice per week. McKinsey research confirms this trend, finding that 75% of consumers have maintained the same primary grocery retailer throughout the past decade. This loyalty represents an untapped reservoir of lifetime value for brands that can establish themselves in consumers’ regular shopping routines.
But food and beverage sales are just one-half of the grocery market, with remaining sales coming from non-food items (pet food, household cleaning products, personal care products, etc.).
And non-endemic advertising is a major growth opportunity. If a shopper buys diapers, for instance, there’s a good chance they’ll also be in the market for baby products that a grocery chain doesn’t carry, like baby clothes. Albertsons has partnered with Rokt to offer shoppers deals on Hulu, Uber, Ticketmaster and more.
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This diversification means businesses of any category could potentially benefit from grocery ecommerce strategies. But to do so, it’s essential for brands to adopt integrative paid media strategies that ensure consistent and effective engagement across all customer touch points.
We often hear from emerging or non-traditional grocery brands, “Isn’t omnichannel marketing just for the big guys?” The truth is, it’s the playing field leveler.
Grocery chains offer a growing array of digital advertising and out-of-home opportunities, from in-store audio to in-app ads that can be targeted directly to consumers who frequently buy a competing brand.
For example, we can run a paid TikTok campaign for Premier Protein that shows influencers drinking the protein shakes in their daily morning routines, then directly link that audience to a well-optimized Amazon detail page and retarget interested shoppers with ads on Instacart or Kroger’s ad network. That’s omnichannel – and it works! The result: increased share of voice, higher conversion rates and sustained business growth.
Here are a few research-backed media campaign ideas to get you started:
- Plan for click-and-collect shopping: 31% of online shoppers surveyed by the Food Industry Association (FMI) in 2024 preferred to order groceries for curbside pickup, up 4% from 2023, overtaking same-day home delivery. Run brand collabs, sales or promotions that can be redeemed online on or in-store.
- Partner directly with retailers, not just third-party delivery apps: While Instacart, Uber Eats and other 3P services spiked in popularity during the pandemic, consumers now predominantly place digital orders through the retailers themselves, and that trend is expected to continue through 2026.
- Catch consumers during pre-shopping: Pre-shopping includes creating lists, browsing circulars, visiting retailer websites and mobile apps and utilizing social media and other online resources. This planning phase represents a critical window for influencing purchase decisions before consumers even begin adding items to their carts. Notably, Boomers are the most active pre-shoppers, with nearly 60% engaging in pre-shopping.
- Take advantage of Walmart Connect’s robust offerings: Walmart’s retail media network has built an impressive offering for brands beyond retail-search. It now includes the offsite Walmart DSP in partnership with The Trade Desk, integrations with social platforms and CTV inventory, display ads in the shopping app and data clean rooms for deeper reporting insights.
Learn how your audience likes to shop so you’ll be top of their list.
Benji Shepherd, Manager of E-Commerce and Retail Media at Exverus Media, is a trailblazer in the booming commerce media space. He creates and analyzes omnichannel marketing strategies that include Amazon, Walmart Connect, Sam’s Club, Criteo and more for Fortune 500 brands like Premier Protein & Dymatize, Honey Stinger, Soules Kitchen, etc. Shepherd’s expertise helped make Exverus an official Walmart Connect Partner in 2025. Follow him on LinkedIn.
