As 2025 approaches, Grocery and Personal Care brands are gearing up to meet the shifting consumer expectations we will see in the new year. Underscoring these changes, MikMak explained in our recent New Year, New Me Guide, that health-conscious shopping habits are driving demand for more 'Better for You' products across categories.
Walmart saw a 27 percent surge in eCommerce sales during Q3 2024, largely attributed to healthier Grocery options. Similarly, retailers like Target are experiencing growth in wellness categories, spurred by younger consumers prioritizing intentional and affordable choices.
Beyond opting for healthier options, consumers are spending more consciously as well. Basket sizes have continued to shrink, dropping from 9 items in 2022 to just 6.1 in 2024. Shoppers focus on value and wellness, presenting a critical opportunity for brands to adjust their strategies and offerings to meet these needs. Staying close to relevant eCommerce data will help your brand succeed in the coming year.
In this blog, MikMak will dive into some of the trends we saw for Grocery and Personal Care from our recent New Year, New Me Guide, as well as some insights from our friends at Vizit on imagery best practices for your brand.
Social is the ‘third shelf’ for Grocery, and even more for ‘Better for You’ brands
Grocery brands are currently heavily investing their ad spend in social traffic. According to the MikMak Shopping Index, 67.6 percent of eCommerce Grocery traffic comes from social channels. This is amplified for healthier ‘Better for You’ options, where 78.7 percent of the traffic comes from these channels.
When it comes to how likely Grocery customers are to convert, the MikMak Shopping Index showed that Brand Websites had the highest Purchase Intent Rates for both Grocery overall (13.9 percent), as well as ‘Better for You’ Grocery (6 percent). This metric shows the likelihood that a consumer clicks through to checkout from MikMak Commerce-enabled media. This showcases that while social investment is crucial for product discovery, investing in your brand website is also important when it comes to driving sales.
Walmart is the preferred checkout option for online Grocery shoppers
When selecting which retailer to check out at, eCommerce data from the MikMak Shopping Index revealed that 40.4 percent of all Grocery shoppers prefer to check out at Walmart, compared to the Top 5 online Grocery retailers. When we look at just ‘Better For You’ brands, Walmart still leads the pack with 33.9 percent, but this traffic is more equally split across the other top 5 retailers, with Amazon and Target following, seeing 23.8 percent and 23.2 percent of traffic, respectively.
For a deeper dive into the Grocery and ‘Better for You’ trends and data we are seeing leading up to 2025, be sure to check out our complete New Year, New Me Guide.
Personal Care brands see the most traffic on social, but higher conversions on search
For Personal Care brands, the MikMak Shopping Index saw a staggering 91.5 percent of eCommerce traffic comes from social channels. However, Search leads in terms of likelihood of conversion at 21.9 percent. While search sees a small percentage of traffic for these brands, it drives consumers to add these products to their shopping carts.
Personal Care brands are most likely to convert at the beginning of the year, despite seeing more traffic in summertime
When it comes to timing, the first few weeks of the year in 2024 proved to be the time online Personal Care shoppers were likely to purchase. However, these brands saw more traffic during the summer.
Consider revamping your imagery to capture new shoppers in 2025
When considering what changes to make in time for the new year, MikMak reached out to the experts at Vizit to find out what is resonating with shoppers now. Vizit’s analysis of hero and carousel imagery in categories like clean beauty products, healthy snacks, and healthy drinks revealed what design elements and visual trends resonate most with members of the health-conscious Millennial and Gen Z audiences. Here are some general best practices that appealed to this target audience across the Grocery and Personal Care categories:
Hero Image Best Practices
1. Make Use of Background and Foreground for ClarityPosition the hero product prominently in the foreground, with supporting elements like bulk packaging or complementary textures, such as swatches for beauty products, subtly arranged in the background.
Use clean, minimal backgrounds like white or soft gradients to ensure the product remains the focus. Sometimes, subtle shading to add depth is enough to set off the product packaging.
Showcase bulk or variety packs in the snacks and beverages categories by creatively positioning individual items emerging from boxes or fanned out. Emphasize abundance with dynamic layouts, especially for products sold in larger quantities, which resonates with health-conscious buyers seeking value. Vizit found that specifically, in the Beauty category, showing the specific item as part of the bigger product line or collection achieves a similar effect.
For Personal Care, feature intricate design elements such as applicators, swatches, or opened products. Examples include caps removed to display pump mechanisms, mascara wands extended, or gloss applicators revealed. Highlighting usability and formula details enhances the appeal to Gen Z and Millennials prioritizing product functionality.
Carousel Image Best Practices
1. Focus on Ingredients for Transparency and Natural AppealIn Grocery categories, use styled displays of key ingredients, such as fresh fruits, nuts, or botanical elements, placed around or integrated with the product. Health-conscious consumers appreciate transparency and are drawn to visuals showcasing key ingredients or natural product benefits.
Health-conscious Millennial and Gen Z audiences favored carousel images highlighting hero ingredients through infographics or styled displays. They appreciated seeing beneficial ingredients featured prominently in clean makeup and clean skincare. These visuals often showcased natural elements, such as fresh oranges, honey, or botanical extracts, arranged alongside or behind the product.
Situate products in aspirational lifestyle scenarios that resonate with the target audience, such as outdoor gatherings, workout settings, or wellness-focused environments. This aligns the product with the audience’s values like balance, social connection, and an active lifestyle.
Leverage bold, colorful backgrounds and dramatic product arrangements in carousel images to create an elevated, design-forward aesthetic. However, this doesn’t mean embracing maximalism. In fact, clean and uncluttered visuals consistently perform well across these categories. Balancing these two design elements leads to impactful imagery.
By implementing these best practices, brands can effectively cater to the visual preferences of health-conscious Millennial and Gen Z consumers, driving higher engagement and conversion rates in eCommerce settings.
Keep close to the eCommerce data leading into 2025
When it comes to preparing for the new year, the best way to predict the future is to look back on what trends we have been seeing recently. Check out MikMak’s latest guide, New Year, New Me: Healthier Choices, Smarter Spending, for the latest trends and predictions.
