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But as more brands have piled in, competition—and costs per click (CPCs)—have climbed, particularly in the grocery category. That sector has seen CPCs rise more than 70% YoY on Walmart, and more than 50% on Amazon, according to Harvest Group data. Retail media display ad spending will approach $23 billion in 2025.

Economic uncertainty ate into General Mills’ quarterly results: Consumers’ sharp focus on value is causing them to consume fewer snacks.

Groceries make up about 60% of Walmart's sales but less than a quarter (23%) at Target. Walmart's grocery success—along with its increasingly popular Walmart+ membership program—has helped it win over more affluent consumers, and it’s starting to offer more premium products in beauty and apparel to steal market share from Target.

For example, Walmart now lets shoppers purchase prescription medications online and have them delivered alongside groceries and other items on the same day. Some 55% of its customers expressed a desire for such a service, and it was most requested by customers who self-identify as time-sensitive, busy families, according to Walmart.

Less than 10% of shoppers don’t expect to make any changes to their shopping habits due to tariffs, according to February 2025 data from Numerator.

Consumers have also been trading down to lower-cost groceries, including private label products, while a number of brands and retailers have announced price cuts. Apparel, accessories, and footwear is the only category that will outperform both overall retail and ecommerce growth every year through 2028.

°Â²¹±ô³¾²¹°ù³Ù’s grocery dominance was once again the ace up its sleeve, helping to grow comparable sales by 4.6% YoY. While the retailer noted that consumer wallets remain stretched, it made further inroads with higher-income shoppers, who were once again responsible for the majority of its market share gains in Q4.