These days, you don’t have a visit a grocery store to get your groceries. Just ask shoppers in Mississippi.
A new report examining the state of grocery shopping reveals the states where grocery shopping is being done in the most and least traditional ways.
Placer.ai’s “Grocery 2025: Visitation Trends & Consumer Behavior” digs into its location intelligence data “to uncover the trends shaping grocery retail in early 2025.” It finds that the majority of grocery shoppers are not regularly visiting traditional grocery stores, as discount and dollar stores, general mass retailers and wholesale clubs are competing to become shoppers’ favored grocery shopping destinations.
But that’s been the trend for a while now – traditional grocery stores’ 47.7% share of the market is virtually unchanged from six years ago. The greatest shifts are coming at the expense of general mass retailers like Walmart and Target, where foot traffic is down 3.5% over the past several years, as club stores and discount stores siphon away more grocery trips from them.
So overall, traditional grocery stores have “demonstrated remarkable resilience,” Placer.ai notes. But that depends on where you live.
Placer.ai didn’t include Alaska and Hawaii in its state-by-state survey, but among those who live in the lower 48, Oregonians are most loyal to their neighborhood grocery stores. Traditional grocery stores account for 61.6% of all grocery shopping trips in Oregon, well above the national average. Close behind are Washington, Massachusetts, Vermont and California, where well over half of all grocery shopping trips are to grocery stores.
On the other end of the scale, Mississippians make the fewest grocery shopping trips to traditional grocery stores, which account for only 20.7% of all grocery trips. North Dakota, Oklahoma and South Dakota residents also do less than a quarter of all their grocery shopping at grocery stores.
So where are these shoppers getting their groceries then? In South Dakota, they’re going to places like Walmart and Target. General mass retailers account for more than 50% of all grocery visits there, the highest percentage in the country. In West Virginia, a nationwide high of 29% of grocery visits are to discount and dollar stores.
On the flip side, those same Oregonians who like their traditional grocery stores do the least amount of grocery shopping at general mass retailers, just 20.6%. And discount and dollar stores are least popular for grocery shoppers in Washington, accounting for just 5.3% of all grocery trips.
Much of this has to do with personal preference. But a lot of it also has to do with access to groceries. A Placer.ai report from last summer found that “low grocery visit share may be due to inadequate supply, rather than insufficient demand.” While shoppers in more densely-populated states tend to have many grocery options, shoppers in more rural areas often have to travel further to get to a traditional grocery store. “For grocery chain operators seeking to expand, these underserved grocery markets can present a significant opportunity,” Placer.ai concluded.
“Traditional” doesn’t mean boring, though. This latest study found that, within the traditional grocery category, visits to fresh-format, value, and ethnic grocery stores are growing. Visits to smaller stores are also outpacing shopping trips to large stores. And grocery shoppers are increasingly shopping around, making more and shorter shopping trips to more stores, indicating that they are looking to “avoid large, costly carts or cherry pick deals across various retailers.”
“Even as consumers flock to alternative food purveyors in search of lower prices,” Placer.ai concludes, “grocery stores are holding their ground against fierce competition.” But that could always change. Grocery chains might consider adding more stores and improving their offerings in a place like Mississippi, while discounters and mass merchants might consider stepping up their game in places like Oregon to attract more traditional grocery store shoppers.
Some shoppers are overwhelmed with choices on where to get groceries. Others don’t have nearly enough choice. If Placer.ai’s report helps to even the playing field, then someday, the place you buy your groceries could become a matter of preference, and not because it’s your only option.
Image source: Virginia Retail 
