Robbie Thain
Founder, CEO
AI-generated illustrative image. Not an official campaign image.
Discover how 79.2% of grocery shoppers use digital tools in-store and why experiential marketers must connect physical sampling directly to digital pipeline data.
On August 24, 2026, Intouch Insight presented new grocery research at the GroceryNEXT conference in Chicago reporting that 79.2 percent of grocery shoppers use digital tools before or during a shopping trip. This data point proves that the physical aisle is no longer a standalone environment. For consumer goods marketers, it means every retail sampling moment must now connect directly to a broader digital path to purchase.
Intouch Insight based its research on 302 in-store mystery shops across 15 grocery chains. The study also included 175 digital and curbside pickup shops across 13 chains. The findings showed that retailer apps and websites were the first source of product information for 43.1 percent of shoppers. Search engines followed closely as the primary source for 32.2 percent of those surveyed.
In-store browsing ranked significantly lower as a primary information source at just 21.1 percent. This suggests that buyers often arrive at the store with expectations already shaped by digital platforms. Furthermore, 72.3 percent of shoppers consult a grocer’s weekly ad or digital offers on every trip or most trips. This heavy reliance on digital promotions creates a new logistical baseline for field teams.
The research highlighted significant execution risks for retailers and brands alike. A full 84.6 percent of shoppers said they would react negatively if an advertised product were unavailable. Yet the featured weekly-ad item was available in only 55 percent of observed in-store shops. The availability rate dropped even lower to 46 percent for digital shops.
Despite these stock issues, other operational elements performed well during the study. Intouch Insight reported that prices and unit pricing were clearly shown in 95 percent of in-store shops. The clarity of pricing improved slightly to 99 percent across digital shops. These numbers prove that while pricing logistics are stable, inventory management remains a critical vulnerability.
Our team knows that these numbers fundamentally change how consumer brands must operate in the field. When shoppers arrive with digital information, the physical product demonstration must confirm their expectations perfectly. A beautiful sampling station fails immediately if the promotional item is missing from the shelf. We design mobile activations and roadshows that accelerate consumer trial, build trust, and boost retail velocity during 90-day product launch windows.
Our structured approach transforms initial product trial into sustained consumer confidence and retail performance. We believe brands must stop treating retail sampling as a purely physical exercise. Connecting these physical touchpoints to a digital pipeline is the only way to measure a true Return on Investment. It requires rigorous discipline to blend digital awareness with physical availability.
Experiential marketing leaders must treat the grocery aisle as an active conversion zone rather than a passive display area. If a shopper views a digital offer, the subsequent physical interaction must facilitate that exact redemption. Allowing unmanaged foot traffic to pass by without a digital capture mechanism wastes the entire activation budget. This operational gap separates successful field campaigns from expensive brand theater.
Brands that succeed in this new environment treat their field staff as data capture specialists. The brand ambassador must pivot from merely pouring a beverage to actively explaining how a digital coupon works. This hands-on guidance ensures the shopper completes the transaction before leaving the store. When field programs are executed with this level of precision, the resulting sales data easily justifies the marketing spend.
This shift toward digital tools forces a complete redesign of field execution and staffing protocols. Brand ambassadors can no longer simply hand out product samples and hope for a purchase. They must be trained to guide shoppers toward digital offers and capture post-trial feedback. This requires new training manuals and stricter oversight during the actual retail shift.
Store staff availability adds another layer of complexity to the retail environment. Intouch Insight reported that only 48 percent of grocery cashiers prompted shoppers for a loyalty card or phone number. Additionally, 56 percent of shoppers found an employee in under one minute. This inconsistency places more responsibility on brand representatives to step in and drive customer engagement.
When store staff is stretched thin, your field marketing program must bridge the operational gap. Teams must verify that the product is actually in stock before the activation begins. Learning rigorous planning for grocery store sampling ensures that first tastes turn into documented sales. If the shelf is empty, the ambassador must alert management rather than wasting expensive sample inventory.
Retailers are already adjusting their strategies to support this blended shopping behavior. Progressive Grocer reported that nearly all grocery retailers expect their technology investment to increase or remain at the same level in 2026. Nearly two-thirds plan to spend more than they did the previous year. Brands will have more opportunities to deploy digital tools within their physical footprint as these retailer platforms mature.
Every retail footprint must now include a deliberate mechanism for digital data capture. A simple product display is insufficient without a clear call to action. Field teams should integrate scannable codes to direct shoppers to specific promotional landing pages. Using these codes effectively helps brands seamlessly combine live product trials with targeted digital amplification for measurable growth.
Sarah Beckett is the vice president of sales and marketing at Intouch Insight. Intouch CEO Cameron Watt and Beckett presented the company’s grocery research during the GroceryNEXT general session on August 24, 2026. Beckett noted that "the grocery journey is becoming increasingly digital, even when the final purchase happens in a store." This observation highlights the need for a unified approach to shopper marketing.
Shoppers are moving fluidly between retailer apps, websites, and physical locations. This constant transition makes digital engagement an inseparable part of the broader grocery experience. Marketers must build field programs that acknowledge this hybrid reality. A single physical touchpoint must now serve as a gateway to a longer digital relationship.
The days of measuring a retail demonstration purely by the number of empty sample cups are over. Brands must now integrate digital tracking mechanisms into every physical touchpoint to capture real consumer data. Closing the connection between physical product trials and digital retargeting ensures that a great interaction translates into documented revenue. When 79.2 percent of shoppers arrive with digital intent, leaving the physical aisle disconnected means leaving money on the table.
These operational upgrades are no longer optional for consumer goods companies operating at a national scale. Your competitors are already linking their sampling stations to retailer loyalty apps and digital promotional codes. A failure to adapt means you will continue guessing about the true impact of your field marketing investments.
How is your team ensuring that every physical brand encounter captures the digital data required to prove actual retail performance?
Leaving the physical grocery aisle disconnected from digital tools creates serious measurement gaps for consumer brands. Makai solves the problem of inefficient post event follow up and CRM routing by establishing measurable pathways from the store shelf to the digital register. We deploy our Experiential Marketing capability to create hands on brand moments that connect emotionally and turn customers into ambassadors.
30 Years Experiential & Retail Activation Partner for CPG & Beverage Brands | Multi-Market Demos, Roadshows & Costco/Club Programs That Actually Sell
