Walmart wins, grocery shopping thins, home-based breakfast, and other key stats from the week

A lot happens in a week, so every Friday we're going to analyze all the new data and provide you with some of the key takeaways. Welcome to the Friday 5.

This week, Walmart wins the hearts of US grocery shoppers, secondhand retailers could see a tariff bump, and home is where the breakfast is.

Key stat: Some 63.3% of US consumers would consider shopping for groceries at the big box store for their next shopping trip, according to a new survey from YouGov.

• Walmart is the preferred grocery store for Gen Zers (63.2%), millennials (62.8%), Gen Xers (64.0%), and boomers (63.3%), per YouGov.
• Target ranks second by over 20 points, with 42.5% of consumers saying they would consider Target for their next grocery shopping trip.

Key stat: Secondhand ecommerce could see a big bump from tariffs. Some 59% of US consumers will seek more affordable apparel options, like from secondhand retailers, if government policies make apparel more expensive, according to a March survey from ThredUp and GlobalData.

• Over the next year, US consumers plan to spend 34% of their apparel budget on secondhand, with Gen Zers and millennials planning to spend 46% of their budget on secondhand.
• The US secondhand apparel market is expected to reach $74 billion by 2029.

Key stat: US consumers prepare for more bare cupboards. Almost two-thirds (64%) of US consumers plan to buy less food if prices keep rising, according to a March report from NIQ.

• 44% of total store unit losses over the last four years have been from the lowest-income shoppers, per NIQ.
• One in 3 Gen Zers order groceries online at least once a week, according to NIQ.

Key stat: Fast food eaters aren't interested in telling a chatbot their order. Over half (55%) of US consumers prefer for a human to take their order at a drive-thru, according to a February report from YouGov.

• Over half (51%) of those who don't want to give their drive-thru order to an AI chatbot say it's because it would replace a human job, per YouGov.
• A third of consumers who prefer to give their drive-thru orders to a human say it's because AI chatbots are likely to make a mistake.

Key stat: A growing majority of people eat breakfast at home, rather than on a commute, at work, or at a restaurant. 80% of US consumers normally eat breakfast at home, per March data from CivicScience, up from 73% in 2023.

• 75% of US consumers normally make dinner at home, a two-point increase from February, per CivicScience.
• 23% of home-cookers who frequently use their stove to prepare dinner say their overall spend has increased compared to last year, more than those who use the oven (20%), the microwave (18%) or those that don’t use cooking or heating methods (19%).

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