Schnitzel or cauliflower - supermarket or organic store

June 17th, 2025 | Cologne/Dusseldorf

Whether omnivores or vegetarians - we all buy food. But how and where we shop depends largely on our eating habits. This is confirmed by the new KPMG Consumer Barometer on shopping behavior in the food retail sector. The barometer was created in collaboration with the EHI. For the first time, 2,000 people in Germany were asked about the correlation between their eating and shopping habits. 

"Different food types shop differently, shaped by everyday life, personal values and the desire for convenience. Our study provides empirical insights for retailers and helps them to understand and strategically address the multi-layered consumption patterns," adds study author Dr. Tobias Röding from EHI.

At 57.5%, the group of omnivores (all-round eaters) made up the largest proportion of the consumers surveyed, with men being significantly more likely to belong to this group (62.6%) than women (52.3%). Flexitarians, who consciously reduce their meat consumption, make up 16.7 percent; among women, their share is higher at 19.2 percent than among men at 14.1 percent. Around a quarter of respondents eat a primarily or completely plant-based diet, of which 8.5% are vegetarian and 3.8% vegan - again with higher proportions among women. Overall, the study shows that there are gender-specific differences in consumption: Men tend to eat more meat-based diets, while women are more likely to choose reduced-meat or meat-free diets. 

Supermarkets are the most frequently used shopping location and therefore form the backbone of the stationary food trade: 80.6% of respondents of all different diet types shop there frequently or very frequently. Discounters follow right behind with 79.2 percent. For omnivores, flexitarians, vegetarians and vegans, supermarkets and discount stores also ranked in the top two places with similarly high values. Around a fifth of all respondents (20.6 percent) shop "frequently to very frequently" in organic food stores, compared to 48.4 percent of vegan customers and 36.2 percent of vegetarians. Markets, farm stores and organic food stores, on the other hand, are less popular with omnivores, averaging around 17%.

How we eat also influences how often we shop: Omnivores and flexitarians have an average shopping frequency of 2.7 and 2.6 visits per week respectively. Vegetarians go grocery shopping 3.1 times a week. Vegans top the rankings with the highest frequency of 3.4 purchases per week. Compared to omnivores, vegetarians visit food retailers around 15 percent more often, while vegans are even around 25 percent more frequent. 

It's not just our eating habits that influence our shopping and information behavior. Gender, age and living environment also influence us. The barometer shows that people prefer different channels to find out about offers in food retail. At 71.2%, digital discount and coupon campaigns via apps were mentioned most frequently by all respondents. Interest is particularly pronounced in an urban environment, especially among women and in the 34-49 age group.

In-store notices follow with 57.9% and are particularly relevant for younger target groups and in urban environments. The classic flyer remains significant overall at 54.9%. There are differences in two areas in particular: The flyer is significantly less important for 18- to 33-year-olds than for the 50+ generation. There are clear gender-specific differences when it comes to app discounts: women respond much more strongly to this format (75.5%) than men (66.8%). "Shopping habits are as diverse as the consumers themselves. Those who specifically consider factors such as proximity, value for money, digital services and sustainable solutions are actively helping to shape the future of retail," says Stephan Fetsch.