No surveys. No biases. Only truth from billions of transactions. Actionable Insights with Retail Media.
April 2026 is the Easter aftermath. Beverages exploded: +9.39% MoM, reclaiming dominance at 23.83% value share, the largest single category. Beer surged (+17.38% MoM), carbonated drinks climbed (+9.75% MoM), and wine joined the party (+12.20% MoM). Snacks pulled back after March’s pre-Easter frenzy (-2.34% MoM) but still grew +2.43% YoY. Cooking ingredients collapsed (-6.19% MoM, -2.34% YoY) as pantry-stocking wound down. The basket shifted from preparation to celebration: fill-in trips now dominate at 39.34%, special occasions hold strong at 34.41%, and routine replenishment dropped to just 13.13%. This is a month of consumption, not accumulation.
Spending peaks between 13:00 and 21:00, with 14:00 as the single busiest hour (8.20% of all value), followed by 15:00 (8.01%). Thursday became the heaviest shopping day (18.47%), with Wednesday (16.60%) and Friday (16.58%) close behind. Sunday collapsed to 9.83%, the weakest day, a complete reversal from March’s Sunday dominance (17.00%). Midweek is king again.
The biggest movers tell the story: Ice Cream and Desserts continued surging (+73.02% MoM), beef jumped (+59.20% MoM), household products recovered (+24.96% MoM), dessert ingredients climbed (+22.09% MoM). On the decline: salads crashed (-53.28% MoM), fish collapsed (-52.57% MoM), garnishes fell (-20.85% MoM), and rice/beans/pasta dropped (-20.46% MoM). Post-Easter normalization in full effect: indulgence categories still rising while Lent-adjacent and cooking-from-scratch categories retreated.
Based on 100% real transactions, in-store and online. No panels. No projections. Just reality.
* Over 120 million anonymised retail transactions analysed. Based on actual behavioural and sales data, both in-store and online.
What Shaped April
- Beverages dominated the month
Beverages surged +9.39% MoM to 23.83% value share, pulling away from meat (14.75%) and snacks (14.08%). Beer led the charge at 6.87% value share (+17.38% MoM), carbonated drinks reached 5.77% (+9.75% MoM), and wine grew +12.20% MoM. Water held steady at 3.13%. This is the first warm-weather spending wave: outdoor socializing, grilling season, and post-Easter celebrations driving liquid consumption.
- Special occasions held but fill-in took over
Fill-in trips surged to 39.34% (from March's 20.36%), now the dominant shopping mission. Special occasions remain elevated at 34.41% (vs 24.45% in March), extending the Easter effect into April. Routine replenishment collapsed from 33.75% to just 13.13%. Stock-up (4.75%) and discovery (4.77%) are marginal. Shoppers are topping up between occasions, not planning ahead.
- Ice cream season arrived
Ice Cream and Desserts posted the single biggest MoM surge at +73.02%, building on March's +126.29%. At 1.77% value share, it's still small but growing fast. Sweet snacks remain the top subcategory at 8.08% value share despite a -9.63% MoM correction. Salty snacks held at 4.23% (-5.06% MoM). The post-Easter dip in confectionery is mild; summer indulgence is replacing holiday gifting.
- Young adults dominated spending
The 25-34 age bracket commanded 53.72% of all spending, a dramatic concentration. 18-24 followed at 17.94%, making under-35s responsible for over 71% of value. Women drove 80.20% of spending. Full Nest III families led life stages at 22.19%, DINKs at 18.70%, Full Nest II at 16.13%. The family share (Full Nest I+II+III) reached 50.57%. Young Professionals dropped to 6.85%.
- Thursday replaced Sunday as the peak day
Thursday carried 18.47% of weekly value, a sharp shift from March's Sunday dominance (17.00%). Wednesday (16.60%) and Friday (16.58%) formed a strong midweek cluster. Sunday collapsed to 9.83%, the weakest day. Monday was similarly quiet at 10.98%. Post-holiday, shopping reverted to workweek patterns. Weekend leisure shopping is over.
What Just Changed. And Why It Matters
- From preparation to consumption
March was Easter prep: cooking ingredients surged (+25.65% MoM), snacks exploded (+52.82% MoM), special occasions doubled. April flipped: cooking ingredients collapsed (-6.19% MoM), snacks corrected (-2.34% MoM), but beverages surged (+9.39% MoM). The basket moved from stocking to consuming. Fill-in became the dominant trip type (39.34%). Shoppers aren't planning; they're replenishing what they already bought.
- Beverages overtook the growth story
In March, snacks were the headline (+52.82% MoM). In April, beverages took over (+9.39% MoM). Beer at 6.87% value share is now the second-largest subcategory after sweet snacks (8.08%). Carbonated drinks (5.77%) surpassed salty snacks (4.23%). The warm-weather transition is reshaping the top of the basket: liquid refreshment is displacing pantry-filling.
- The protein story stalled
Meat overall barely moved (+0.65% MoM) and stays deeply negative year-on-year (-2.92% YoY). Pork surged (+17.55% MoM) on grilling demand, beef continued its streak (+59.20% MoM), but fish crashed (-52.57% MoM) and canned meat fell (-12.26% MoM). Chicken and turkey, the largest protein at 3.33% value share, dipped (-1.09% MoM). Post-Easter, the protein mix is shifting toward fresh grilling cuts and away from everything else.
- Sunday shopping collapsed
March: Sunday was king at 17.00%. April: Sunday crashed to 9.83%, the weakest day. Thursday (18.47%) took over. The midweek cluster (Wed-Thu-Fri) now captures 51.65% of all value. This is the clearest signal that Easter's weekend occasion shopping is over. Retailers activating on Thursday and Friday will capture the majority of April spend.
- Home care's structural decline deepened
Home care posted a mild MoM bounce (+0.95%) but the YoY figure is catastrophic: -31.66%. This is not seasonal. Household products within home care surged +24.96% MoM (restocking cleaning supplies post-Easter), but laundry care fell -18.33% MoM. The category is being squeezed from both sides: less frequent purchasing and trading down. At 2.56% value share, home care is barely visible in the basket.
- Personal care showed real recovery
Personal care grew +2.10% MoM and +7.18% YoY, the only non-food category with positive year-on-year growth. Face and body care leads at 0.72% value share, hair care at 0.48%. After months of decline, shoppers are reinvesting in personal care as spring arrives. Still tiny (1.92% total) but directionally positive for the first time in quarters.
Dan Marc
Brands That Moved the Market
This table ranks the top brands by Retail Media Score (RMS), a composite index that measures brand performance across key retail metrics. It shows each brand's current score and month-over-month change, highlighting which brands gained or lost momentum.
How Shoppers Chose: Category Dynamics
The charts below highlight the fastest-growing and fastest-declining subcategories by sales value share, measured through month-over-month (MoM) and year-over-year (YoY) changes, identifying where consumer spending is shifting the most.
Top 5 Growth Categories (MoM):
Top 5 Declining Categories (MoM):
How Shoppers Chose:
Category Sales Highlights
Sales value performance across main categories, with month-over-month (MoM) and year-over-year (YoY) changes showing how consumer spending shifted.
Where the Money Went: Category by Category
Top 15 subcategories ranked by sales value share in April, showing where consumer spending concentrated the most across the product mix.
Sales value distribution by day of the month and hour of the day, highlighting peak spending windows and recurring calendar patterns throughout April.
Detailed breakdown by main category: each section shows the subcategory ranking by sales value share alongside the top 5 brands by Retail Media Score (RMS), revealing both where the money went and which brands led within each category.
Meat & Processed Meats
Dairy & Eggs
Bakery
Snacks
Base Foods & Cooking Ingredients
Beverages
Fruits & Vegetables
Personal Care
Home Care & Cleaning
Who Is Buying – Life Stage & Demographics
Shopper profile breakdown across five demographic dimensions: life stage, age bracket, gender, shopping mission type, and geographic distribution by county. The regional chart reflects sales value distribution, revealing who is buying, why they shop, and where spending concentrates.
By Life Stage
By Age
By Gender
By Shopping Mission
By County
