No surveys. No biases. Only truth from billions of transactions. Actionable Insights with Retail Media.
The shopping pattern in November 2025 is clear: demand didn’t slow, it sharpened. Family life stages – Full Nest II (21.8%), Full Nest I (20.2%) and DINKs (18.7%) – dominate spending, all operating on tight household disposable income. Trips are short and purpose-led (Immediate / Urgency and Fill-in missions, with early Special Occasion build-up), and spending is concentrated in the late afternoon and early evening 16:00–20:00 window. Baskets shift away from summer treats into warm, cooked-at-home meals – pork, fruits, canned vegetables and frozen meat – showing shoppers are time-poor, value-conscious and strongly mission-driven.
Based on 100% real transactions, in-store and online. No panels. No projections. Just reality.
* Over 100 million anonymised retail transactions analysed, representing more than €1B in sales value. Based on actual behavioural and sales data, both in-store and online.
What Shaped November
- Family life stages dominated demand. Full Nest II (21.8%), Full Nest I (20.2%) and DINKs (18.7%) together accounted for 60.7% of all customers, making family and dual-income households the core driver of sales and retail media reach.
- Short, mission-led trips defined how people shopped. Immediate / Urgency and Fill-in missions together accounted for 45.7% of all visits, with Special Occasion adding another 16.5%. The market is built around quick, purposeful trips and early festive missions rather than big, occasional stock-ups.
- Afternoon and evening concentrated most of the money. Almost three out of four euro were spent after 13:00 (74.6% of monthly sales value), with roughly one in three between 16:00 and 20:00 alone (30.2%). Retail media impact in November is heavily skewed towards late afternoon and early evening.
- End-week and weekends became the real shopping window. Thursday to Sunday concentrated just over 61.2% of monthly sales, with Saturday and Sunday together capturing 31.7% of total spend. Campaigns that are not visible from Thursday through Sunday now miss the heaviest part of the market.
- The basket shifted from autumn top-ups to full winter meals. Category sales in Pork (+19.5% MoM), Fruits (+17.0%), Canned Vegetables (+11.6%), Frozen Meat (+9.5%) and Pastry (+8.1%) all grew, signalling more warm, cooked-at-home meals anchored in meat, fruit and convenient sides.
- Summer-style indulgences and even some staples cooled down sharply. Ice Tea (–23.8% MoM), Ice Cream and Desserts (–32.0%), Oil & Vinegar (–26.0%), Sugar (–49.2%) and Turkey Meat (–56.5%) all declined, as baskets reallocated spend from cold refreshment and non-essential extras towards warm, meal-centric and value-driven categories.
What Just Changed. And Why It Matters.
- From autumn top-ups to full winter meals
Shoppers moved from topping up and snacking to building full, warm meals at home. Pork (+19.5% MoM), Fruits (+17.0%), Canned Vegetables (+11.6%), Frozen Meat (+9.5%) and Pastry (+8.1%) all grew together. This is not random; it is a clear pivot into cooked, at-home meal occasions.
Why it matters:
Brands in meat, fruit, vegetables, bakery, sauces and sides should plan meal-based retail media, not standalone promos. The winning creative in November–January is “What’s for dinner tonight?”, not “Buy more of this SKU”.
- Summer refreshment is no longer a mass behaviour
What October started as a seasonal slowdown, November turned into a clear reset. Ice Tea is down –23.8% MoM and Ice Cream & Desserts –32.0% MoM. Cold, summer-style indulgence has moved from mainstream to niche.
Why it matters:
For these categories, broad, high-reach campaigns are now inefficient. You need precision targeting: heavy users, loyalty segments, and specific missions (movie night, family treat), not full-market pushes.
- Even staples are under pressure
Sugar collapsed by –49.2% MoM and Oil & Vinegar by –26.0% MoM. These are not “nice-to-have” categories; they used to be stable pantry anchors. In November, even these are being rationed, traded down, or used from existing stock.
Why it matters:
For staple brands, the old assumption “volume is always there” no longer holds. Success now depends on pack-size strategy, value messaging and relevant bundles (meal kits, baking kits), supported by retail media targeted at budget-stretched households.
- Urgent trips still rule, but occasions are rising
Immediate / Urgency and Fill-in missions remain dominant at 45.7% of visits, but Special Occasion already accounts for 16.5%, and Gift missions 7.3%. Compared to October, occasion-driven trips are visibly building up ahead of the holidays.
Why it matters:
Retail media planning for December cannot ignore this signal. Brands should split their strategy into two clear tracks:
Track 1: Always-on for Immediate / Urgency + Fill-in (everyday, functional needs).
Track 2: Occasion-led for Special Occasion + Gift missions (premium, treat, gifting and “host a dinner” baskets).
- End-week and weekend now carry even more weight
In October, mid- and late-week were already strong. In November, Thursday–Sunday concentrated 61.2% of monthly sales, with Saturday and Sunday alone at 31.7%. Shopping is clearly being pushed towards the end of the week and the weekend.
Why it matters:
Campaigns that ramp too late or go dark Thursday–Sunday now miss the most valuable traffic. For November and the months that follow, brands should treat end-week and weekend as non-negotiable prime time for in-store, online and off-site retail media.
-
When 6 in 10 baskets come from family life stages on limited disposable income, every euro of media has to follow the mission, the time of day, and the real trip behind the receipt.
Dan Marc
CEO & Co-Founder
Brands That Moved the Market
- November didn’t reward everyone equally. Brands that leaned into warm, cooked-at-home meals and value-conscious family missions gained share, while those still anchored in summer-style refreshment or non-essential extras gave ground.
- The winners were the ones that showed up where demand actually moved: meat, fruits, canned vegetables, frozen meat and pastry – targeted to urgent and fill-in trips, early festive occasions, and late-afternoon / early-evening shopping. The contenders are close behind, but the data is clear: brands that follow the season, the mission and the real disposable budget now set the pace for the rest of the market.
How Shoppers Chose: Category Dynamics
Top 5 Growth Categories (MoM):
Top 5 Declining Categories (MoM):
How Shoppers Chose:
Category Sales Highlights
This section highlights the Month-over-Month (MoM%) sales evolution across major product categories. It shows how consumer demand shifted from the previous month, offering a snapshot of rising and falling trends at category level.
Where the Money Went: Category by Category
The charts reveal clear shopping patterns across the week, highlighting when consumers time their purchases:
Meat & Processed Meats
Dairy & Eggs
Bakery & Sweets
Base Foods & Cooking Ingredients
Beverages
Fruits & Vegetables
Home Care & Cleaning
Who Is Buying – Life Stage & Demographics
Below is who drove sales in November 2025: by life stage, age, gender, city, and shopping mission.
By Life Stage
By Age
By Gender
By City
By Shopping Mission
ACTIONABLE RETAIL MEDIA INSIGHTS FOR BRANDS
- Own the real buying moments.
Plan your retail media to peak 16:00–20:00, Thursday–Sunday, when most November sales happen. If your brand is not visible then, it is effectively out of the market. - Target the missions where your brand is naturally chosen.
Use Footprints AI audiences built on Immediate / Urgency, Fill-in, Special Occasion and Gift missions. Align your creative with the job your brand does in that trip: “quick dinner”, “something sweet”, “drink for tonight”, “bring something when visiting”. - Speak to families on tight disposable income.
Focus on Full Nest I, Full Nest II and DINKs, mainly women 25–44 with sub-€1,500 disposable income. Show how your brand helps them upgrade the meal or the moment without breaking the budget. - Position your brand inside winter meals, not in isolation.
Connect your brand to pork, fruits, canned vegetables, frozen meat and pastry baskets that are growing in November. In creative and targeting, make your brand the obvious choice to complete the meal or the occasion they already buy for. - Use Retail Media Score to set your investment level.
If your November Retail Media Score is high in your category, treat this as a “go heavy now” signal with omnichannel reach. If it is lower, use precision campaigns around your strongest missions and dayparts to win incremental baskets, not just impressions
