CHICAGO, May 17, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Numerator, a data and tech company serving the market research space, has published a SNAP Shopper Scorecard to analyze how retailer selection and spending differs between SNAP and Non-SNAP households, and identify the relative importance of the SNAP shopper group for each particular retailer. While SNAP shoppers rely on their benefits for grocery staples, much of their shopping occurs without the aid of SNAP dollars. The scorecard provides a view of SNAP consumer behavior across shopping trips, regardless of whether SNAP benefits were utilized.
Key findings include:
- SNAP shoppers spend more on groceries – but make smaller, more frequent trips. Compared to Non-SNAP shoppers, SNAP shoppers are twice as likely to come from larger households – resulting in higher spend overall, particularly on groceries (+42% vs. Non-SNAP shoppers). SNAP shoppers are making 68% more grocery trips per year but spending 15% less per trip on average than Non-SNAP shoppers.
- Walmart is the top destination for grocery shopping among SNAP shoppers – making it particularly susceptible to SNAP benefit declines. Walmart captures over a quarter (25.5%) of SNAP shoppers’ grocery dollars annually, compared to 20% for Non-SNAP shoppers, and nearly all SNAP shoppers (96.9%) purchased groceries at Walmart in the past year.
- Low-price retailers are also likely to feel significant impact from the end of the Emergency Allotments program. SNAP shoppers spend a disproportionate amount of their grocery dollars at low-price retailers, with 7-Eleven, Dollar General, Dollar Tree, and Winco Foods all capturing roughly twice as much share among SNAP vs Non-SNAP shoppers.
- Target, Whole Foods and Publix are less vulnerable to SNAP benefit declines. SNAP shoppers are less likely than Non-SNAP shoppers to frequent these more premium retailers – and when they do visit, they spend less than Non-SNAP shoppers, on average.
- SNAP households are less likely to purchase groceries on Amazon but spend more when they do. 46% of SNAP households buy groceries on Amazon compared to 57% of Non-SNAP households. However, SNAP households who do shop on Amazon for groceries spend about 18% more with the e-tailer ($236 annually vs. $200 for Non-SNAP), likely driven by their larger households and increased grocery needs.
- SNAP shoppers favor Sam’s Club over Costco. While Costco captures slightly more SNAP shopper grocery share overall than Sam’s Club (6.0% vs. 4.3%), Costco is seeing significantly less than its “fair share” among this group (Index 64 vs. Non SNAP shoppers). Sam’s Club draws in a larger percentage of SNAP shoppers (42.2% vs. 36.4% for Costco) and higher overall spending.
Top Grocery Retailers Among SNAP Shoppers
Ranked by SNAP Shopper Grocery Share
| Retailer | % of SNAP shoppers annual grocery spend | % of Non-SNAP shoppers annual grocery spend | % of SNAP shoppers who bought groceries at a given retailer | % of Non-SNAP shoppers who bought groceries at a given retailer |
| Walmart | 25.5% | 20.0% | 96.9% | 88.2% |
| Kroger | 8.4% | 9.9% | 50.2% | 46.9% |
| Costco | 6.0% | 9.3% | 36.4% | 42.2% |
| Albertsons | 5.9% | 5.8% | 42.1% | 35.9% |
| Sam’s Club | 4.3% | 3.4% | 42.2% | 35.1% |
| Ahold Delhaize | 4.2% | 4.5% | 25.5% | 25.3% |
| Publix | 2.7% | 4.8% | 19.2% | 23.4% |
| 7-Eleven | 2.3% | 1.1% | 76.1% | 36.7% |
| Dollar General | 2.3% | 1.1% | 67.2% | 44.4% |
| Aldi | 2.1% | 2.8% | 42.4% | 39.7% |
Source: Numerator Insights 04/01/2022 - 03/31/2023. View the SNAP Shopper Scorecard for the full list of retailers (grocery and non-grocery), buy rates, and data benchmarked to non-SNAP shoppers. For the purpose of this analysis, SNAP shoppers are defined as those with 12+ trips utilizing SNAP or WIC benefits in the past 12 months.
Numerator’s SNAP Consumer Insights Center publishes research on shopping trips where SNAP / WIC benefits are leveraged, households using these programs, and the impact of ending the Emergency Allotment program. New analyses showing channel, category, and geographic impact will be released in the coming weeks. Visit www.numerator.com/snap for the latest research.
About Numerator:
Numerator is a data and tech company bringing speed and scale to market research. Numerator blends first-party data from over 1 million US households with advanced technology to provide 360-degree consumer understanding for the market research industry that has been slow to change. Headquartered in Chicago, IL, Numerator has 2,000 employees worldwide; 80 of the top 100 CPG brands’ manufacturers are Numerator clients.
