Cheers to Holiday Sales: Driving Grocery and Alcohol Conversions This Season

From holiday dinners and cocktail parties to last-minute Grocery runs, Food, Snacks, Alcohol, and Non-Alcoholic Beverages are at the center of seasonal celebration. These categories play a critical role in both planned and impulse purchases, with consumers looking for quality, convenience, and inspiration. To win during the 2025 holiday season, Food, Beverage, and Alcohol brands must be ready to meet consumers across digital and in-store moments, with the right messaging, channels, and shoppability. In this section, we break down the key commerce trends shaping the Grocery and Alcohol industries in 2025, and what they mean for your holiday strategy.

Consumers are Prioritizing High-Quality Ingredients

• According to Innova Market Insights, 58 percent of consumers worldwide are prioritizing quality in ingredients and products when choosing their Food & Beverage items.

“Clean Labels” Are Trending Instead Of Over-Processed Foods

• According to Food Navigator, consumers are opting for products with fewer, more recognizable ingredients or “clean labels” over highly processed foods and preservatives.

Bold Flavor Combinations and Customizable Beverages are Trending With Younger Consumers

• Food Navigator found that bold “fusion” recipes and multi-cuisine cooking is trending, and consumers are experimenting more with this concept. Likewise, when it comes to beverages, Business Insider reported that unique and customizable beverages are all the rage with Gen Z.

*Measured by Purchase Intent Rate: The percentage of shoppers who opened a MikMak Commerce experience and then clicked through to at least one retailer

According to the MikMak Shopping Index, Grocery shoppers are showing higher Purchase Intent this year than last, meaning they are more likely to click through to a retailer from MikMak media. This could mean that your media placements will be more effective with consumers in 2025. Keeping a close eye on your commerce data can help you better strategize in real time.

Food & Beverage Brands Invest Mostly In Social; Display Ads Have Risen in 2025

Food & Beverage Media Mix by Traffic

According to the MikMak Shopping Index, Paid Social remains the top channel that brands are investing in, driving 67 percent of traffic (measured by Commerce Loads). However, this is 2.5 percent less than in 2024. 

What channels is this traffic shifting to? The MikMak Shopping Index revealed that Paid Display (+3.6 percent), Paid Video (+1.6 percent), and Paid Search (+0.3 percent) have all seen traffic increases compared to last year.

US Grocery Shoppers are Most Likely to Come From Media Displayed on Meta

Top Grocery Social Channel: Meta

US Share of Purchase Intent Clicks 

Like the general landscape of 2025, media channels have also seen major volatility. However, data from the MikMak Shopping Index has shown that for Grocery brands, Meta has consistently seen the most in-market traffic in 2025. However, in Q2, we saw TikTok gain some share from Meta. This shift could likely be attributed to the uncertainty surrounding the TikTok ban in Q1. 

To ensure your brand invests in the right channels to reach your target consumers, keeping a close eye on real-time data can help your brand adjust its advertising spend to the channels that are most likely to convert.

US Grocery Shoppers are Most Likely to Check Out at Walmart

Top Retailer: Walmart

For more insights like these, check out our Quarterly European Benchmarks, which explore top social channels and retailers across various countries.

Consumers Are Craving Bold Flavor Innovation

• According to Innova Market Insights, "wildly inventive" flavor combinations are on the rise in flavored spirits and RTDs. Alcohol brands are leaning into global fusion, spice blends, and nostalgic flavors to capture consumer interest.

Low and Non-Alcoholic Options Are Driving Growth

• According to Penn State Extension, non-alcoholic beverages have grown by 67 percent since 2022 and now outpace low-alcohol alternatives in popularity. Consumers are choosing these products for health, wellness, and social flexibility.

Gen Z Is Leading the Shift Toward Mindful Drinking

• According to Vogue Business, Gen Z drinkers are consuming less alcohol overall and are drawn to brands that emphasize transparency, functionality, and occasion-based enjoyment over traditional prestige.

*Measured by Purchase Intent Rate: The percentage of shoppers who opened a MikMak Commerce experience and then clicked through to at least one retailer

According to the MikMak Shopping Index, Alcohol shoppers are showing higher Purchase Intent this year than last, meaning they are more likely to click through to a retailer from MikMak media. This could mean that your ads and media will be more powerful with consumers in 2025. Keeping a close eye on your commerce data can help you better understand the effectiveness of your ads.

Alcohol Brands Invest Mostly In Social; Paid Video Ads Have Risen in 2025

Alcohol Media Mix by Commerce Loads

Commerce Load: The number of times a MikMak Commerce Experience is opened

According to the MikMak Shopping Index, Paid Social remains the top channel that brands are investing in, driving 58.5% percent of traffic (measured by Commerce Loads). However, this is 5.1 percent less than in 2024. 

What channels is this traffic shifting to? The MikMak Shopping Index revealed that Paid Video (+4.6 percent), Paid Search (+0.4 percent), and Organic Social (+0.4 percent) have all seen traffic increases compared to last year.

US Alcohol Shoppers are Most Likely to Come From Media Displayed on Meta

Top Alcohol Social Channel: Meta

To succeed this holiday season and set your brand up for long-term growth, build for agility, intelligence, and scale. That means not only responding to today’s commerce trends but actively preparing for what’s next.

AI disruption, evolving consumer behavior, and media fragmentation are not short-term challenges. They are structural shifts that will define the next era of brand marketing.

So, what does it take to future-proof your brand?

1. Build an Always-On, Full-Funnel Marketing Strategy

Relying on bottom-funnel performance media is no longer enough. Brands must invest in upper-funnel efforts that bring new consumers into the pipeline while ensuring every moment of inspiration is instantly shoppable. This approach unlocks growth, even when lower-funnel conversions plateau.

2. Prioritize First-Party Data and Real-Time Optimization

Brands that win will act on real-time signals, not quarterly reports. Whether it's shifting shopper demand, a sudden platform change, or a geopolitical event like new tariffs, you need infrastructure that can detect and adapt in the moment. That’s why future-proof brands drive profitability and reduce costs by leveraging first-party data and analytics to improve marketing effectiveness throughout the holiday season.

3. Prepare for Agentic Shopping and AI-Led Media Planning

The rise of AI shopping agents means consumers may never even see your brand if your data isn’t structured, accessible, and relevant. Generative search will prioritize brands with strong product availability, rich metadata, and trusted presence. Ensure your product feeds, retailer integrations, and brand content are optimized now, because agentic commerce is here to stay.

4. Be Platform-Agnostic and Commerce-First

The media landscape will continue to fragment. From Meta and Google to Reddit, ChatGPT, and future platforms not yet on the radar, your brand must show up wherever consumers discover, consider, or convert. MikMak helps brands accelerate sales and grow market share by making every consumer touchpoint shoppable and equipping teams with the right consumer, channel, and retailer insights.

The path to success in 2025 and beyond will not be linear. But brands that embed flexibility, data-driven decision-making, and channel-agnostic commerce into their core strategies will be the ones that thrive this holiday season, in 2026, and far into the future.

For more information on what your brand can expect, and how your brand can plan for the rest of 2025 and beyond, check out our recent State of the Union video, where MikMak Founder and CEO, Rachel Tipograph further explains these trends.