The changes in consumer buying behaviour in supermarkets were recorded by a survey conducted by IELKA (Institute for Research on Retail Trade of Consumer Goods), using a sample of 1,500 consumers from all over Greece in February 2025.
In general, this recorded stability with regard to the main factors affecting purchasing behaviour. Specifically, an average of 3.2 visits to supermarkets were recorded, slightly higher than in the previous year, but generally stable compared to previous measurements. This amounted to 13 visits per month. Correspondingly, these visits take place in around 2.2 supermarket chains on average, also showing the multichannel trends recorded. 
Notably, despite price increases, consumers reported a smaller sum spent on weekly shopping, which may have to do with either smaller 'baskets' of purchases or allocation of money to other goods or services. In relation to other outlets, bakeries recorded the highest number of annual visits at 10, followed by the coffee shops at six, mini markets/newsagents at 5.5 and then specialist outlets at around 4 visits per month.
In terms of factors influencing consumers' food choices in recent years, money remains the main criterion for 47% of consumers, but with a significant decrease compared to 2024. At the same time, quality is the main criterion for 30% of consumers, but this is increased compared to the previous year. So the last year has seen a gradual de-escalation in the importance consumers place on the price of products compared to 2024, while the "gap" in relation to quality is closing significantly. It should be noted, of course, that there is a large difference between the two criteria in comparison with earlier measurements, when they were practically equivalent.
It is also noteworthy that consumers have consistently over the last two years stated that they prefer low prices rather than offers. While from 2017 to 2022, practically the majority of consumers stated that they preferred offers rather than low prices (there was also a significant indifferent percentage), from 2023 onwards this has changed, with the majority of consumers no longer preferring offers and only 19% responding positively. At the same time, however, there is still a majority of consumers who say they actively hunt for offers in the supermarket. In particular, a 58% share was recorded in the latest measurement, relatively unchanged over the last five years. In practice, that is, consumers are taking advantage of promotions in their supermarket purchases, but would prefer lower prices instead of these discounts.