**Loyalty Is So Last Aisle**

Shoppers are not just swapping brands anymore. They are swapping stores.

A new report from Alvarez and Marsal shows more grocery shoppers plan to switch retailers entirely, opting for less expensive stores instead of just trading down within the same shelf. The move signals a deeper shift in behavior toward value-focused retailers. In plain English, consumers are not just reaching for the cheaper pasta. They are driving to a different parking lot.

That sounds ominous. Yet Walmart’s CFO John David Rainey says the consumer continues to be very resilient, despite concerns about rising gas prices. So we have two truths at once. Shoppers feel pressure. Shoppers are still spending.

Why it matters. When traffic migrates to lower-priced retailers, power shifts. Retailers that win on price gain leverage with suppliers. Brands that relied on loyalty inside a single chain may find that loyalty does not travel. If your growth plan depends on premium shelf placement at one grocer, you may be missing the bigger migration.

Quick take. The real trade down is not from branded to private label. It is from one retail model to another. Value is becoming a destination, not just a filter. If you are a CPG brand, the question is simple. Are you stocked where the new value shopper is headed, or are you waiting for them to come back?