Retail demand is not simply increasing or decreasing. It is becoming more fragmented, selective, and difficult to predict.
Consumer behaviour has always influenced the movement of goods. Today, however, the connection between what people buy and how freight must move is becoming more complex.
Households continue to manage higher living costs while becoming more deliberate about every purchase. At the same time, eating habits, brand preferences, product formats, and shopping channels are changing. For suppliers and retailers, this does not necessarily mean less freight. It means demand may shift more quickly between products, brands, package sizes, and locations.
In our experience at Logistics Alliance, freight strategies built around stable forecasts and consistent order patterns can struggle when consumer demand becomes more fragmented. Transportation must become more flexible, coordinated, and responsive as a result.
Consumers are buying differently
NielsenIQ’s Canadian consumer research reports that fast-moving consumer goods spending increased 4.8% year over year, while the number of units purchased per shopping trip declined 3.2%. Among Canadian consumers, 40% say they buy whichever brand is on sale, 36% shop at discount or value retailers, and 32% switch to lower-priced brands.¹
Private-label products are also becoming a more accepted part of the basket. Forty-two percent of Canadians say they are buying more private label than before, while 72% view these products as good value and 68% consider them a viable alternative to national brands.²
These behaviours can make demand less predictable at the individual brand and SKU level. A promotion, price difference, or change in perceived value can shift volume quickly, even when overall category consumption remains relatively stable.
Household budgets continue to reinforce this selectivity. Statistics Canada reported that grocery prices rose an average of 3.5% in 2025, compared with 2.2% in 2024. Food prices overall increased 3.2% during the year, while shelter costs rose 3.0%, adding further pressure to household budgets and encouraging consumers to be more deliberate about where and how they spend.³
People are consuming differently too
Mondelēz International’s State of Snacking research shows that snacks have moved beyond their traditional role as a small bite between meals. Nearly six in ten consumers across selected global markets snack at least once a day, while convenience, value, social occasions, health, indulgence, nostalgia, and novelty all influence consumer choices.⁴
Mondelēz’s Future Trends report also points to more fluid lifestyles, smaller and more varied households, digital shopping, health-focused choices, and growing demand for new product experiences. These trends may support more portion sizes, package formats, functional products, limited editions, and occasion-specific offerings.⁵
The growing use of GLP-1 medications is another emerging influence on food purchasing. Canadian research indicates that households using these medications are buying groceries less frequently, reducing overall grocery spending, and shifting some purchases away from indulgent snacks toward smaller portions and more nutrient-dense or functional products. While this remains one factor among many shaping consumer demand, continued adoption could further change category volumes, product mixes, package formats, and replenishment patterns across the food supply chain.
Even packaging decisions can affect the freight profile. Statistics Canada found that 29.6% of eligible grocery products tracked between 2021 and 2023 experienced shrinkflation. Changes in package and case sizes can influence pallet configuration, trailer cube, handling requirements, and replenishment frequency, even when the category itself remains familiar.⁶
What changing demand means for freight
The important logistics question is not simply whether consumers are buying more or less. It is how the shape of demand is changing.
Suppliers and retailers may need to manage:
- More variation across products, brands, and package sizes
- Category shifts influenced by changing health, dietary, and portion preferences
- Sharper volume swings tied to promotions and price changes
- Smaller or less predictable replenishment orders
- More frequent product launches and limited-time offerings
- Greater pressure to place inventory in the right location
- Shorter response windows when demand changes unexpectedly
These conditions can make it more difficult for an individual supplier to consistently produce efficient full truckloads. They can also increase the value of well-managed LTL transportation, freight consolidation, and flexible mode selection.
Why coordination becomes more important
A lower-volume shipment does not automatically need to become a higher-cost or less reliable shipment.
When compatible LTL freight is coordinated across a broader network, shipments can be consolidated to make better use of available capacity. An asset-agnostic transportation strategy can also provide flexibility to move between carriers or modes as order sizes, service requirements, and seasonal pressures change.
Visibility becomes equally important. When demand is less predictable, suppliers and retailers need to understand what is moving, what may be at risk, and where intervention is required. Connected shipment information allows transportation teams to respond earlier instead of discovering a problem after a delivery window has already been missed.
At Logistics Alliance, we see these capabilities working together: consolidation, flexible capacity, retail-specific execution, and proactive shipment visibility through Altruos. The objective is not to add complexity. It is to help suppliers and retailers manage changing demand without allowing freight costs, manual work, and service risk to increase unnecessarily.
Freight strategy must follow the consumer
Consumer habits will continue to evolve. Shoppers may change brands, seek better value, choose different formats, or shift when and where they purchase. Freight strategy must be able to adjust with them.
For suppliers and retailers, that means looking beyond individual shipment rates and considering the broader transportation structure. Better consolidation, flexible capacity, stronger visibility, and coordinated execution can help turn fragmented demand into a more manageable and efficient freight program.
Connect With Logistics Alliance
Logistics Alliance helps suppliers and retailers manage LTL freight across major Canadian retail networks through connected planning, consolidation, flexible transportation options, and proactive shipment visibility. Connect with our team to discuss how your freight strategy can adapt as consumer demand continues to change.
Sources and Further Reading
1. NielsenIQ Canada. “From Caution to Control: How Canadian Consumers Are Redefining Value in 2026.” December 2025.
Supports the Canadian findings related to FMCG spending, units purchased per trip, promotion-based shopping, discount retailers, and switching to lower-priced brands.
View the NielsenIQ report
2. NielsenIQ Canada. “Finding Harmony on the Shelf: Canada’s Turn to Lead.” June 2025.
Supports the Canadian private-label findings, including increased purchasing, perceptions of value, and acceptance as an alternative to national brands.
View the NielsenIQ report
3. Statistics Canada. “Consumer Price Index: Annual Review, 2025.” January 19, 2026.
Supports the figures related to annual grocery, food, and shelter price increases in Canada.
View the Statistics Canada release
4. Mondelēz International. “State of Snacking.”
Supports the discussion of snacking frequency and the influence of convenience, value, wellness, indulgence, novelty, and social occasions on consumer behaviour.
Explore the State of Snacking research
5. Mondelēz International. “State of Snacking: Future Trends, 25 Powerful Trends Shaping the Future of Food and Snacking Within the Next Decade.” 2023.
Supports the discussion of fluid lifestyles, demographic change, digital shopping, wellness, sustainability, new product experiences, and evolving food formats.
View the Future Trends report
6. Statistics Canada. “Shrinkflation: Food-Specific Quantity Adjustments in the Consumer Price Index.” February 2025.
Supports the finding that 29.6% of eligible grocery products tracked between 2021 and 2023 experienced a reduction in product quantity.
View the Statistics Canada research.