Axonify, the AI-Powered Frontline Enablement Platform, today released new research revealing the impact of rising grocery prices on how customers regard in-store operations and experience. The report found that even as shoppers become more price-conscious, they are also becoming less tolerant of a poor in-store experience.

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In the survey, 92% of shoppers say grocery prices have risen over the past year, and 67% say they are extremely or very concerned about the cost of groceries. But consumers also reported that the scrutiny that was once isolated to prices now extends to the entire store experience. Forty-two percent (42%) say they notice in-store problems more than they used to, while 58% say a poor in-store experience feels frustrating in the current higher-price environment.

The new report from Axonify, Eye on the Aisles: Higher Prices, Higher Stakes for Customer Experience, surveyed over 1,200 U.S. and Canadian grocery shoppers in August 2026.

Nearly two-thirds (61%) of shoppers rank competitive prices as the top factor in a good grocery experience. Yet the survey found price is not among the strongest predictors of how shoppers actually rate their overall experience. Quality and freshness, cleanliness, store atmosphere, selection, and frontline service all showed a stronger relationship with shoppers’ overall experience ratings than price did.

“Grocery and retail operators can’t control inflation, but they can control how their frontline workers and managers deliver the best in-store experience,” said Melissa Burghardt, CEO at Axonify. “While some operators may consider cutting labor to protect margins, this new data shows the risk of allowing the customer experience to erode when shoppers are already feeling squeezed. Protecting frontline capacity is an investment in the experience that keeps shoppers coming back.”

Rising prices are putting store loyalty on the line

A vast majority (88%) of shoppers report that they shop at more than one grocery store in a typical month, with 69% of that group saying they shop multiple stores to find better prices. Separately, 42% of respondents said they have cut back on visits to their most-frequented store. While shoppers said rising prices were the primary catalyst to shop elsewhere, long checkout lines, out-of-stocks, and a better experience also registered.

A generational cut of the data sharpens the point, with 57% of Gen Z shoppers saying they would pay more for a noticeably better grocery experience — the highest of any generation surveyed. And 56% say they have already reduced visits to a grocery store they once frequented regularly. The report includes an analysis across generations, revealing how Boomers, Gen X, Millennials and Gen Z differ in their tolerance for price-versus-experience trade-offs.

For grocery operators navigating the tension between margin pressure and experience quality, the findings put a renewed spotlight on frontline execution and the in-store workers who impact both the direct and indirect customer experience. Purpose-built platforms can enable their teams for success through personalized daily learning, AI coaching, reinforcement, task guidance and communications that keep frontline employees in sync and customer satisfaction high.

Grocery operators throughout the US, Canada and Europe already use Axonify’s platform to keep frontline teams informed and ready to perform, particularly during periods of sustained price pressure.

The full report is available here.

About Axonify

Axonify is the AI-Powered Frontline Enablement Platform that helps organizations close the gap between learning and execution to drive business impact. Through Immersive Microlearning, Guided Execution, and Insights & Action, Axonify helps frontline employees ramp faster, apply what they know, and perform with confidence every shift, while giving leaders the tools they need to execute initiatives, manage change, and the visibility to improve performance before issues compound. Axonify serves some of the world’s largest frontline teams across retail, grocery, financial services, healthcare, and logistics, with more than 4 million employees relying on the platform across 160+ countries. Learn more at axonify.com.

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