Opportunity to Indulge: The In-Store Bakery

By: Allison Febrey, Manager, Research & Insights, FMI

When I was a teenager, the quickest way to make friends was through baked goods, especially homemade. While cupcakes were highly coveted, I opted to make cookies my specialty. Needless to say, we all got by with little sleep and lots of sugar. While I still love to bake cookies, nowadays I find myself relying on my grocery store's in-store bakery to provide my favorite baked goods.

I'm in good company when shopping my store's in-store bakery. Over half of shoppers buy bakery items at their primary grocery store, and almost 70% of shoppers consider it at least somewhat important for their primary store to have an in-store bakery.

Walking through my store's bakery is an incredible, sensory experience. The smell of fresh cookies, the perfectly frosted donuts and the enticing single-serve desserts create an experience that's impossible to resist. It is no surprise that these treats top the list of impulse purchases for shoppers.

Besides having a sweet tooth like me, shoppers point to a few different reasons that inspire them to purchase an unplanned bakery item. Being “just in the mood” (55%) and eye-catching displays (36%) topped the list of influencers.

Sale specials or promotions can also prompt purchases of indulgent items. Shoppers report that a sale special can prompt them to:

• purchase a different brand (58%)
• buy something you had not planned on buying (66%)
• purchase a different type (57%)
• buy something you never bought before (57%)
• stock up/buy more than you normally would (39%)

Regardless of my sweet tooth, the in-store bakery is home to breads, rolls and other more savory items. To learn about shoppers' attitudes towards these items, and much more about their behaviors in the in-store bakery, download the Power of In-Store Bakery 2024.

The Power of In-Store Bakery