A fascinating fresh data point comes from Spain. NIQ data reported this week suggests shoppers are visiting stores 10% more often than at the beginning of 2026 while purchasing fewer units on each trip. That's a different shopper from the one simply doing one giant weekly shop.
What if more shopping trips don't mean more shopping?
Spanish consumers are visiting stores around 10% more frequently than at the beginning of the year.
But they're buying fewer items each time.
That's a fascinating behavioural shift.
It suggests shoppers aren't simply consuming more.
They're managing more.
Comparing.
Planning.
Watching expenditure.
Responding to offers.
Making smaller decisions more frequently.
For retailers and brands, that changes the communication opportunity.
A shopper making more frequent decisions creates more potential moments of influence.
But it also creates a higher bar for relevance.
Because when people are actively managing their spending, generic promotional noise becomes easier to ignore.
Useful information becomes more valuable.
What is on offer?
Where?
For how long?
Is it worth changing my planned purchase?
The strategic shopper doesn't necessarily want more advertising.
They want better information.
Perhaps that's the real opportunity.
More shopping occasions shouldn't mean more messages.
They should mean more useful ones.