Winning in emerging growth channels: key insights to know
08 June 2026Explore the themes raised in our latest webinar looking at global trends across discount, convenience and online channels.
Our winning in emerging growth channels webinar uncovered global trends in the discount, convenience and online channels.
The interactive session sparked discussions about what is fuelling growth and expansion in these three channels and the strategies needed to stay competitive in a dynamic, multi-channel world.
In this article, we revisit some of the themes and questions raised by attendees and highlight the content to enable subscribers to access more insight.
What is the opportunity for suppliers within the variety discount channel?
To 2030, variety discount will be the fastest growing discount format with a CAGR of 6.3%. The format offers suppliers a fast‑growing route to incremental volume, new shopper reach, and rapid trial. Retailers such as Action are scaling quickly, driven by sharp value, tight cost control and frequent range refreshes.
This creates opportunities for suppliers that can deliver lean supply models, exclusive or channel‑specific packs and innovation to support frequent resets. As discounters broaden missions into everyday essentials, home, beauty and seasonal categories, they are becoming more relevant to mainstream shoppers. For suppliers, this channel can unlock access to a high-traffic, value-driven environment.
Our variety discounter playbook provides an essential guide to the UK’s variety discounters.
What are the opportunities for branded suppliers with Lidl and Aldi?
Lidl and Aldi continue to expand and premiumise their propositions, creating openings for branded suppliers that can deliver value, efficiency and differentiation. Their growth is being fuelled by strong price perception, rising quality credentials and broader missions, which increases the relevance of brands that can prove category value and drive footfall.
Opportunities exist in targeted NPD, format‑led innovation, and channel‑specific pack architecture. As both retailers scale digital touchpoints and loyalty programmes, suppliers that bring data‑led insights, operational reliability and joint‑value creation can strengthen their position. For many categories, Lidl and Aldi now offer access to high‑volume, repeat‑purchase missions where brands can win through clarity of role, strong price‑per‑use stories and disciplined execution.
What will be the primary model that grocery retailers will adopt to grow online?
Grocery retailers will primarily adopt a store‑first fulfilment model to grow online. This approach shifts order preparation from costly off‑site centres to stores themselves, turning them into high‑productivity hubs.
Orders are picked directly from shelves or supported by back‑of‑store automation, improving speed, reducing cost and maximising use of existing assets. Many retailers are integrating robotics and dense storage into store backrooms, creating hybrid networks that are more adaptable and cost‑efficient. Most online orders will be prepared in‑store and delivered through blended fleets, enabling retailers to maintain control while flexing capacity. This model underpins sustainable, scalable omnichannel growth.
Find out more in our global online trends 2026 report.
What are the opportunities with social and quick commerce?
Social and quick commerce are reshaping how shoppers discover and buy, offering suppliers new routes to conversion and trial.
Social commerce suits impulse‑led and visually driven categories such as beauty and wellness, where inspiration and purchase happen in the same moment. Success depends on creator partnerships, shoppable content and agile fulfilment that can respond to viral demand. Quick commerce, meanwhile, creates opportunities for mission‑based activation in convenience categories such as snacks, drinks and health essentials. Suppliers that tailor pack sizes, pricing and availability for rapid delivery can capture incremental occasions and reinforce brand presence in urban markets. Both channels reward speed, relevance and collaboration, turning immediacy into a competitive advantage.
Is AI really going to change how people shop?
AI will reshape how people shop, but the change will build over time. It is already streamlining list building, recommendations and reordering, helping shoppers move faster and make more confident choices. The bigger shift ahead is that parts of decision‑making will gradually move from the shopper to algorithms, with AI anticipating needs, surfacing personalised options and automating routine purchases.
For suppliers, this means competing for algorithmic visibility, ensuring products are easy for AI systems to recognise, recommend and replenish.
We explore the role of agentic AI and future impacts here.
What is the key challenge facing the convenience channel in the next few years?
The key challenge for the convenience channel in the next few years is staying relevant as discounters win on price and supermarkets win on range. Convenience’s strength has always been location and accessibility, so the priority is understanding evolving shopper needs and flexing the offer to each mission and neighbourhood. Retailers will need to become far more mission‑focused in how they plan layouts, adjacencies and assortment, ensuring stores reflect the trips shoppers actually make like top‑up and food‑for‑now. This can be overcome through sharper localisation, clearer missions and formats that make the most of convenience’s proximity advantage.
Will more convenience retailers invest in food-to-go?
More convenience retailers will continue to invest in food‑to‑go, but the pace will vary by market. Food‑to‑go remains one of the strongest ways for convenience to differentiate, driving higher margins, repeat missions and stronger day‑part relevance. Global leaders in innovation in this space such as 7‑Eleven and Zabka show what’s possible by combining quality, speed and consistency in food‑for‑now missions.
Growth will depend on retailers sharpening mission‑based ranges, improving freshness and investing in operational execution. Suppliers can support by offering scalable solutions and innovation tailored to immediate consumption. As shoppers seek convenience, value and quality on the go, food‑to‑go will remain a strategic priority for the channel.
How suppliers can win across emerging growth channels
Across all three growth channels, suppliers that focus on value‑led formats, mission‑based ranging, stronger digital readiness and faster, more agile execution will be best placed to win. Success increasingly depends on understanding how shoppers move between missions and platforms, tailoring propositions to each, and collaborating closely with retailers on localisation, fulfilment and activation. In a landscape defined by value, proximity and immediacy, the advantage goes to suppliers who can adapt quickly and deliver relevance at every touchpoint.