Footprints AI |Shopping Behaviour – Retail Insights for February 2026

No surveys. No biases. Only truth from billions of transactions. Actionable Insights with Retail Media.

February 2026 is a post-winter reset. Fresh food and cooking basics took over: fruits and vegetables led all categories at 2.54% value share (+5.62% MoM), meat bounced back hard (+16.57% MoM) after January's slump, and snacks recovered (+4.74% MoM). But chicken and turkey kept declining (-21.96% MoM). Price pressure is still pushing shoppers toward cheaper protein. Personal care staged a rebound (+12.24% MoM) after two months of drops. In value share, the month is led by fruits (5.14%) and vegetables (4.40%), followed by carbonated drinks (3.99%), cheese (3.70%), beer (3.58%), and water (3.50%).

This is a functional month. 4 in 10 trips were pure routine replenishment (40.15%), another third were quick fill-ins (33.19%). Special occasions dropped to 13.00%. Stock-up trips barely registered (4.02%). Spending peaks between 12:00–20:00, with 14:00 as the single busiest hour (8.65% of all value). Thursdays and Fridays carried the most weight (16.72% and 16.47%), Mondays the least (12.43%). In a short 28-day month, every shopping window counts.

The biggest movers tell the story: dairy surged (+28.15% MoM), preserves and pickles climbed (+24.39% MoM), eggs recovered (+20.34% MoM). All cooking-at-home signals. On the other side, salads collapsed (-41.54% MoM), household products dropped (-32.33% MoM), and chicken and turkey continued to slide. A market still cooking from scratch, but watching the budget.

Based on 100% real transactions, in-store and online. No panels. No projections. Just reality.

‍

What Shaped February

Routine took over completely
Routine replenishment (40.15%) and fill-in trips (33.19%) made up nearly 3 out of 4 shopping missions. Stock-up was almost invisible (4.02%). February shoppers know exactly what they need and don't linger.

Women under 45 ran the month
3 in 4 shoppers were women (74.86%). The 25-34 bracket dominated (34.71%), followed by 18-24 (21.93%) and 35-44 (20.65%). DINKs and Young Professionals together made up half the market (50.35%). This is a working-age, dual-income shopper.

Meat bounced back, but not all meat
The overall meat category surged (+16.57% MoM) after January's deep drop. But chicken and turkey kept falling (-21.96% MoM). Shoppers are buying more pork (2.27% value share) and packed sausages (2.88%), less poultry. Budget trade-down is still the pattern.

Cooking at home intensified
Dairy exploded (+28.15% MoM), eggs recovered (+20.34% MoM), preserves and pickles climbed (+24.39% MoM). Pastry grew (+14.06% MoM). These aren't snacking categories. These are ingredients. People are making meals, not buying them.

The afternoon window tightened
14:00 was the peak hour (8.65%). The 12:00-20:00 block dominated again, but February's concentration around early afternoon is sharper than January's. Thursday-Friday carried a third of the week's value (33.19%).

Bucharest and Timis ran the geography
Bucharest at 15.47%, Timis at 7.39%, Cluj at 5.10%. The top 5 counties accounted for over a third of all spending. February didn't change the map. Urban centres still define the market.

‍

What Just Changed. And Why It Matters.

From reset to routine
January was the post-holiday snap-back. February is the new normal. Routine replenishment climbed from 26.3% to 40.15%, fill-in held at 33.19%. Special occasions dropped from 24.4% to 13.00%. The market has fully normalised.

Fresh food took the lead from cooking basics
In January, cooking ingredients led the recovery (+3.4%). In February, fruits and vegetables took over (2.54% value share, +5.62% MoM). Dairy surged (+28.15% MoM). The basket shifted from 'stock the pantry' to 'cook fresh this week'.

The protein switch deepened
Chicken and turkey fell further (-21.96% MoM) while meat overall recovered (+16.57% MoM). The gap between cheap protein and premium protein widened. Fish held steady but at low volume. This is a market that'schoosing pork and sausages over poultry, month two in a row.

Personal care rebounded
After two months of sharp declines (December -32.59%, January continuing down), personal care recovered (+12.24% MoM). Home care also bounced (+8.83% MoM). Non-food categories are stabilising, but not growing year-on-year (-9.55% YoY for home care).

The short month compressed everything
28 days instead of 31 means higher daily intensity. Spending per day was effectively 10% higher than a 31-day month at the same total volume. Every activation window matters more. Miss Thursday-Friday afternoon, miss a disproportionate share of the month.

‍

February has no holidays, no events, no reason to overbuy. That makes it the most honest month in retail. When shoppers buy only what they need, the brands that show up are the ones that earned the basket, not the ones that bought it with a promo.

Dan Marc

CEO & Co-Founder

‍

Brands That Moved the Market

‍

How Shoppers Chose: Category Dynamics

Top 5 Growth Categories (MoM):

Top 5 Declining Categories (MoM):

‍

How Shoppers Chose:

Category Sales Highlights

This section highlights the sales evolution across major product categories. It shows how consumer demand shifted.

‍

Where the Money Went: Category by Category

‍

These charts show when shoppers spent the most, sales value by hour of day and by day of the month, highlighting peak spending windows and recurring calendar patterns.