Why Greggs shoppers are quietly changing their habits this year

Most people still use Greggs the same way: a quick stop on the high street for something warm, filling and cheap enough to feel like a win. What’s changing in 2025 is the behaviour around it - and even the quiet influence of `` (the absence of one single “reason” everyone can point to) is part of the story. For shoppers, it matters because tiny choices - timing, bundles, and where you eat - now decide whether a Greggs visit feels like value or just another habit you’re paying more attention to.

You can see it in the little things: someone waiting until they’re properly hungry rather than grabbing “just in case”, a group sharing bakes instead of buying one each, and more people walking out with a drink that looks planned rather than impulsive.

The new Greggs run is smaller, more deliberate, and often later

The classic Greggs pattern used to be predictable: morning roll, lunchtime bake, maybe a sweet thing on the way home. This year, more shoppers are treating Greggs like a “mission shop” - in, out, and only for what they actually need right now.

That shows up as fewer add-ons at the till, more people scanning the counter first, and a quieter shift towards later-day visits. If you’re watching your budget, the easiest saving isn’t a grand lifestyle overhaul; it’s simply not buying the extra item you didn’t mean to.

The habit change isn’t “stop going”. It’s “stop drifting”.

A few common “new runs” look like this:

• A single hot item, eaten immediately, instead of a hot item plus snacks “for later”
• A later lunch (or early tea) that replaces a more expensive meal elsewhere
• A planned stop timed around a commute, rather than a browse when you’ve got five minutes to kill

The coffee-first switch (and why food becomes the add-on)

For a growing number of customers, the anchor purchase is no longer a sausage roll - it’s the coffee. If you buy caffeine daily, you start thinking in routines, not cravings, and that changes what you do at the counter.

Coffee-led visits are also easier to “budget” mentally. You tell yourself you’re going in for one thing, and if you add food, you want it to feel like it earned its place.

Small tactics people are using:

• Pairing coffee with one filling item rather than two lighter ones
  
• Choosing the more predictable option (a sandwich or roll) over a pastry plus “something else”
• Eating on the move instead of sitting down and turning it into a longer spend

Queues feel more optional now

There’s a particular kind of Greggs loyalty that isn’t about brand love at all. It’s about speed.

This year, shoppers seem less willing to accept a slow queue as the price of a cheap lunch. If the line looks long, plenty of people now just… come back later, switch branch, or decide it wasn’t essential. That’s a subtle shift, because it turns impulse footfall into something closer to planned footfall.

It also changes what customers pick once they’re in. When people are queue-averse, they gravitate towards the fastest decisions: the item they always get, the deal they already know, the thing they can eat immediately without thinking.

Value-hunting without the drama

The most noticeable shift is that people are looking for value quietly. Not in a performative way, not making a fuss - just choosing the options that keep the total down.

That means more shoppers are:

• Sticking to known bundles and resisting “new” limited items unless they feel worth it
  
• Splitting purchases (one person buys, another skips) rather than everyone matching the spend
  
• Treating Greggs as a replacement meal (lunch or dinner), not an extra snack on top of a normal day

The psychology here is simple. When budgets feel tighter, customers don’t always stop buying treats - they stop buying accidental treats.

Eating habits are changing too: fewer “sit-down” moments

Even when seating is available, more people are eating outside, at work, or while walking. Partly that’s time pressure, partly it’s routine, and partly it’s a low-key attempt to stop a small purchase turning into a bigger one.

If you eat in, you’re more likely to add a second drink, a sweet, or “something for later”. If you eat out, you tend to buy exactly what you can hold.

A useful way to frame it is the difference between:

• A snack stop: impulsive, add-ons, browsing
  
• A food fix: planned, quick, cost-contained

More Greggs visits now look like the second one.

What this means for Greggs (and for anyone who buys lunch out)

When shoppers become more deliberate, the brand has to win on consistency: clear value, fast service, and predictable favourites. It also means demand can shift in the day - not necessarily less custom, but different peaks, different products, and more customers who will walk away if the experience feels slow.

For you as a shopper, the takeaway is practical. If you want Greggs to stay a “cheap win”, the habit that matters most isn’t cutting it out - it’s choosing when and how you buy.

A quick “keep it good value” checklist

• Decide what you’re getting before you walk in
  
• Treat add-ons as a separate choice, not the default
  
• If the queue is long, come back later - don’t panic-buy extra to justify the wait
  
• If you’re hungry, buy something filling once rather than stacking snacks

FAQ:

• Is Greggs getting less popular? Not necessarily. The quieter change is that people are being more selective: fewer impulse add-ons, more planned purchases, and less tolerance for queues.
• Why do my usual Greggs visits feel more expensive now? The cost creep often comes from “little extras” (a second item, a sweet, a second drink) rather than the core purchase. When you tighten the routine, the total usually settles.
• What’s the simplest habit change to save money at Greggs? Go in with a single-item plan and only add something else if you actively want it, not because it’s there while you wait.