A new survey of 2,004 nationally representative UK consumers, fielded by Censuswide on 9–11 February 2026, finds that grocery and food & drink advertising converts at higher rates than any other sector — while also surfacing sharp generational divides around personalisation, HFSS regulation, and where shoppers actually discover new brands.
KEY FINDINGS AT A GLANCE
● 41.5% of UK consumers say grocery/food & drink is the category they’re most likely to purchase from after seeing an ad — the highest of any sector surveyed.
● 60.7% say advertising helps them discover products they later buy, though this falls sharply among consumers aged 55+.
● 36.3% are more likely to buy after seeing a personalised ad; among 25–34s, that figure rises to 62.4%.
● ~43% find personalised ads annoying or intrusive, but 50.7% say transparency about data use would make them more comfortable.
● 62.2% of UK consumers support restrictions on advertising HFSS products, with only 10.2% opposed.
● 53.6% say retailers who advertise responsibly are more appealing to them as consumers.
● 37.9% most often discover new brands via TV/streaming; social media follows at 33.9%, with parity among 18–34s.
The Grocery Advantage
Of all the categories covered in the Censuswide survey, grocery and food & drink stands apart on one key measure: 41.5% of UK consumers identify it as the brand type they are most likely to purchase from after seeing an ad. That puts it well ahead of beauty & personal care (22%), fashion & apparel (20%), and health & wellness (20%).
What makes this figure particularly useful for F&B marketers is its resilience. Even among the segment of consumers who reported that advertising rarely influences their behaviour, food & drink still came out on top. Advertising in this category appears to carry an inherent purchase-proximity advantage — people need to buy food regularly, and advertising can tip the balance at point of decision in ways that don’t apply to more considered purchases.
The practical implication is straightforward: advertising budgets in F&B tend to work harder than equivalent spend in adjacent consumer categories, which strengthens the case for protecting media investment during periods of cost pressure.
Discovery Works — For Some
Across the full sample, 60.7% of consumers say advertising helps them discover products they later buy — combining those who say this happens always, often, or sometimes. That’s a majority, and a meaningful data point for anyone making the case for brand-building spend.
The age breakdown, however, is where the picture becomes more complicated. Among 18–24-year-olds, 39% say ads always or often help them discover products they go on to purchase. For consumers aged 55 and over, that figure drops to 8.8% — and nearly 34% of that older cohort say advertising rarely or never helps them discover new products they buy.
This is a fundamentally different relationship with advertising. For brands whose shoppers skew older, this should inform both the weight placed on advertising relative to other marketing levers and the channels through which that advertising runs.
Personalisation: Effective, But Concentrated
The survey asked consumers whether they were more likely to purchase after seeing a personalised ad compared with a generic equivalent. Overall, 36.3% said yes — a solid endorsement of data-driven creative, but one that demands closer inspection.
Among 25–34-year-olds, 62.4% said they were more likely to buy after a personalised ad — the strongest response of any age group. Among 18–24-year-olds, the figure was 51.9%. Move to the 45–54 bracket and it falls to 34.6%; for those 55 and over, it is just 17.8%.
For retail and F&B brands currently investing in first-party data strategies and personalised media buying, this validates the direction of travel — but mainly when the target audience is under 35. For older segments, the ROI on personalisation appears weaker, and reach-based brand advertising may generate better returns.
Tolerance Without Enthusiasm
The consumer relationship with personalised advertising is neither straightforwardly positive nor a source of widespread hostility. Only 16.6% of respondents said they actively like personalised ads; 28.9% said they don’t mind them. On the other side, 21% find them annoying and 21.7% find them intrusive.
The more useful signal may be this: 50.7% of consumers said they would be more comfortable with personalised advertising if brands were clearer about how it works. That is not a rejection of personalisation as a practice. It is a conditional acceptance, and the condition is transparency. For brands prepared to explain their data use plainly — in preference centres, privacy communications, or even ad copy — there is a genuine opportunity to reduce friction.
Responsible Advertising as a Brand Signal
Three findings from the survey stand out for what they suggest about how consumers interpret brand behaviour under regulatory pressure.
First, 53.6% of consumers agree that retailers who advertise responsibly are more appealing to them. Second, 58.8% agree that restrictions on junk food advertising make it more important for brands to communicate responsibly. Third, and perhaps most reassuringly for marketers, 60.8% believe retailers can still market effectively while complying with HFSS regulations.
Taken together, these findings suggest that consumers are actively reading how brands conduct themselves in a regulated environment — and that responsible behaviour functions as a quality cue rather than simply a compliance requirement. The widespread belief that effective marketing remains possible within HFSS rules is also worth noting: the data does not support the idea that consumers expect brands subject to these restrictions to disappear from public view.
HFSS Restrictions Have Mainstream Support
Any F&B marketing team that has been hoping consumer opinion would soften pressure on HFSS advertising regulation should note what this survey found. 62.2% of UK consumers support restrictions on advertising foods and drinks high in fat, salt, or sugar — including 27.9% who support them strongly. Just 10.2% are opposed.
That level of support is consistent across age groups and genders. This is not a position held primarily by younger, more health-conscious consumers; it reflects mainstream UK sentiment. The regulatory environment that F&B brands are navigating has genuine public backing behind it.
Where Discovery Actually Happens
When consumers were asked where they most often discover new brands through advertising, TV and streaming came out on top at 37.9%, with social media platforms such as Instagram and TikTok close behind at 33.9%. Online search and Google ads were cited by 25.7% of respondents, and in-store by 21.4%.
The channel picture shifts considerably by age. Among 18–34-year-olds, social media is roughly level with TV as a discovery channel; for consumers aged 45 and over, TV maintains a clear lead. For brands trying to build awareness across multiple demographics, this reinforces a dual-channel logic: broadcast for upper-funnel reach and cross-generational coverage, social for engagement and conversion with younger shoppers who are also the most responsive to personalised ad formats.
Methodology: Online survey of 2,004 nationally representative UK adults, fielded by Censuswide, 9–11 February 2026.
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The findings in this piece came from a Censuswide survey of 2,004 UK consumers — designed, fielded, and analysed to give marketers decision-ready insight.
