Platform Engineer

Ibotta has expanded its share buyback programme by $100 million, supplementing its initial $300 million authorisation, following strong fourth-quarter 2025 results. The board decision reflects confidence in long-term growth prospects and commitment to returning shareholder value. The digital performance marketing company reported Q4 revenue of $88.5 million, beating guidance by 7%, whilst adjusted earnings of $13.7 million exceeded expectations by 31%. Full-year revenue totalled $342.4 million, down 7% from the prior year. Ibotta operates a mobile cashback platform connecting consumer packaged goods brands with over 200 million consumers using a pay-per-sale model. ARK Investment Management, led by Cathie Wood, exited its 907,386-share position by year-end after holding $25.3 million worth in Q3 2025.

Private label: discounts are no longer a perk, but a demand. 03.23.2026 As consumers seek value and grocery retailers expand their private label offerings, store brands are becoming shopping cart staples. Ibotta, Inc., based in Denver, released The 2026 State of Spend: Navigating the New Normal of Value-Centric Shopping in February, breaking down the consumer marketing data from a survey of more than 5,000 United States grocery shoppers. In the survey, 67% of consumers acknowledged the negative impact of inflation on their household finances, and 60% have a negative perception of the economy. This has led to a decrease in consumers making grocery lists before they enter a store. Ibotta said this is because consumers are looking for in-store promotions, private label alternatives and other ways to save as they travel around the perimeter. "This shift is not a sign of indifference but rather a strategic evolution that allows consumers to be more nimble and value-centric in their purchase decisions," Ibotta said. "It allows consumers to deviate from a specific brand or product list to capitalize on immediate value opportunities." According to the study, 32% of shoppers go in with a loose idea or no plan at all, up from 25% in 2023. List-makers dropped from 75% in 2023 to 68% in 2025. "The findings in our State of Spend report confirm a critical shift: value isn't just a trend, but the center of gravity for the American consumer," said Chris Riedy, chief revenue officer at Ibotta, Inc. "Years of economic volatility have forged a new type of shopper, which represents a massive opportunity for CPGs to redefine how they show up. To win in this new normal, brands can't just be 'guests' in the retail ecosystem; they must move beyond traditional playbooks and leverage intelligent offers to meet shoppers exactly where they are, whether that's a planned trip or spontaneous deal-driven discovery." According to the survey, 44% of consumers are buying more private label products now than a year ago. "The price-first mindset of today's consumer has driven a significant and accelerating shift toward private label products in recent years, and our latest survey revealed even greater adoption in 2025," Ibotta said. For 2026, 88% of consumers planned to either increase or maintain their current levels of private label purchasing, with 35% of that group specifying that they planned to increase. "This widespread adoption is underpinned by the overall value-centric environment, where 62% of shoppers now value price above brand name in their purchasing decisions," Ibotta said. The study found that the long-held perception that national brands are of superior quality to private label has been fading away. In 2024, 44% of consumers believed name brand products are better than store brand products. In the 2025 survey, the figure dropped to 38% of consumers. "This decline indicates that private label products are increasingly meeting the core consumer demand for consistent, reliable quality and performance, thus removing a key historical barrier to adoption," Ibotta said. In the food category, 62% of consumers said they trust the quality of private labels as much as name brands. Sally Fatzinger, vice president of merchandising at St. Louis-based Save A Lot, said there has been an increase in demand for innovative private label products, including restaurant quality and wellness benefits. Ibotta surveyed consumers on plans for wellness purchases in the food category and found that 52% planned to buy more "better-for-you" products in 2026, while 47% said they actively look for healthier products, even if they cost a little more. "This willingness to prioritize healthier options - even at a higher cost - presents a clear growth strategy for CPGs," Ibotta said. "Brands should invest in the premium, 'better-for-you' segment, but crucially, they must pair it with a value lever. By deploying personalized promotions and cash back offers, marketers can leverage the 'Justifier Effect' to bridge the price gap and unlock high-value transactions that secure a position in the consumers' increasingly health-conscious routines." Customer loyalty. Ibotta's report highlighted three-year consistency in the average shopper's cart distribution. According to the study, 74% of the average shopper's grocery basket is filled with products they have previously purchased, leaving only 26% for first-time purchases. The survey also found that for 47% of consumers, a first-time purchase can easily slide into that secure 74% category after they have used it entirely. For 39%, they only need to purchase the product 3-4 times and have a reliable experience for it to become part of their regular routine. Only 6% of consumers said they need to consistently buy a product longer than a year to consider it their new normal. "Even a single successful trial can be enough to convert a shopper into a loyal customer," Ibotta said. "Across categories, most of the consumers we surveyed said that after they've bought and used a product once and liked it, they'd consider it part of their new normal and stop buying their old preferred brand." This points to how important it is to encourage trial of products and consistently provide the same quality to capture a new shopper's loyalty. The survey found that physically trying a product with an in-store sample/demo influenced 58% of shoppers to purchase a new or unfamiliar brand in a grocery store. Recommendations from family and friends led 63% of consumers to trial. Seeing a cash back offer, coupon, or other sale/discount led 68% of consumers to trial. "When it comes to actually converting a shopper, discounts and promotions have the most powerful influence," Ibotta said. "They are the mechanism most likely to move a shopper past initial introduction and toward trial and purchase." Ibotta said food and beverage products are high-friction categories, regarding the level of resistance a consumer might have to trying a new brand. To get a consumer to switch brands for the same product, a major discount is key. In the food category, 62% of consumers said they require a discount of 25% or more to switch brands. "The rewards needed to move the needle in high-friction categories should be viewed as a strategic and worthwhile investment, not an insurmountable obstacle," the report said. "By leveraging targeted promotions that can better tailor offers to shoppers' unique loyalty thresholds, marketers can maximize their budgets and drive measurable outcomes for their brands." Ibotta also surveyed consumers on what they are most likely to do when foods they regularly purchase increase in price. For food necessities, 48% will buy a less expensive alternative, while 46% will buy it anyway. Only 6% will not buy the item at all. For discretionary food purchases, 47% will buy a less expensive alternative, 35% will buy it anyway, and 18% will not buy it at all. "In the food and home categories, shoppers are nearly split between trading down and buying anyways, highlighting the significant role value plays in their decision-making process for essential items," Ibotta said. "When considering discretionary purchases, a consumer's willingness to trade down or abandon the purchase altogether increases significantly. Food sees the highest rate of completely opting out." For name brands trying to win shoppers back after a switch to private label, 48% of consumers said they need to see the price difference disappear in order to switch back, and 20% said they are looking for name brands to improve their quality or ingredients. "The role of discounts and promotions has undergone a fundamental transformation, shifting from a once-powerful loyalty-building mechanism to a now-expected - and critical - layer of transactional value," Ibotta said. "This affects how promotions shape a consumer's relationship with a brand - and ultimately, how marketers can best leverage them to drive results." In the food category, 55% of consumers agreed that cash back would justify a premium purchase. "This 'Justifier Effect' allows brands to use targeted rewards to unlock higher-value transactions in an environment where consumers remain highly price-conscious," Ibotta said. Rewards programs and digital coupons have also gained importance. "Consumers' perceptions of rewards remain positive, with the number of consumers who said they feel valued by rewards increasing from 71% to 75% year over year," Ibotta said. "Promotions - particularly digital ones - play an especially critical role in consumers' savings routines. Of the people we surveyed, 64% said they'd used digital coupons or cash back to save on groceries in the last month. This outranked all other savings tactics, including in-store sales and buying store brand or generic products." The survey found that 56% of consumers expect brands to offer promotions and discounts. "This evolving dynamic necessitates a strategic shift in how brands view and deploy their promotional spending. Rewards are more important than ever for influencing purchasing decisions and making a shopper feel appreciated for that purchase," Ibotta said. "However, one-off promotions are no longer sufficient for securing long-term, deep-seated brand loyalty in a shopping environment where the best overall value proposition wins." Get better fresh food retail search results. Adding Supermarket Perimeter tells Google to prioritize Supermarket Perimeter stories.