Basket Analysis 101 for CPG: What It Is, How It Works, and Why It Matters

Shopper baskets contain a wealth of hidden signals about natural pairings, trip value, and cross‑sell potential. Understanding what shoppers buy together can help brands refine merchandising, strengthen retailer conversations, and unlock new growth opportunities.

Katelyn Bertsos

24 Feb 2026

Most shoppers don’t buy randomly — their choices are intentional. For emerging CPG brands, the first step in understanding these choices is transactional point‑of‑sale (POS) data. POS data tells you what sold, where, and when, giving you the foundational view retailers expect: velocities, price performance, distribution gaps, store‑level opportunities, and trends over time. It’s the baseline dataset every CPG company needs to establish market position and demonstrate that your brand reliably contributes to category performance.

The next layer is panel data, which shows who buys your brand and how they shop across trips. This data allows you to tell a richer story — one that goes beyond just on units and dollars to include incrementality, household reach, repeat rates, and shopper conversion. These are all signals of a dependable partner focused on growing the total category and driving trips across more areas of the store.

Then comes the layer of panel data that ties it all together: basket (trip‑level) data. Basket analysis shows which products are purchased together, how promotions influence the entire cart, and which combinations indicate loyalty or switching. These insights unlock the actions retailers value most: cross‑sell programs, smarter adjacencies, mission‑based merchandising, bundle design, and optimized promotional sequencing — all of which strengthen your business and your relationship with the retailer.

What is Basket Analysis?

Basket analysis looks at what shoppers buy during the same trip and how your product impacts the total basket, both in terms of size (average number of items) and dollar value. It helps you understand:

How much shoppers spend overall when your product is in the cart
How much they spend on your product within that trip
Which other items appear alongside yours

Think of it this way: Sometimes a shopper has a clear mission, like buying peanut butter, jelly, and bread for lunches. Other times, the basket is more random — like an energy drink and a can of beans. Both types of baskets help you identify natural pairings, discover cross‑sell opportunities, and design promotions and placements that mirror how people shop.

Three Core Basket Analysis Measures

There are three key metrics to include in basket analysis, each offering a unique perspective on how products interact within the basket.

Measure	Tells you	Example calculation	Why brands use it
% Basket Trips	How many relevant trips included your product or brand – a measure of basket presence and how often shoppers choose it when the category is in play.	Out of 10,000 grocery trips where pantry staples/snacks could be purchased, 1,850 trips included peanut butter. % Basket Trips (Peanut Butter) = 1,850 trips (18.5% of relevant trips) This means peanut butter showed up in nearly 1 in 5 category‑relevant baskets.	Shows where your brand is winning presence, and how often your brand drives trip activity.
Trip Incidence	How common your product or brand is across all store trips - a measure of trip‑level penetration, not just category trips.	If 1,600 of 10,000 total store trips include peanut butter, Trip Incidence (Peanut Butter) = 16% This means peanut butter appears in 16% of all store visits, regardless of mission.	Shows how broadly your brand penetrates shoppers’ total trips and helps compare performance across banners, channels, and time periods.
Co-Purchase Index	How strongly your product or brand appears with another item in the same basket relative to average - a read on pairing strength.	Observed co‑purchase: Out of 10,000 trips, 900 trips include both peanut butter and jam→ 9% Expected average pairing: Typical item pairing appears 5% of the time Co-purchase index 9%/5% ×100=180* Interpretation: A value of 180 means peanut butter is bought with jam 80% more often than an average pairing - a very strong complement. *The baseline is usually set to: 100 = average; > 100 = above average; < 100 = weaker than average	Reveals your brand’s best companions for cross‑sell, adjacencies, and promotions.

How These Three Metrics Work Together

Together, these three metrics give you a complete picture of how your product performs within the basket.

% Basket Trips shows how often your product appears in baskets when shoppers are buying within the category
Trip Incidence reveals how frequently it shows up across all store visits, offering a broader view of trip‑level penetration.
Co‑Purchase Index adds a relational layer, identifying which items most strongly pair with your product and where natural cross‑sell opportunities exist.

Used together, these metrics show how often your product gets into the cart, how widely it penetrates shopper trips, and which items help amplify its value. This creates a powerful foundation for merchandising, promotions, and retailer‑ready storytelling.

For example, if % Basket Trips and Trip Incidence for peanut butter are both rising, and its Co‑Purchase Index with jam is strong, it signals a clear opportunity to lean into natural shopper behavior. You can prioritize PB&J bundles, create endcaps positioned near bread, and surface “add jam” recommendations on peanut butter product pages — all of which reinforce the way shoppers already build their baskets and drive higher‑value trips.

Practical Tips

Segment by banner/format/channel. Trip Incidence and Co‑Purchase Index often vary by mass vs. grocery, in‑store vs. online, or regional banners.
Use thresholds. Focus on pairings with meaningful Trip Incidence and elevated Co‑Purchase Index to avoid chasing noise.
Time it right. Re‑check indications before seasonal missions (Super Bowl, back to school, holidays) to catch shifting pairings.
Include it in retailer conversations. “When we’re in the basket, total trip value rises, and we lift [companion category]. Here’s the proof by banner and season.”

Read How SMB CPG Brands Can Use Basket Insights to Strengthen Retailer Partnerships and Drive Category Growth for practical examples and retailer‑focused use cases.

Liquid Data Go® puts basket insights within reach for SMB CPG brands. With ready‑to‑use, trip‑level reports and panel data, you can quickly see how your product lifts the basket, which items pair naturally, and where to focus your efforts — turning real shopper behavior into smarter growth and stronger retailer conversations.