Shoppers Spending More on Groceries, Making Fewer Trips: Advantage Sales Report

Advantage Sales—a division of Advantage Solutions, a provider of outsourced sales and marketing solutions to consumer goods companies and retailers—asked 1,000-plus grocery shoppers about inflation and rising grocery prices and how the two are affecting how and where they shop and what they’re buying for its recent Pulse Survey. 

According to responses, nearly half (46%) of the 1,024 U.S. adults surveyed who identify themselves as having primary or shared responsibility for their household’s grocery shopping report they are spending more money on groceries now, with nearly one-fifth say they are spending “much more.”

Looking for the best prices, nearly 60% of shoppers surveyed said escalating grocery expenses have had a considerable impact on the products they put in their physical or digital carts, with one-fourth saying the hikes have “greatly impacted” their product choices.

Advantage Sales said that with most grocery manufacturers raising prices—and retailers increasingly passing those hikes on to consumers—many shoppers aren’t just paying more for groceries, they’re bringing home less. Nearly 4 in 10 are putting fewer groceries in their carts and nearly 1 in 10 are buying “much fewer,” the report found.

“For the past year, retailers held off passing the entirety of manufacturer price increases on to their shoppers,” Kimberly Senter, EVP of analytics, insights and intelligence for Advantage Sales, said in a statement. “But they weren’t expecting manufacturers to take two, three or more increases in the last two years. Now, our research shows 9 out of 10 manufacturers plan to take price increases this year and half of retailers say they’ll be passing along at least 90% of those price hikes to the shelf. Shoppers are expecting—and will see—even higher rings at checkout.”

With driving prices up at brick-and-mortar stores, the report finds that higher prices are also having shoppers saying “not this time” to treats and indulgences. "At brick-and-mortar stores, escalating prices are stifling opportunities for in-store impulse sales, as a full one-third of those who shop primarily at physical locations say rising retails have led to fewer trips to the store. Only 1 in 10 are making more frequent trips," the report said.

High grocery prices are having an even more significant impact on what shoppers are buying. The report said almost half of shoppers are buying more items on sale or with a coupon.