Weekly Grocery Spend Ticks Up 4% from 2021: FMI

Consumers estimate they spend $148 weekly on groceries, a new survey from FMI – The Food Industry Association finds, up from an estimated $142 last year and $121 in 2020. 

"After years of slow or stable growth aligned with typical annual inflation, shoppers’ estimates of their weekly grocery spending have risen steadily at a quicker annual pace throughout the past two years," FMI reported in its U.S. Grocery Shopper Trends – Shopper Landscape report for April. The Bureau of Labor Statistics, in its latest monthly consumer prices summary, reported the overall inflation stood at 7.9% year over year in February, with prices for food at home spiking 8.6%. The bureau's March report is due out on April 12. 

Shoppers indicated to FMI that they're feeling the pricing pressure most in fresh: Almost half (48%) of meat/seafood buyers said they're spending more on their fresh meat and seafood purchases because of rising prices, and at least 4 in 10 said they're shelling out more for milk/milk alternatives and fresh produce.

Additionally, more than a third of shoppers said they're spending more on deli foods (38%), coffee/tea (37%), frozen foods (36%) and baby food (34%).

FMI, echoing other market analysts' recent findings, reported that most of the inflation-concerned respondents in its survey said they now more frequently look for deals when grocery shopping. Not quite one-third of shoppers said they'll buy only when an item is on sale. Lower-income shoppers—those with a household income less than $40,000—were more likely than higher-income groups to say they've cut back on purchases of fresh meat or fresh produce in response to rising prices. More than one-third of consumers overall said they're turning to private labels more often. 

Notably, fewer than one in 10 shoppers said they've changed where they're buying groceries. "Just as shoppers are more likely to search for a cheaper way to get the same product than to switch out the products they buy, they are more likely to seek a cheaper way to shop the same store(s) than to switch the stores they use," FMI wrote.