Americans believe food inflation is nearly 10 points higher than reality

Low base prices are also important across all incomes, even among affluent shoppers

Shopping at stores with low base prices is the most common shopper behavior with 59% of those surveyed reporting they do this most of the time.

31% of consumers are skipping meals or trimming back on meal size

A majority of consumers are struggling financially. Sixty-four percent of U.S. consumers report they would have difficulty covering an unexpected expense of $400 or more compared to 60% in April-May 2022. The study found a wide range of financial insecurity with a low of 42% in Wisconsin, followed by 48% in Maryland and 52% in Washington, to a high of 77% in Louisiana and Oklahoma. 

Food insecurity is on the rise. Fifty-five percent of consumers surveyed report they are not getting enough of the food they want to eat, and 18% are not getting enough to eat. In addition, 31% of households have skipped or reduced the size of their meals in the last 12 month because there wasn’t enough food, a 5% increase since the last CTT survey May-June 2022. 

Consistent prices are key. Low base prices are also important across all incomes, even among affluent shoppers. Seventy-three percent of households with incomes above $100,000 reported that low base prices are important, an increase of 7%. Shopping at stores with low base prices is the most common shopper behavior with 59% of those surveyed reporting they do this most of the time. 

Checking prices online. Customers do this before and during shopping. This behavior is up 6% since the first CTT. Rounding out the top three most common customer behaviors are buying in bulk (35%) tied with shopping at different stores to find the best value (35%). Since April-May 2022, there has been an 11% increase in customers aged 35-44 buying in bulk. This age group is also the most likely to choose private brands over name brand alternatives. 

Spending shifts to dollar stores. Consumers are shifting a significant share of their spending to dollar stores, at the expense of specialty / premium stores. Since April-May 2022, dollar stores’ share of wallet has increased 2.1% (17.8% to 19.9%) while specialty / premium stores has decreased 1.1% (18.7 to 17.6%). eCommerce channel penetration has also decreased since peak Covid and appears to be linked to customers’ increasing sensitivity to cost. Between October 2021 and July 2022, there’s been approximately a 20% increase in people citing additional fees (e.g. delivery and picking fees) as a barrier to buying groceries online. 

Consumers are also trading down in categories. Eighty-three percent of respondents are looking for cheaper alternatives to the products they usually buy in at least one category. The top three categories consumers are trading down in are packaged food (53%), common household products (52%), and frozen food (42%). 

Premium or luxury items are on the rise. Particularly in the 35-44 age range. This aligns with the ‘lipstick effect’ that has been observed in previous recessions, whereby consumers will invest in small luxuries that increase their confidence and perceived attractiveness during periods of uncertainty. Customers are likely to be forgoing more expensive luxuries, in place of small luxuries available at the grocery store.