T. Ozbun
Research expert covering food retail and all food topics for Italy and Brazil
U.S. food shopping behavior - statistics & facts
In recent times, the rising cost of living, driven by inflation, has had a significant impact on the price of food and beverages. Indeed, high inflation can lead to reduced purchasing power, as prices tend to rise before wages, and those without alternative investments or living on a fixed income see their purchasing power shrink. The average price of a basic food basket in the United States has risen sharply in recent times, and there has been an increase in the number of people refraining from making purchases at the grocery stores due to rising prices. Furthermore, a phenomenon known as shrinkflation has gained prevalence, where products experience a combination of rising prices with a reduction in weight or size. This has forced consumers to modify their purchasing behavior not only in terms of the best bargain but also in terms of quantity. To combat both inflation and shrinkflation, one approach taken by consumers is switching to private labels, which provide a low-cost but often similar quality alternative to other brands and may potentially see increased sales as a result.
Stores and buying behavior
When shopping for groceries, supermarkets were the preferred channel for Americans, while Walmart was the preferred retailer by a wide margin. On average, consumers' weekly grocery shopping trips have declined from the early 2000s, perhaps due to improved food preservation technology, which allows for longer food store, and consumers’ desire to maximize time spent on purchasing necessities such as groceries. In 2022, the average household in America spent just over nine thousand dollars a year on food, a figure that has steadily increased in recent years. Although the price of food was still an important factor in purchasing decisions, even during the current inflation, most shoppers still considered the taste and freshness of food to be the deciding factors in their purchasing decision.Online shopping
Food and beverage e-commerce revenues in the U.S. have seen a huge increase in recent years, fueled further by the pandemic that forced many to rely on home-delivered food. Despite Amazon’s growth among consumers in online grocery shopping, Walmart remained the leading choice for online as well as in-store groceries. Home delivery was the most popular delivery method among shoppers, with click and collect still a widely-used alternative. Unsurprisingly, most foods and beverages purchased online were those in packaging and with longer expiration dates due to the fact that freshness was still a main concern.
