“FMI's national survey found that grocery shoppers’ concerns about inflation have stabilized in recent months, illustrating how resilient consumers are when it comes to food shopping,” said Leslie G. Sarasin, president and CEO of FMI. “To manage higher prices, shoppers are increasingly prioritizing getting good value, which involves focusing more on quality and optimizing purchases for personal enjoyment, convenience and waste-reduction at home.”
Of course, price is still a factor, and rising prices have forced some changes in shopping habits to achieve better value. Research suggested that while half of shoppers surveyed say they are looking for more deals, only 32 percent are buying fewer items and far fewer are cutting back on key food categories or attributes such as organic (15 percent) or fresh items (14 percent), particularly produce.
"Ultimately, food shopping remains a labor of like — if not always a labor of love,” said Laurie Demeritt, FMI's grocery trends exploration partner and CEO of The Hartman Group. “However, how much shoppers like or love grocery shopping does vary between different demographics. For example, Millennials and Gen Z say they 'love' or 'like' grocery shopping more than Gen X or Baby Boomers do. The research shows that where and how consumers shop for food also differs depending on age — it’s not just that younger shoppers have more comfort with online grocery, younger shoppers are more likely to have shifted their trips away from supermarkets and toward mass and other channels."
