Just released research conducted by FMI, The Food Industry Association, and The Hartman Group confirms the Grocery channel continues to lose consumers who select it as their primary grocery channel while Mass continues to make gains as consumers’ primary channel for food and beverage. Inflation and rising food and beverage prices could be behind some of this shifting as shoppers continue to look for deals across multiple channels – supermarkets, mass retailers, club stores and online – to mitigate the impact of higher food prices on their budgets.
FMI’s U.S. Grocery Shopper Trends survey revealed 68% of shoppers report spending more on groceries than one year ago while 7% say they spend less. Households with children reported the greatest increase in grocery spending year over year. However, it is older consumers who are more worried about rising food prices than any other group, with 80% of Boomers showing concern in February 2023 versus 69% in October 2022.