A new poll suggests that the Trump Administration’s Tariffs are going to leave them even worse off this year than inflation alone did last year. And the cost of food will be the single toughest economic challenge they’ll face…
The poll suggests a majority of Americans agree its going to cost them more to live this year. They blame persistent high food prices. And they believe Trump Tariffs are mainly to blame for that…
What the poll found
The firm’s latest consumer pulse survey, involving a 1,516 participants – carefully chosen to represent a micro-model of the overall population – was conducted this past March 12-20.
Key findings included:
- On average, consumers expect to pay 8 percent more for groceries this summer than they did over the same period last year.
- 70 percent agree that the Trump Tariffs will be the single most impactful factor in rising food prices.
- The majority off those polled said they don’t expect to change where they shop for groceries. But…
- Increasing numbers of shoppers are making other hard choices about their brand preferences and the types of food they’re choosing.
Focus on food
A Food Drive analysis of the KPMG poll results noted:
- More than 90 percent said their living costs are higher now than they were a year ago.
- 71 percent of poll respondents said they expect the economy to ‘tip into a recession’ during the next year.
- 60 percent have started watching their spending more carefully.
- More than one third said they’ve cut back on food spending or struggled to come up with money to pay for groceries.
Other food-specific changes focus on health and well being:
- 49 percent of respondents said they’ve changed their focus on health to a moderate or substantial extent.
- 69 percent said they are eating at home more often instead of at restaurants.
- As a result, 27 percent said they expect to redirect a substantial amount of their former restaurant spending to the grocery store through the middle of this year.
- In addition, over a third (36 percent) indicated that they’ve decided to eat at home more often to gain more control over the food they consume.
My take
One major finding of the KPMG poll confirms recent Fast Food industry experience: More average Americans are cutting way back on their ‘casual’ restaurant dining to save money.
Meanwhile… The parallel increase in awareness of health and well being issues – with its associated focus on food and dining – is a welcome, positive change from what Americans collectively were thinking a year ago, as revealed in similar polls…
~ Maggie J.