It’s a simple question… But the answers were amazingly revealing about how Americans view grocery shopping, and how they see the affordability crisis… Pollsters asked: “What Should $100 Buy At The Grocery Store?”
How would you answer that seemingly innocent question? And where do you think your response would fall among those of your fellow shoppers?
Eye opening…
The survey, by Talker Research, commissioned by the Idaho Potato Commission, asked 2,000 average Americans representative of all demographics, ‘what belongs in their grocery carts’.
The responses revealed a major change in how folks shop and what they’re buying.
Key findings…
The key findings of the poll, spotlighted a shift in the definition of ‘value’ from simply the price, to products and ingredients that are nutritious, versatile, have a long shelf life and can create multiple meals throughout the week.
Salient points in the survey report include:
- Rising grocery costs are changing how Americans shop, with more consumers cooking at home and prioritizing ingredients that can stretch across several meals.
- Shoppers are focusing on reducing food waste, extending shelf life, and getting more nutritional value from the foods they buy.
- Consumers are also reconsidering affordable pantry staples and store-brand products as they look for ways to make their grocery budgets go further.
Unrealistic expectations?
The survey asked respondents how far $100 should go at the grocery store. Most overestimated the C-note’s current buying power, saying $100 should cover two more meals than it actually does.
On the up side, that’s only two meals. Which to me shows that the majority of those polled are acute-ly aware of the high cost of food and the tough choices they face feeding their families these days.
What they’re doing
Some pertinent stats:
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- 31% of respondents said they cook at home much more often than they did a year ago.
- 26% said they now prioritize grocery ingredients that can be used across multiple meals.
Nearly three-quarters of respondents said:
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- Minimizing food waste (73%),
- Long shelf life (72%) and…
- Nutritional value for the money (71%)
… are among the most important factors they consider while grocery shopping.
My take
The survey ‘s findings dovetail perfectly with a report we brought you earlier this week, about how grocery retailers are responding to what they see as consumer shopping and dining trends. The supermarket giants’ vision of the marketplace is very similar to that produced by the Talker survey…
Nevertheless, the price of food remains far too high, while the supermarket cartel continue to report double digit profits. The Canadian government has launched a wide-ranging investigation into comp-etition in the food industry, aimed at identifying bad practices – such as shrinkflation and package padding – with an eye to outlawing them.
Alas, US President Donald Trump, who paid lip service to bringing down high food prices during his campaign, doesn’t seem interested in following thorough. It will probably take a change in presidents – and a change in dominant (dare I say ‘ruling’?) – political parties in the Congress and the Senate to get some real action on the issue in the US…
~ Maggie J.