Americans are spending less on groceries and if supermarkets don’t find new ways to meet the shrinking budgets, shoppers will go without.
Earlier this month, Acosta Sales & Marketing released a customer survey, “The Why Behind the Buy.” According to the survey, the average American is spending 7 percent less each month on groceries and $94.60 on a routine trip, compared to $98.70 in 2010.
What’s even more striking is that this decrease in spending has occurred despite rising prices.
They survey showed that households earning less than $75,000 are reducing budgets 10 percent or more, while higher income shoppers are spending up to 34 percent more, since many remain loyal to brands tied to higher premiums this year.
Forty-three percent are reducing their spend by buying less food while 41 percent are taking advantage of sales/coupons and 22 percent are shopping at less expensive stores.
The survey suggests that grocery spending is also affected by trip frequency, which is slowed by higher gas prices.
However, some industry experts say that gas prices has nothing to do with it. They say that going to the grocery store is rarely a long-distance endeavour. They suggest that an increase of double-income households simply don’t have as much time to go to the grocery store or cook at home. Instead, they eat out more often.
Source: Supermarket News, June 2011
