Rising gas prices continue to impact consumers’ buying habits, including basic purchases like groceries, a recent study finds.
Compared to last year, 26 percent of respondents say they’re making fewer trips to the grocery store, but spending 11 percent more. That comes out to an extra $309 a month.
The survey, featured in an article on Supermarket News’ website, attributes higher gas prices and increasing food prices with compounding the trend.
It’s affecting people at various income levels differently. For example, 35 percent of households making less than $45,000 a year are taking fewer trips to the grocery store. Among households earning more than $100,000, only 14 percent report that they’re making fewer trips.
As more and more Americans work longer hours, they have less time to go shopping. The trend is to shop offline and purchase online.
This is proof retailers need to have a great website that is easy to navigate. They must have pertinent information and the ability to do product comparisons and an easy store locator readily accessible on their website.
Consumers also are buying more items on sale, the study reveals. Nearly 90 percent of respondents say they favor buy-one-get-one deals and 70 percent say they take advantage of buy-more-than-one sales.
Source: Supermarket News, June 2012
