CHICAGO, IL - Amid continued increases in inflation, recent data from Information Resources, Inc. (IRI) shows the ongoing effect of rising prices on consumer shopping behavior. Leveraging the latest point-of-sale data for August 2022, the company has released its August 2022 Price Check: Tracking Retail Food and Beverage Inflation, which shows that consumers are beginning to cut back on grocery spending.

“We are beginning to see consumers scale back purchases both in terms of units and volume in recent weeks, as retail food and beverage prices have continued to rise,” said Krishnakumar (KK) Davey, President of Thought Leadership for CPG and Retail, IRI and The NPD Group. “While retail food and beverage sales had been fairly resilient, we’re seeing signs of consumer stress, particularly among low-income households. Consumers are buying less in discretionary food and beverage categories and are shopping more frequently in search of better prices. At the same time, consumers are willing to pay a premium for some categories—such as pasta, pasta sauce, butter, and frozen entrées—which are considered affordable indulgences for more cash-strapped shoppers.”

Data from August shows that the prices of consumer goods remain elevated across categories, a release stated. Food prices have risen 1.6 percent from the end of July to the end of August and 13.4 percent year-over-year through the week ending August 28, 2022.

Some other key insights from the report include:

• Persistent inflation - Food and beverage inflation continues to persist on a year-over-year basis. The carbonated beverage and fresh common fruit categories had the largest monthly price jump in August, each rising 5.3 percent compared to the end of July
• Consumers are bargain hunting - Trips to food and beverage stores are up 3.5 percent versus a year ago for the latest 12 weeks ending Aug. 21, 2022. Quick trips are up 6.7 percent during the same period compared to a year ago, while pantry stocking trips are down 0.6 percent, suggesting that consumers are looking for deals and “cherry-picking” stores where they can get the best value
• Premiumization continues in select categories - Despite inflation, consumers are “trading up” and driving volume share to premium brands in several categories, including snack nuts and seeds, canned and bottled fruit, frozen entrées, and fresh eggs and butter

To glean more insights from IRI’s report, click here.

With inflation continuing to impact consumer purchasing, what impact will this have on the rest of the year and the holiday season? Stick with AndNowUKnow for answers.

Information Resources, Inc.