Food price growth may be slowing, but consumers aren’t backing off on efforts to cut costs — 74% said inflation drove them to make efforts to save on groceries at least “sometimes” last month, according to recent data from Morning Consult.
Some saving behaviors have changed little but persisted at high levels since 2021 — last month, 83% said they compared prices and 78% picked generic products over brand names, compared to 82% and 80%, respectively, in October 2021. Other behaviors have increased notably, with more Americans buying fewer items (68%, up from 64% in October 2021), using coupons (65%, up from 58%), and buying in bulk (64%, up from 61%).
Cooking at home has also been a long-term tactic to save money, but now consumers are taking it a step further, finding ways to adjust their cooking habits to save even more. Most commonly, they’re changing the types of meals they cook (46%) and switching the ingredients they use (40%). And higher income households are more likely to use more recipes in their meal planning, likely a means of making restaurant quality meals at home in place of eating out.
For brands, promoting less expensive meals, recipes, and ingredient substitutes, in addition to offering deals and promotions, will be key for helping customers manage costs as prices continue to direct their purchasing decisions.
