Average weekly grocery spending rose to $129 in April, according to . April 2024 Consumer Food Insights Report by Purdue University. Total food spending increased by 10% from April last year and by 17% from April 2022.
The top three factors when consumers decide where to buy groceries are price (32%), food selection (19%), and fresh food selection (12%). Price was more important to consumers in rural than urban areas (31% vs. 44%), and food choices were more important to shoppers in urban areas (20% vs. 12% in rural areas).
Consumers’ expectations for annual food inflation inched down to 6.3% in April, and expectations for next year fell from 4.0% to 3.8%. The government’s CPI reading for the month remained at 2.2%, marking the first time that inflation did not decline since its peak of 11.3% in August 2022. This suggests that food inflation may be stabilizing.
Other highlights include:
- The report estimates that the household food insecurity rate decreased by about 1 percentage point to 11% in the same month.
- More consumers say they are “fairly satisfied” or “very satisfied” with their diet (87%) than in January of this year (81%).
- The most common shopping habits of consumers included checking expiration and sell-by dates at stores, trying to reduce food waste at home, and choosing generic foods over branded foods.
