US consumers prioritise fresh produce despite inflation

A report based on in-depth analysis of consumer shopping data in the US found that inflation is significantly higher for fresh products than frozen or shelf-stable categories. In addition, price-sensitive shoppers are buying less meat, poultry and dairy, while still prioritising purchases of fresh produce. The report was drawn up by Symphony RetailAI, a leading global provider of integrated AI-powered marketing, merchandising and supply chain solutions for FMCG retailers and manufacturers.

In November, Symphony RetailAI released its “2021 Shopper Study: The Changing Customer Landscape,” a 12-month analysis of 2.2 billion shopper transactions across the company’s global customer base of grocery retailers. At the time of the report’s release, Symphony RetailAI noted that many categories important to price-driven customers were underperforming. The new consumer insights introduced today are an extension of the previous data analysis, looking more closely at those underperforming categories and how inflation is impacting sales of fresh items specifically.

Symphony RetailAI found that inflationary price increases are much more prevalent in fresh than any other category in grocery. Across all departments, shoppers are spending more for their groceries, but a significantly larger portion of price increases for fresh items are due to inflation, not customer choice.