Report: Many Americans Remain Food Insecure, Consumers Shop at Multiple Stores for Best Deals

Food insecurity remains prevalent in the United States and more Americans are visiting multiple grocery stores to find the lowest prices, according to the last dunnhumby Consumer Trends Tracker (CTT).

The quarterly study from the customer data science firm found that 30% of Americans across all age groups reported skipping. 18-34-year-olds and 35-44-year-olds have the highest rate of skipping meals out of any age group at 38% and 37% respectively, according to the latest data. Oklahoma, Arkansas, Louisiana, Alabama, Tennessee, Georgia and West Virginia had the highest rate of food (36%) and financial insecurity (70%) in the country.

“Over this year-long study, we have seen a very troubling trend of nearly a third of all Americans and nearly 40% of younger Americans, skipping meals due to financial concerns. And wave after wave, our research has also shown that 18-44-year-olds are at the epicenter of a food and financial insecurity crisis that shows no signs of abating,” said Matt O’Grady, president of Americas for dunnhumby. “Unfortunately, with the reduction in SNAP benefits and the stubbornness of center store prices, there doesn’t appear to be relief in the short term for many Americans, especially those who are already food and financially insecure.”

With food insecurity remaining and consumers still feeling the effects of inflation at the grocery store (dunnhumby found consumers believe inflation is 15 points higher than the actual 7.1% annual rate as measured by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics), Americans are visiting more grocery stores to find the best bargains. In the fourth wave of the CTT, 40% of those surveyed reported shopping at different stores to find the best value, a 9% increase year-over-year (YoY). Consumers are most willing to shop around for non-alcoholic beverages (60%), packaged foods (55%), and frozen food (54%). Similarly, 41% of consumers are shopping around to get all the products they need, up 5% from wave three and up 6% year over year.

In addition to shopping multiple stores, 80% of consumers use at least one grocery rewards program with 20% being light users, 44% are medium users, and 16% are heavy users. Heavy grocery reward users spend an average of $79 more in-store on groceries every month than non-loyalty customers.

Consumers have also steadily increased their usage of omnichannel resources over the last year to save money on grocery shopping. More than a quarter of respondents (28%) now order groceries online for delivery, at least some of the time (9% increase YoY). Those checking prices online before or during a shop has also increased by 9% YoY, up to 40%.  

“Consumers changing shopping behavior over the last year, including cross-shopping stores for the best prices and increasing their omnichannel behavior, has created an opportunity for retailers and brands to engage with them in a personalized way,” added O’Grady. “Those that are able to understand the different needs of their customers and then deliver to them tailored content and offers that provide real value, will be able to drive customer loyalty in a very competitive environment.”

The full report can be found here. More than 8,000 U.S. consumers were surveyed online across the four waves of dunnhumby's CTT.