Consumer Trends from July
Kroger’s 84.51 data analytics subsidiary highlighted the latest consumer trends related to back-to-school shopping, summertime consumption, promotional effectiveness and purchasing habits in the July edition of its "Consumer Digest."
Based on July survey results, one takeaway 84.51 noted was that consumers’ concern over inflation is dwindling. Concerns have dropped to the lowest level the company has seen in the past 12 months at 61%. This is down 10% year over year.
While more shoppers (26%) said they are not comfortable with their finances versus 14% being very comfortable, the majority feel neutral (62%), a claim 84.51 says it’s continuing to see month over month.
Other key takeaways include:
Favorite Summertime Treats, Dishes
- Nearly 80% of shoppers said burgers are a summer favorite and selected them as one of their preferred foods to grill this season.
- Chicken, steak and hot dogs also ranked high.
- Shoppers aged 35-44 are engaging more heavily with meatless options (28%) versus any other age group.
- Ice cream is a top impulse buy for shoppers, and half of shoppers surveyed said they are purchasing more ice cream than usual this summer.
Back-to-School Trends
- 42% of shoppers haven’t started back-to-school shopping, while 14% have. (Back- to-school shopping doesn’t apply to the remaining 44% surveyed.)
- Broadly, shoppers are purchasing from multiple retailers for back-to-school supplies, with the most common destination being mass merchants.
- More than half of shoppers said they do not purchase back-to-school supplies from drug stores (e.g., CVS, Walgreens) or club stores (e.g., Sam’s, Costco).
- 41% of consumers plan to prepare more meals ahead of time when school is back in session, and 30% plan to purchase more pre-made meals, fruits and vegetables.
Promotional Effectiveness
Shoppers are divided on what promotions they prefer most.
- 17% of shoppers ranked digital coupons lowest on their list.
- Digital coupons are leveraged most when shopping perimeter categories (e.g., produce, dairy, meat/seafood), while threshold events and endcaps are used most often when shopping center store (e.g., shelf-stable, drinks & snacks/candy).
- Lower income shoppers cited digital promotions as the top way to save money, while higher income shoppers gravitate towards threshold events.
- When it comes to threshold events (e.g., BOGO/spend x, save x), the most popular is “Spend $15, Save $5,” particularly for younger shoppers.
Other key takeaways from the research include:
- Store pickup is popular. While the majority of shoppers plan to shop in-store in the upcoming months, grocery pickup showed notable growth over the past quarter.
- Fewer shoppers report noticing price increases in dairy and meat/fish compared to the past year average.
- More shoppers notice price increases in drinks, while produce, frozen foods and paper products trended flat.
- Items that shoppers are most likely to decide to purchase during their shopping trip:
- 69% ice cream/novelties
- 67% snacks/candy
- 63% fresh baker
- 45% produce
