Annual Inflation decreased in these 10 grocery categories
Inflation has decreased in a number of product categories compared to last year, but several subsets of consumers are still being hit hard by high prices.
According to Catalina’s new Shopping Basket Index for the first quarter of this year, the average rate of inflation was 3%, on par with the overall 3.5% inflation rate reported in March's US Consumer Price Index (CPI). When compared to Q1 2023, the rate of inflation fell in the 10 common grocery categorys, dropping anywhere from 18% (yogurt) to 6% (deodorants, soaps & detergents ) in the first quarter of this year.
Other categories that saw large decreases in inflation compared to a year ago were soft drinks & water (-15%), coffee (-15%), frozen vegetables (-15%) and frozen prepared foods (-16%). The overall rate of inflation decreased to 3% from 16% in the first quarter of 2023.
"Our latest data shows grocery inflation has dropped considerably from a year ago in these 10 categories," said Wesley Bean, U.S. chief revenue officer at Catalina. "While this is positive news overall, it's important to remember the impact isn't felt evenly. Value-conscious shoppers are still grappling with significant price increases on essential items, even as the broader inflation rate cools."
While inflation's impact on the overall cereal category in the first quarter is significantly lower than Q3 2023 (+5% vs. +13%), the price of cereal bars increased +13%. While overall coffee prices dipped slightly, Catalina's Shopping Basket Index showed only a +1% increase in the first quarter, with prices for regular coffee (-1%), coffee pods (-2%) and instant coffee (-3%) decreasing below the same period in 2023. However, convenient ready-to-drink single-serve coffee drinks had a price increase of +3%.
Catalina also noted that value brands, which consumers flocked to during high inflationary periods, are seeing prices rise faster than their premium counterparts in some categories. Key value brand categories that continue to cost more than one year ago include bath tissue (+6%), pizza (+5%) and detergent (+2%). Premium brand prices in the same categories dropped slightly or remained flat: Bath tissue (-2%), detergent (-1%) and pizza (0%).
For families with children, many popular items remained well above the average +3% inflation rate for the first quarter of this year. These include baby laundry detergent (+21%), kids’ frozen dinners (+7) and baby wipes (+6%). The cost of name brand baby laundry detergent rose +21% in the latest quarter, while private brand products dipped -2%. During the same period, private brand baby wipe prices rose 11%, while brand name products increased 6%.
"When we drill down to individual products within these 10 categories, we gain insights as to why shoppers say they continue to feel the impact of higher prices, even though the rate of inflation has fallen considerably from six months ago," added Bean. "Families with children and on-the-go consumers are some of the lifestyle categories continuing to feel the pinch."