Survey: COVID-19 continues affecting grocery shopper behavior

Two years into the pandemic, COVID-19 has a strong influence on how consumers shop for groceries.

According to “The Lingering Impact of COVID-19 on U.S. Shoppers,” a new consumer survey from integrated sales and marketing services provider Acosta, close to seven in 10 (68%) respondents are currently shopping online for groceries, at least occasionally, as both the pandemic and economic outlook continue to evolve.

At least in some areas, Acosta data shows grocery shoppers are actually more concerned about the virus in early 2022 than they were at the end of 2021. For example, only 40% of consumers surveyed by Acosta between December 30, 2020, and January 4, 2021, said they were currently shopping online for groceries.

And the average concern level of consumers surveyed by Acosta in January 2022 was 6.6 on a scale of 1-10 (1 being not at all concerned and 10 being extremely concerned), up 0.7 points from a survey taken in December 2021. Nearly 33% of surveyed households are in a worse place financially in 2022 than they were before the pandemic.

Other interesting data points from the 2022 survey include:

• Forty-six percent of respondents rated their COVID-19 concern level as "very concerned,” while 24% of respondents rated their COVID-19 concern level as "not very concerned."
• Seventy-five percent of respondents continue wearing face coverings while shopping, even when not required.
• Thirty-one percent of respondents continue stocking up on some products, particularly paper products, canned goods, and meat.
• Twenty-two percent of respondents continue using online subscription services.
• Many respondents continue to feel the impact of increasing product shortages (60%) and higher grocery prices, especially for meat and dairy items (94%).

The recent Chicory “Online Grocery Survey 2022” of more than 1,000 U.S. shoppers shows similar levels of grocery e-commerce activity, but with different motivations. Seventy-two percent of respondents to that survey reported ordering groceries online in the past 90 days. The top driver of these orders was convenience and/or time constraints, at 46%. Interestingly, only 10% of Chicory respondents reported that health and safety concerns were the top drivers of online orders. 

Dining out habits and observations
The Acosta survey also asked respondents about their behaviors regarding out-of-home dining. Results included:

• Fifty percent of respondents say they have dined in a restaurant over the past month, and 57% of those say they intend to do so again soon.
• Fifty-four percent of respondents say they are noticing higher menu prices (up more than 10 percentage points from diners surveyed in July 2021) and seem to be less aware of limited menus, staff shortages and ongoing safety measures.

“It is no surprise that shopping behaviors developed at the start of the pandemic are still in place today, especially since concerns surrounding COVID-19 remain high for many consumers," said Colin Stewart, executive VP, business intelligence at Acosta. "In fact, Acosta's research shows pandemic-related concern levels among consumers in January 2022 were only slightly lower than those of consumers' surveyed about a year ago. Ongoing worries over safety and finances are compounded by product shortages and rising grocery prices resulting from supply chain challenges. While faced with the market's continued uncertainty, consumers are likely to stick with – and possibly increase – shopping habits picked up over the past two years."

Acosta's “The Lingering Impact of COVID-19 on U.S. Shoppers” report was gathered via online surveys using the company's proprietary shopper community, conducted between Jan. 25-27, 2022.