Survey: More consumers shopping multiple grocery stores to find lowest prices

Perception is stronger than reality when it comes inflation.

Americans are not yet feeling relief from the drop in the food-at-home inflation rate and believe it is 15 points higher than the actual 7.1% annual rate as measured by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, according dunnhumby’s most recent “Consumer Trends Tracker” report. While the latest measurement of consumers' perception of food inflation has dropped 1.6% (to 22.6%), food inflation has actually dropped 4.9% since the last wave of the report.

The quarterly study also found that more consumers are looking for deals, with 40% reporting they are shopping at different stores to find the best value, a 9% increase year-over-year.

In a troubling finding, dunnhumby found that 36% of U.S. families have skipped meals due to financial reasons in the last year.  The states of Oklahoma, Arkansas, Louisiana, Alabama, Tennessee, Georgia, and West Virginia continue to stand out for having the highest rate of food (36%) and financial insecurity (70%) in the country. 

Other key highlights from the dunnhumby report are below. 

•Over half of customers (53%) report social media sites have influenced their grocery purchases in-store or online. Across all age groups, 37% were influenced by Facebook, 31% by YouTube and 24% by Instagram.

•Consumers have steadily increased their use of omnichannel resources during the last year to optimize their grocery shopping and save money. Twenty-eight percent of consumers now order groceries online for delivery at least some of the time, up 9% year-over-year.

 Those checking prices online before or during a shop has also increased by 9% over last year, up to 40%. In addition, 37% now interact with retailer apps (a 7% increase).

•Retailers’ apps are now consumers’ second most preferred method of being contacted by a retailer, with e-mail being the first.

•Eighty percent of consumers use at least one grocery rewards program,  with 20% being light users, 44% being medium users and 16% being heavy users.

 Heavy grocery reward users spend an average of $79 more in-store on groceries every month than non-loyalty customers. They also are more likely to be from households with children at home, are between 35-44 years old, and have a household income of more than $100,000.

“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,” said Matt O’Grady, president of Americas for dunnhumby.  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.”