Just over half of shoppers feel comfortable affording groceries and household essentials, even as grocery purchasing power has improved slightly, according to the latest Acosta Group Affordability Tracker. The share expressing comfort fell from 68 percent in January to 53 percent in August, a 15-percentage-point decline suggesting modest economic gains have provided limited relief for households managing years of higher prices.
The second report in the series, launched in July, pairs Acosta Group’s measure of grocery purchasing power with proprietary shopper research. The findings show an affordability recovery that has largely stabilized, while shoppers continue adjusting where they shop and what they buy.
“The affordability recovery has reached a point where small gains in purchasing power are offering little breathing room for households,” said Colin Stewart, EVP of business intelligence at Acosta Group. “Shoppers are weighing a grocery purchase against everything else their income needs to cover, and the habits they developed during the inflation surge remain practical ways to manage that pressure. For brands and retailers, the opportunity is to make value easier to recognize and give shoppers greater confidence in what they choose.”
Key findings
- For the four weeks ending Sept. 5, Acosta’s Typical Stock-Up Trip, an 84-item basket of common grocery and household essentials, cost $366.42, up 3.5 percent year over year. The basket costs approximately 31 percent more than in the comparable 2020 period.
- Median hourly earnings rose approximately 4.6 percent year over year in the second quarter, reducing the work time needed to buy the basket from 11.84 hours to 11.72 hours, a gain of roughly seven minutes.
- The share of shoppers uncomfortable affording groceries and household essentials rose from 17 percent in January to 26 percent in August.
- Over the previous six months, 43 percent of shoppers cut back on nonessentials and 43 percent spent more time looking for deals, while 38 percent bought more store brands and 35 percent shopped at stores with lower prices.
- Looking ahead, 47 percent felt confident they could afford groceries and household needs over the next 12 months, while 34 percent were worried.
The findings suggest retailers should make pricing, promotions and assortment easier to navigate, while brands should clearly communicate the quality and benefits that justify a purchase, with value extending beyond the lowest price to convenience, package size and confidence a product will meet household needs.
The tracker combines NIQ Discover basket pricing with U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics earnings data, using pricing through Sept. 5 and second-quarter earnings alongside Acosta Group Shopper Community research. Acosta Group’s agencies include Acosta, Crossmark, Mosaic and Premium Retail Services.