Morgan Moore’s grocery bills are sky-high. So she has started to stay away from name brands and buy more of Walmart’s Great Value private-label brand.
The freelance graphic designer in Gilmer, Texas, wanted to buy bacon on a recent trip, but “just walked away” because it was too expensive. Bacon prices increased 2.3% in November from the previous month and have surged 17.8% annually. Moore has also started shopping more frequently at Dollar General for basic meats, dairy, and eggs.
Prices there, she has found, “are a little bit cheaper, but still not as cheap as I’d like them to be.” Higher prices for groceries are putting pressure on many Americans’ grocery budgets, forcing them to change how they shop for food and essentials.
Last month, grocery prices were 6.4% higher than they were a year ago, the fastest pace of food inflation in more than a decade. Some shoppers are responding by trimming the number of products they’re buying at the store and trading down to less-expensive private-label brands.
According to companies, market data, public surveys, and interviews with customers. Others are switching to cheaper stores. “It’s a squeeze,” said Matt Larson, a teacher in Salt Lake City, Utah, who shops for his wife and their four children at Kroger and Costco. READ MORE
