Grocery prices are still high, up 21% on average, since inflation started to surge more than three years ago. While you can’t control inflation, you can find ways to mitigate its impact. Kiersten Torok began to using coupons in high school and relied on them even more in 2020 when she lost her job during the pandemic.
When times like these come up, coupons are necessary for so many Americans,” said Torok, known on social media for her couponing tips. Many stores, like Walmart and Target, now have coupons on their apps. “All you have to do is scan an item in a store, and the coupons pop up on your app. Then, they automatically apply at the register,” Torok said.
Making a budget is key to keeping grocery spending under control. Start by reviewing how much you’ve spent on the last few grocery shopping trips. Once you know how much you spend, set a goal, such as staying within a specific budget or reducing your spending.
Sarah Schweisthal, a personal finance expert, recommends taking everything out of your fridge and pantry and making an inventory to avoid buying duplicates. Once you’ve tracked your spending and inventoried what you already have, the next step is to create a plan. Write down the items you want to buy and their estimated costs, staying on budget.
If you tend to wander off your grocery list in-store, try shopping online and choosing curbside pickup. “I 100% recommend sitting down Sunday morning and just looking at the stores and comparing the items you need for the week,” Torok said. If you’re in charge of buying groceries for your entire family, including them in your grocery budgeting routine can be beneficial.
Buying in bulk can be very cost-effective; it is recommended that you team up with a friend or family member to buy specific items in bulk and share the discount. Lastly, you can save money by using food-sharing apps such as OLIO, which connects people around their community to share extra grocery items, and Too Good To Go, where you can buy surplus food at a discount. Food prices have largely leveled off, but many people are still frustrated when they visit their local grocery store.
Although prices are no longer rising as much as they did during the pandemic years, it may not feel that way for several reasons. Grocery prices rose just over 1% in the last 12 months. This is a significant improvement from the previous year, which saw a near 5% increase, and even more so from two years ago when prices surged by double digits.
However, the cumulative effect of those earlier increases is still being felt. Cindy Seinar, a retired autoworker in Lynchburg, Virginia, expressed her exasperation: “You go in for one thing, and you come out, and it’s $45.” Adding to the frustration is “shrinkflation,” where companies reduce package sizes while keeping prices the same, meaning consumers get less for their money.
Grocery budget hacks for consumers.
Many people have been begrudgingly paying higher prices for a while, but more Americans are starting to push back. PepsiCo reported that sales of its Frito-Lay snacks fell in the most recent quarter as shoppers became more sensitive to rising prices. Amanda Whitworth, who stocks grocery shelves at a Target store in Florida, often directs customers to in-house bargains at the retailer.
“You may not ever have considered the Market Pantry bread, but it’s $1.39 for a big loaf of it,” Whitworth explained. While the prices of some items have dropped over the last year, the overall cost of groceries is unlikely to fall substantially. However, as grocery inflation slows, wages are starting to catch up.
Over the last year, average wages have risen by 3.9%, about three and a half times faster than grocery prices. Americans are growing increasingly frustrated with the constant price fluctuations, which have become a hallmark of the modern consumer economy. This rising discontent is fueled by the unpredictable nature of inflation and dynamic pricing, leaving many unsure of the actual cost of goods and services.
Dynamic pricing, where the cost of an item changes based on real-time market conditions, has made budgeting a challenge for many. This approach is now creeping into various sectors, from ride-sharing services to groceries, further adding to the confusion. Walmart’s initiative of testing digital price tags has sparked fears of variable pricing among consumers, despite the company’s insistence that its “everyday low price” strategy remains unchanged.
This uncertainty fosters a sense of price fatigue among Americans, who constantly need to re-evaluate their spending. Carly Fink, the head of research at Provoke Insights, notes that consumers are susceptible to price changes given the economic backdrop. Many are anxious about high inflation, compounded by elevated interest rates, which add another layer of financial pressure.
A retail expert, Jon Hauptman, emphasizes how price sensitivity does not always translate to price awareness. While consumers might not recall exact prices, they sense when costs rise broadly, forcing them to shop more strategically. Research by CivicScience reveals that many consumers equate dynamic pricing with price gouging.
Similarly, Provoke Insights found that most consumers are still unfamiliar with dynamic pricing but tend to react negatively when encountering it, preferring to avoid businesses that employ such strategies. The negative perception stems from how companies communicate their pricing decisions. As Ravi Dhar from the Yale School of Management points out, businesses often frame their pricing strategies around profit maximization.
This approach leads consumers to see dynamic pricing as unfair, perceiving it as a zero-sum game where they lose. The wild price swings experienced by Americans are creating a landscape of financial unpredictability and frustration. As dynamic pricing spreads across more sectors, the disconnect between corporate profit strategies and consumer expectations continues to grow, intensifying the sense of price fatigue among the public.
