With inflation and unleashed summer travel demand putting the hurt on weakened paychecks, more consumers — especially younger demos — dined out for a better deal.
For the report “Digital Economy Payments: Consumers Buy Into Food Bargains” PYMNTS surveyed 2,669 U.S. consumers about spend trends during the summer of inflation, and found that grocery shopping took a hit, as restaurant prices have risen at a slower rate than groceries.
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With consumers looking for creative and even counterintuitive ways to make their weaker dollars go further, we logged a meaningful decrease in grocery purchases from prior months.
As the study notes “that could suggest a sizable pullback in grocery spending, the average grocery purchase was $96, which was similar to spending levels maintained over previous months. The drop in the share of consumers making grocery purchases was especially prominent among Generation Z consumers, of whom just 52% shopped for groceries.”
Interestingly, certain demographics dined out for savings. Even though overall restaurant dining declined from 72% to 70% in the period studied, the report states that “the share of bridge millennials who made restaurant purchases increased from 72% in June to 74% in July, as did the percentage of millennials who did so, rising from 71% to 72%,” adding that “They may also be responding to the fact that restaurant prices, especially limited menu or fast-food service prices, rose at a much slower rate than grocery prices, meaning restaurants may prove an affordable and convenient option.”
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