Consumers ditching name brands amid grocery cost inflation: Data

(NewsNation) — Consumers across the country are getting savvier with their budgets at the grocery store by ditching name brands for cheaper store-brand products.

The trend has caught the eye of many major retailers, several of whom have announced price cuts on thousands of items. Plus, while grocery costs are up only a little more than 1% from a year ago, they are up 26% compared to prepandemic prices.

Consumers prefer store-brand products

To combat the cost increase, Americans are shopping at Walmart, Kroger, Aldi and more to snag store-brand products.

New data from the Food Industry Association found that 65% of shoppers choose store brands or private labels over the big national food brands because of lower prices, according to a Wall Street Journal report. Another research group, Circana, found that dollar sales of private brands increased 6% in 2023.

Relief on the horizon?

Some relief may be on the horizon for consumers, as major retailers have announced price cuts. Walgreens and Target have each pledged to lower prices for thousands of items. Amazon Fresh has promised 30% savings. Aldi and Kroger have offered hundreds of millions in savings.

Walmart recently announced a new food line where products are expected to cost less than $5.

But keep in mind, these deals are essential items from bread to diapers and personal hygiene products.

Trae Bodge, a personal finance advocate and smart shopping expert, told NewsNation that with these changes, consumers may want to keep an eye out for some of the products they may have stopped buying because they were too expensive.

“On those essential items, it seems that maybe you weren’t buying for your family anymore because the price was so high. I think now, consumers will feel more comfortable to dive back in,” Bodge said.

Bodge also hopes the next thing that will go away is “shrinkflation,” the practice of shrinking the size of a product but selling it for the same price.

In the meantime, Bodge recommends consumers make good use of coupons, rewards programs and buying in bulk. She said that anything consumers can do to stretch a dollar goes a long way.