Smart & Final’s Post

Interesting stats on this WSJ article. Considering that between 2020 & 2023 commodities like Grains, Oilseed and Sugar showed average price increases of 75%, 55% and 38% respectively, it's no surprise to see their impact downstream the Food Manufacturing value chain on proteins like Beef, Tilapia & Bacon to items like Cooking Oil and Mayonnaise. #elniñoeffect #ukrainerussiawar #commodities #consumerpriceindex #shrinkflation #grocerybill

Dynamic pricing may include logic to adjust price in response to imbalances between supply and demand which could result in “Surge pricing”, but to call it surge pricing is to focus on the most negative aspect to the consumer. It also depends on how prominently changes in demand influence the change in price compared to other price drivers and whether there are robust caps in place to prevent usury level pricing.

It’s easy to Save Money on Groceries and that doesn’t mean you have to buy food you don’t like or to settle for low quality foods and products. Making a grocery list will save you time and money and will keep you on track. Check out our top 10 ways to save at the Grocery store: https://ow.ly/MTqy50ROQg0

How do you decide where to spend your food budget? Making food at home is time consuming AND costly. Buying food away from home is more costly than making it in-home AND service is likely lacking compared to what it was pre-pandemic. Consumers have a difficult decision on where to spend their food budget cash. Let me know how you are making these decisions, I'm curious how others are approaching this! #consumerspending #foodbudget https://lnkd.in/gEeAnExR

Cost of groceries has increased 36.5% since 2019 #bcwewannaknow Some items have even hit a 40% increase - this is NATIONAL average, folks. Here in San Diego, we are up to 13% higher (YIKES people) and if you guessed that the good stuff (eggs, milk, cheese, rice potatoes, chicken, beef, tofu and vegetables) are at the +40% mark - you'd be correct #futureworktrends Full WSJ Article: https://lnkd.in/gY2Ms2VC

11.3% of consumer spending is going towards food. This is a 30 year high when you look at total food spending, but the number is misleading. In 1991 when consumer spending reached 11.4% it was driven by the high cost of groceries. In 1991, Groceries made up over 7% of food spending and Dining Out made up 4%. In 2022 those numbers are virtually equal - at about 5.6% each. But the combined total is causing people to buy less because they are finally tired of food companies continually raising their prices. In this The Wall Street Journal article, The Hershey Company and Kraft Heinz have both reported a slow down in transactions. This is on the heels of McDonald's reporting a Q4 decline in dining occasions forcing the CEO to acknowledge they have reached the ceiling on price increases. Consumers are buying food less frequently yet that expense is making a bigger cut into their disposable income. Which means discretionary spending is most likely a victim. Is your brand feeling it? If so, how is your brand competing? What are you doing to become indispensable to your customer? And what are you doing make sure you are on the shopping list? https://lnkd.in/ezXYSfru #consumerspending #consumerbehavior #fmcg #cpg #diningout #foodcosts #inflation

As a companion piece to the article above, here are excellent things that you can do to lower your grocery store bills.

The convenience fee Sometimes it’s obvious, like the $1 that you get charged for using an ATM or a credit card, and it’s simply not worth the hassle to walk a few blocks. And sometimes it’s not, like the cost we all pay for the conveniently wrapped fruits or vegetables at the market–wrapped in plastic that will not degrade in our lifetimes. The convenience fee might be the time you spend at the drive-through at Starbucks, instead of walking inside, or, heaven forbid, brewing your own coffee at home. Or choosing media to consume because it’s right there, not a few clicks away… But the convenience fees, whether metaphorical or actual, keep rising. It turns out that a life lived conveniently isn’t always a better one. The cost of convenience ends up being too high. with thanks to #sethgodin #slowselling #slowdowntospeedup #realvalue

We took a look at 'grey market' products - what they are, and how they can be problematic, particularly in the convenience sector. https://lnkd.in/g9umGYq2

Inflation: A branding problem? A 12-ounce tub of Kraft’s Philadelphia cream cheese costs $6.69. The store brand is just $3.19. A 24-pack of Kraft single cheese slices is $7.69; the store label = $2.99. A 32-ounce Heinz ketchup bottle is $6.29, while the alternative is just $1.69. The brand-name products together = $21.67. The alternatives = $7.87.