Consumers to Continue Thrifty Spending on Foods

CHICAGO - It appears that a thriftier consumer may be emerging from the recession. According to a new report from The NPD Group, many consumers feel that their financial situation will not improve or will be worse over the next year. The food and beverage market research report finds that after two years of cutting corners, consumers have learned to get by with less and say they will continue to practice thriftiness for at least the next six to 12 months and perhaps well beyond that.

The report, “What’s Next on the Road to Recovery,” finds that nearly one in five consumers expect to be worse off 12 months from now than they are today, and half of all consumers expect their financial situation to be the same as it is today. Looking ahead, nine of ten consumers say they will plan and watch their spending on food and beverages outside the home.

“There are encouraging signs that the economy may be heading for recovery, but according to our findings, consumers, especially those with lower incomes, continue to struggle,” says Dori Hickey, director of product development at NPD and author of the report. “Most consumers have unquestionably felt the sting of tough economic times and have cut back on spending and adopted thriftier behaviors; behaviors that may become entrenched the longer the recession continues. Our findings suggest we may be looking at a new ‘normal’.”

Among the thriftier behaviors consumers say they will do more often than now over the next six months are:

• decreasing spending on groceries;
• using coupons for food and beverage items from newspapers or magazines;
• stocking up on foods and beverages when they are on sale;
• searching store circulars for low prices on food or beverages that are on sale;
• buying less expensive brands of foods and beverages
• searching online for manufacturer coupons.