We are hosting our Consumables Q&A on Wednesday, September 28 at 2 PM ET. Send in your questions ahead of the call to .
Grocery shopping behavior changes (PG, KR, UTZ)
In-store traffic to grocery stores is up 2% YOY according to VideoMining Grocery Shopper Insights. Longer shopping trips are down 17% sequentially in Q2. More consumers have shifted to shopping trips consisting of less than 15 items and instead have shifted to purchases of five items or less on half of their trips. The average number of items purchased during individual shopping trips decreased 8% in Q2 from Q1 to 10.7 units. The average price was $4.18 per item. Shopping trips have not fallen as much as the items as consumers are spending more time comparing items. For example, frozen food single serve meals had a price increase of 17% YOY and a 14% increase in category shopping time. More consumers are browsing categories and not making a purchase. The percentage of consumers who browsed but did not purchase center store categories was 45%. Laundry detergent has had a 12% increase in prices and 58% of consumers who browsed the category did not make a purchase. Other categories that had sizable price increases like salty snacks’ 11.6% inflation did not see a change in the number of consumers making a purchase after browsing. Consumers are adjusting their shopping behavior as a result of the surge in prices. Management teams continue to say elasticity has been below history, but changes are coming at an accelerated pace. We hosted a flash call on the grocery sector a couple of months ago outlining the changes that were happening and what could happen in the future, CLICK HERE for the replay.
More clubs (BJ)
Later this week BJ’s Wholesale Club will open its 231st and newest store in Noblesville, Indiana. It will be the chain’s first store in the state. BJ’s Wholesale Club recently paid $6.6M for a 28-acre parcel in Mt. Juliet, Tennessee. The plans for the location include a 104,353 square foot store and six-pump gas station. The store will be a part of a larger mixed-use development featuring a mix of residential, office, and retail. The city, 20 miles east of Nashville, is one of the fastest growing in the state. Last week, the chain opened its newest location and fifth in the state of Michigan in Canton. BJ’s also had its permitting plans cleared for a new store in Flagler County, Florida. BJ’s has accelerated new store openings to 11 in 2022 compared to opening 10 in aggregate from 2016 to 2020. BJ’s is locating new stores in a combination of new and existing markets in new and existing developments. We have been monitoring new store traffic performance and BJ’s has “earned the right” to pick up the pace in openings. BJ’s is on our long list.
On-premise (BUD, SAM)
According to CGA more than three-quarters of consumers are still visiting bars and restaurants at least as often as normal. CGA surveyed 1,597 consumers in four states (Florida, Texas, California, and New York) from September 14-15. 37% said they have visited on-premise establishments more often than usual over the last three months while 39% said they have visited about the same. 25% of respondents said they visited less often citing an increase in the cost of living (63%), on-premise price increases (58%), and less disposable income (49%). Nearly 70% of respondents said they noticed higher prices at bars and restaurants and 30% responded by purchasing fewer drinks than a normal visit.
