Consumers significantly influence the direction of food and agricultural systems. The Center for Food Demand Analysis and Sustainability (CFDAS) is taking a monthly pulse on what consumers are thinking, what they can afford and what food attributes are most important to them to better guide farmers and retailers along the supply chain.
Consumer Food Insights, Volume 3, Issue 5: May 2024
Key insights include:
- Environmental impact is weighted lowest of the six food values, but it scores twice as high among Gen Z compared to Boomer+.56% of Americans report food prices as having risen the most compared to other standard household expenses in the past year.
- The most common food shopping adaptations to food inflation are seeking out sales/discounts, switching to cheaper/generic brands and buying fewer non-essentials.
- Boomer+ consumers are least likely to have changed food shopping behaviors in response to higher prices.
- 37% of Gen Z and Millennials report drawing from savings or going into debt to finance their food purchases.
- Food insecurity remains highest among Gen Z consumers (29%) relative to Millennials (15%), Gen X (13%) and Boomer+ (5%).
- CPI food inflation remained steady at a year-over-year rate of 2.2% for the third month in a row.
Survey Questionnaire: May 2024
Formulas and Calculations
Past Consumer Food Insights
WHAT WOULD YOU LIKE TO KNOW ABOUT CONSUMERS?
If you are interested in additional analysis or adding questions to the survey, consider joining our Consumer Insights consortium. Contact rdevans@purdue.edu to learn more.