September has arrived, and that means Labor Day weekend is upon us. As shoppers start heating up their grills, inflation has hit a 40-year high, coming in at 9.1 percent as of June, leaving many curious about how it will impact retail sales ahead of the holiday. To answer this question, Category Partners has released valuable insights into grocery prices and how they are affecting retailers and consumers.
“Our team has been closely tracking consumer sentiment and retail pricing across all of the retail perishables departments for more than a year,” shared Category Partners Chief Executive Officer Tom Barnes. “Consumers are feeling it and they are not shy about expressing their concern.”
According to a recent press release, Category Partners’ research showed that groceries are the number one consumer goods segment where consumers have noticed inflation, with 92 percent of consumers stating that they are somewhat or extremely concerned about inflation.
Meat has seen steady price increases over the last year, with a quarter pound of ground beef being 8 percent more expensive compared to 2021.
In addition to meat, other key barbecue categories have seen noticeable rises, including hamburger buns, which have had prices jump nearly 18 percent since last year. Potato chips have also seen an average cost increase of 22 percent per serving, condiments have experienced price increases of more than 15 percent over the last month, and dairy is up more than 9 percent.
“The traditional end-of-summer BBQs held over Labor Day gave our team the opportunity to encapsulate inflation in a single event across all perishables. Meat, produce, bakery, and deli are top on the shopping list this time of year,” Barnes continued. “We measured what an average Labor Day BBQ is likely to do to our collective wallets here in 2022. On average, your end-of-summer BBQ will cost ~13 percent more this year compared to 2021.”
As more data and insights become available, look to Deli Market News to report the latest.
