IDAHO FALLS, ID - Inflation continues to have ongoing impacts on the retail sector. With inflation hitting a 40-year high at 9.1 percent in June of this year, we here at AndNowUKnow are wondering how retailers—and their produce departments—will be impacted ahead of the Labor Day weekend. Providing answers to some of these questions, Category Partners recently released some insights into the rising grocery prices and their impact on shoppers.
“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.
Produce has seen one of the highest percentage price drivers in grocery in the past four weeks leading up to Labor Day, as the source noted. While this category usually sees one of the lowest overall costs on the Labor Day BBQ menu, price gains in the produce department have shown to be more aggressive in recent months.
As Category Partners went on to note, Iceberg lettuce has risen more than 15 percent compared to last year, with seedless watermelon prices up nearly 20 percent, and corn up more than 8 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 updates and insights come to light, keep a tab on the industry with us at ANUK.
