During May, IRI found 30% of consumers struggled to afford groceries and 24% opted for private labels.
Overall, 77% said they had altered their grocery purchases and their buying behaviors in response to inflation. That is an increase of six percentage points from April and 16 percentage points higher than what IRI found in November.
Almost all consumers said they are concerned about rising prices, with half of them saying they are very concerned. More than half said they are extremely worried about higher gas prices. In addition to the 30% who struggle to afford groceries, nearly four in 10 described their financial health as strained.
Shoppers' most popular tactics for dealing with inflation at the grocery store were looking for sales and specials, cited by 45% of consumers, and making a list and sticking to it, which 39% of shoppers are doing. Another 23% are buying less items on their grocery trips.
Cutbacks in spending also affected some consumers' store choices. Sixteen percent said they shopped a wider range of stores during the month to capitalize on promotions, while another 19% said they are turning to dollar stores and/or low-cost grocers to save money.