Consumers Change Shopping Lists To Cope With Recession

Research firm tracks buying habits in tanking economy

April 9, 2009
Since the recession officially began at the end of 2007, U.S. consumers have been changing food and beverage purchases, as well as their dining out habits. Market research firm Mintel has followed consumers' spending patterns.

"Over the past year, we've seen people trying to save money on food by either dining out less, cutting supermarket bills, or both. More people cook at home now, but they still want healthy, convenient, tasty food and drink for their dollar," said Bill Patterson, senior analyst at Mintel. "As consumers spend less and stay in more, certain food markets are benefiting. These recession-proof, or rather recession-fueled, industries are destined to do well throughout the economic downturn, but it will be interesting to track their sales after the nation recovers."

Bread — The core of basic American eating, from breakfast bagels to lunchtime sandwiches to dinner rolls, Mintel sees the bread market faring the recession quite well. Originally predicted to grow 2.1 percent in 2008, Mintel's latest figures show the bread market having grown seven percent. Mintel now predicts higher growth for bread through 2013.

Sweet Spreads — "Brown bag lunches are back!" says Bill Patterson. America's quintessential lunch — the PB&J — is doing great during recessionary times. A healthy, cheap source of protein, peanut butter will drive sweet spread sales to increase 26 percent from 2008-2013, up substantially from Mintel's initial prediction of 12 percent.

Frozen Meals — Convenient, available in family-sized servings, filling and often inexpensive, frozen meals will likely benefit from the recession. Mintel expects a total sales increase of 4.5 percent in 2008, a jump from its original -0.3 percent expectation.

Side Dishes — More people are cooking at home, but small conveniences like ready-prepared side dishes aren't out of the question for many families. Mintel expected the side dish market to grow just 2.3 percent in 2008, but in fact, it grew more than 5 percent, driven by increased sales of basic comfort foods such as mac and cheese.

Coffee — The $4 latte is finally going out of fashion. More adults are making their coffee at home, causing the retail coffee market to grow 6 percent in 2008, a substantial jump from Mintel's original forecast of 2.4 percent. Mintel expects this market to enjoy continued success in the future, though recent, less expensive coffee drink launches from Dunkin Donuts and McDonald's will compete with at-home coffee sales.

Patterson notes that these recession-proof food and drink markets share commonalities. These products often fall into the comfort/simple food categories and can be purchased at a general supermarket for a relatively low price. Then at home, they can be prepared and enjoyed with relative ease.

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