BAKERSFIELD, Calif. — Grocery prices are still much higher than this time last year. We're paying more than 4% more. The USDA says prices are still expected to increase between 2.5 and 3.5% this year.
The VP of Operations for one pasta brand says the price increase is related to promotions being canceled. He says manufacturers haven't had to offer them because of how sales have been.
The pandemic has changed shopping habits too..
"Many people keep lists but not everyone. So people really like those impulse purchases. They like seeing kind of what the new things are so I think in the future we're gonna see a great emphasis on figuring out how to sort of translate that for e-commerce and translating that even for the efficient grocery shopping so maybe some of it is done in marketing. Maybe some of it happens outside the store," according to Melanie Zanoza Bartelme, a global food analyst for Minte.
She adds her company's research shows people plan to do more home cooking, even when the pandemic is over. She says don't expect all the changes we've seen with store design to go away either.
"I definitely think in store design going forward we're going to see a lot more emphasis on safety and wider aisles and maybe putting in some of those technologies right at the start that can make these things more efficient and a way to pivot and be flexible when this or another type of issue comes up."
Another trend she expects to continue is people having an interest in supporting local with how they're getting their groceries.
