Saving money on your everyday purchases has become more important in recent years. But looking for deals, comparison shopping and clipping coupons takes work. And more shoppers apparently aren’t willing to put in the effort anymore.
The consumer research company Attest surveyed shoppers for its 2025 U.S. Food & Beverage Trends report, to find out whether their thrifty habits are enduring, or fleeting.
It turns out that some are sticking to the money-saving techniques they adopted when inflation struck – but skimping and saving isn’t as prevalent as it once was.
Only a third of shoppers say they’re currently buying cheaper food items to help save money, down 12 percentage points from a couple of years ago. And only a quarter say they’re buying less food, down 14 points. This would seem to indicate that “shoppers are becoming much less thrifty as food inflation has eased up,” Attest suggests.
The most popular tactic for saving money is to switch to cheaper brands. But this practice is also declining, as 45% of shoppers say they’re currently doing so, down five percentage points. Buying store brands, another frequent money-saving tactic, is not as prevalent, either. 46% of shoppers say they’re “very likely” to purchase store brands, down 12% from just one year ago.
Other ways to save money include shopping around. 47% say they’re “very likely” to visit multiple grocery stores to get the best deals, down 11 percentage points from last year. And 27% are likely to seek out a cheaper store, down 7%.
Overall, “the influence of price on product selection has lessened,” Attest found. Two years ago, 52% ranked price their first priority when deciding what grocery products to buy, and where. Today, that percentage has dipped below 50%, with more shoppers citing quality and taste as their top priorities.
That said, shoppers are still flocking to the store that they perceive as having the best prices. As other surveys have shown, Walmart is not necessarily everyone’s favorite place to shop – but it’s the place where most people shop most frequently. Attest found that Walmart dominates on customer loyalty, with nearly half of shoppers saying they buy groceries there, up 5% from last year. Kroger is a distant second, cited by 10%, followed by ALDI, Costco and Target.
In other findings, Attest noted that online grocery shopping is on the rise. After giving it a try during Covid, the practice peaked in popularity in 2021, with two-thirds of shoppers buying at least some of their groceries online. As the pandemic eased, more shoppers went back to in-person shopping. But that trend seems to be reversing again, with at least 62% now buying some or all of their groceries online.
And that, too, in a way, could be a sign that price is less of a priority. More than 58% of shoppers tell Attest that they believe the best grocery deals are offered in store. With more of them buying online anyway, it seems these shoppers will knowingly pay a premium for the convenience, even if they know they could get a better deal by shopping in person.
Grocery inflation isn’t quite over, and the holidays can be an expensive time of year. So saving money on everyday purchases is still important. Other surveys and statistics have shown that coupon use is on the rise and promotions are more plentiful. But Attest’s findings, at least, seem to indicate that some shoppers don’t want to put in the time and effort to save money anymore. If that’s the case, good for them – it will just mean more deals available for everyone else.
Image source: Amy Jeffries 
