Summer vacations may be looking a little different for a lot of us this year.
With prices of everyday necessities still elevated, a new report finds that many Americans will forego splurging on trips this year, as they focus on the essentials instead.
“A value-driven summer is taking shape,” Ibotta declares in its new 2026 Summer Outlook. Its data shows that “small decisions about what to keep, what to cut, and what to prioritize are already showing up in shopping behavior.”
83% of the shoppers Ibotta surveyed said saving money is a priority this summer, as they expect grocery prices to remain high. 71% said saving money matters this summer even more than it did last year.
So when it comes to building a shopping list, the nice-to-haves are being pushed aside in favor of the must-haves.
By analyzing millions of purchases from receipts submitted to Ibotta, the report found that shoppers are “moving away from convenience and discretionary categories and toward staples and at-home consumption.”
Purchases of grocery staples like beef, produce, dairy, and pantry essentials have remained steady, while sales of convenience-oriented products like frozen meals and snacks, cereal and refrigerated ready-made meals are down more than 9%.
Combine this data with the finding that one in three shoppers surveyed said they will be taking fewer summer trips than last year, and Ibotta sensed a pattern: “the ‘summer basket’ is being rebuilt around hosting, cooking, and everyday consumption — not travel, novelty, or impulse.”
So shoppers aren’t necessarily cutting back on spending, they’re reallocating it, spending more selectively on their needs and foregoing some of their wants.
Ibotta’s findings are in line with a separate survey conducted by KPMG. Its Consumer Pulse Summer 2026 Survey also found that shoppers are prioritizing the essentials, so they can spend what’s left on what’s really meaningful to them.
“They’re really curating their basket,” KPMG’s Julia Wilson told Bloomberg. “They’re looking at, what is in my cart, and what is that one thing that I need. So it’s very much a curation.”
By “spending selectively this summer,” cutting back in some areas, KPMG found that shoppers are trying to ensure they can afford something special this summer, even if it’s not the big vacation they may have splurged on in the past.
“We’re seeing a consumer who has done their homework. They know exactly what they want, whether that is a sporting event, concert, or vacation, and they’re making trade-offs in their daily lives to make that a reality,” KPMG’s Duleep Rodrigo said in a statement.
And he added a warning to brands. “When consumers are this deliberate, brands have less room to be vague. They must be explicit about what experience they’re offering and why it’s worth choosing.”
Ibotta reached a similar conclusion. If brands don’t want to be left on the shelf, promotions may be the answer. Across multiple seasonal categories, it found that promoted products outperform their regular-priced counterparts.
Ibotta found that “consumers aren’t necessarily spending less across the board, but they’re spending more selectively.” And this summer, brands that don’t capture shoppers’ attention with discounts and promotions may be the ones who ultimately pay the price.
Image sources: Ibotta/Lopez Robin on Unsplash
