NPD Reports On The Economy’s Effect On Consumer Meal Strategies

The NPD Group’s report, How Do Economically Challenging Times Affect In-Home Meal Strategies, found that one-third of adults feel that they are financially worse off this year than last. Of these “financially concerned adults,” more than half are trying to increase the frequency with which they prepare meals at home, use up leftovers, and stock up on sale items from last year.

American consumers spend about 10% of disposable income on food, but historically they have avoided food expenses rising faster than disposable income by changing their behavior. For instance, in past economic downturns, consumers have cut back on restaurants and have relied more on supermarkets and eating at home.

According to consumers, price, health, and convenience are the key drivers for food consumption; health and convenience are factors that are not typically driven by economic situations, while sensitivity to price is significant affected by the economy.

Finally, this research also suggests that the number of women entering the workforce is now beginning to level off, which may also be a contributing factor regarding the increasing consumption of at-home meals.