Voice of The Food Industry Blog

FMI’s June Grocery Shopper Snapshot measured sentiment about household finances, food prices and their plans for the summer. 

By: Steve Markenson, Vice President, Research & Insights, FMI 

Summer begins this coming week. Schools are letting out. The weather is heating up. How are grocery shoppers feeling? What are they planning for in the coming months? 

We checked in with grocery shoppers as we launch into the summer of 2026. Our latest Grocery Shopper Snapshot, conducted from June 2 to 6, surveyed 1,516 grocery shoppers on their attitudes and outlooks regarding a range of issues, as well as their summer plans. Here is an overview of what we learned. 

What is the current sentiment of American grocery shoppers?  

• American grocery shoppers’ sentiment overall in 2026 so far is divided, with 37% having negative feelings and 39% having positive feelings about how the year has gone. 
• However, grocery shoppers are a little more optimistic and hopeful about the remaining part of the year, with 45% offering positive expectations and 27% offering negative expectations.  

How are American grocery shoppers feeling about personal finances?  

• By a margin of 2 to 1, Americans say they are worse off, as opposed to better off, than they were one year ago with respect to their household finances (42% worse, 21% better) and their ability to buy the food they need (39% worse, 17% better). Only 26% of shoppers say they are living comfortably and can save money. 
• Macroeconomic issues are weighing on shoppers as concerns about inflation (71% very or extremely) and the overall U.S. economy (66%) reached new highs, resulting in a majority of shoppers (57%) being concerned about a recession. The job market is a concern for nearly half of grocery shoppers (49%). 
• Broader world events are also concerning American grocery shoppers, such as tariffs (59%), the ongoing war in the Middle East (56%), food transportation costs (55%) and decreased crop availability due to weather (51%).  
• Many grocery shoppers (77%) are making changes in their spending behavior, with a general reduction in spending being most common (48%). 

How do American grocery shoppers currently feel about food prices?  

• American consumers continue to express concern about the rising food prices; groceries are still the most challenging discretionary spending category for grocery shoppers to afford.  
• Most grocery shoppers (75%) continue to say they have some control over their grocery finances. 
• Most grocery shoppers (78%, up from 70% in December) agree that food retailers try hard to provide options to help them stay within budget. 

How do American grocery shoppers currently feel about gas prices? 

• Americans’ concerns about gas prices spiked in the past six months, from 43% very or extremely concerned in December to 69% this month.  
• A similar proportion of grocery shoppers (70%) say their spending on gas has increased in the first half of 2026. 
• Forty-two percent of grocery shoppers (42%) say they have no control over their gas expenses. 

How do Americans currently feel about their summer plans? 

• Americans will be doing a lot of celebrating in the next few months, led by the Fourth of July (60%) and Father’s Day (41%). 
• More than half of Americans say they will follow the World Cup (60%), but only about one-fourth plan to watch every game (14%) or follow their team closely (12%).  
• Whatever the occasion, food will be part of it for most of those celebrating (85%). This includes barbecuing and enjoying meals indoors and outdoors with others. 

FMI will continue to monitor grocery shopper trends as we proceed into the second half of the year. Our next U.S. Grocery Shopper Trends report in our series will be released in August, and our annual comprehensive U.S. Grocery Shopper Trends report is available for download now. 

Download the U.S. Grocery Shopper Trends report