Walmart, Dollar Stores Beat Traditional Grocers' Reach As Affordability Crunch Intensifies, Report Finds

Core Insights - A new Consumer Trends Tracker indicates a shift in U.S. household shopping habits due to tightening budgets, with mass-market retailers and dollar stores gaining popularity over traditional supermarkets [1] Group 1: Market Trends - Walmart's customer penetration reached 72% of U.S. households in December, marking the first time it has exceeded 70% since the tracker began [2] - Mass retailers have matched traditional grocers in overall penetration, highlighting a trend towards price-focused shopping [3] - Dollar stores have increased their penetration to 42%, surpassing warehouse clubs for the first time since August 2023, with Dollar General, Dollar Tree, and Family Dollar each gaining 4-6 percentage points year-over-year [4] Group 2: Consumer Sentiment - 57.4% of households reported they would struggle to cover an unexpected $400 expense, and 27.5% indicated they have skipped or reduced meal sizes for financial reasons, both figures showing an increase from the previous survey [5] - Consumers perceive food-at-home inflation at 19.6%, significantly higher than the official rate of 2.4%, with those earning under $50,000 estimating it at 23.6% [6] - The use of loyalty coupons has increased, with 47% of shoppers redeeming them most or all of the time, up 2.5% from August [6] Group 3: Technology Adoption - Only 15% of U.S. consumers utilized AI tools for grocery shopping in the past year, primarily for creating shopping lists or comparing prices [7]