Food & Beverage
The State of Food & Beverage Report: 2024
Report summary
Food & beverage spending is on the rise, but consumers’ cost cutting behaviors remain sticky.
After years of high inflation, consumer spending on groceries and restaurants looks to be normalizing. But some behaviors that were developed to help combat price growth look to be entrenched: like comparing prices, buying generic over brand names and simply buying less.
Morning Consult’s State of Food & Beverage report tracks evolving consumer behaviors in the food & beverage sector and analyzes what they mean for the future of the industry.
Based on interviews conducted since October 2021 among roughly 2,200 U.S. adults per month this report provides insights into how consumers are thinking about and engaging with foods and beverages today.
Key Takeaways
- Restaurant and grocery spending are increasing: But it’s not equal across income groups: high-earners are leading the way across both categories.
- Grocery shoppers are buying less to help save money: 71% of grocery shoppers said they “often” or “sometimes” bought fewer items to help them save, a 7-point increase from October 2021.
- Online grocery shopping is becoming more common: About 1 in 5 (22%) U.S. adults say they had their groceries delivered in the past month, up 5 points since tracking began.
- The alcohol gender gap persists: Men are more likely than women to say they drink beer and wine at least monthly, and they’re also spending much more on alcoholic beverages.
Data Downloads
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Methodology
Morning Consult data featured in this report draws from monthly surveys conducted from October 2021 to March 2024 among roughly 2,200 U.S. adults each.
All survey interviews were conducted online, and the data was weighted to approximate respective populations of adults based on age, gender, race, educational attainment, region, gender by age and race by educational attainment. Top-line results from the surveys have a margin of error of +/-2 percentage points.
This report also includes data from Morning Consult’s Intelligence platform. The platform helps you understand your audience, brand, competitors and markets in a way traditional research companies can’t. Learn more here.
About the author
Nicki Zink is deputy head of Industry Analysis. Her team identifies trends affecting key demographics across food & beverage, travel & hospitality and financial services. Prior to joining Morning Consult, Nicki served as the head of digital intelligence at Purple Strategies, a corporate reputation and strategy firm. She graduated from Miami University with a bachelor’s degree in mass communication. For speaking opportunities and booking requests, please email [email protected].
