84.51°: Over a Third of SNAP Recipients Buying More Private Brands Following Benefit Reduction
Following the COVID-19 pandemic-related additional Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits being phased out in March, benefit recipients are looking for ways to stretch their dollars further at the store, often by purchasing my private label products.
84.51°, the Kroger-owned retail data firm, dove into SNAP shopper patterns in the June edition of its monthly Consumer Digest. Those surveyed for the study included only SNAP recipients who used their benefits at a Kroger store in the past 26 weeks.
According to 84.51°’s data, 51% of SNAP recipients both spent less on groceries and cut back on other expenses to afford groceries in response to canceled Emergency Allotment (EA) benefits. Large numbers of those surveyed began buying “lower quality” products (45%), buying more items on sale (42%), and buying more private label items (34%), of which Kroger has recently reported increased revenue from.
A total of 62% of those surveyed said the decrease in benefits has made a significant impact on their overall household budget. When determining which retailer to shop at for groceries when using SNAP benefits, lowest prices (44%) was the most common answer, followed by enticing weekly sales/promotions (22%).
Over three quarters (76%) of households said their preferred grocery store does not change depending on the time of the month. A recent report from Numerator showed that Walmart captured over a quarter (25.5%) of SNAP shoppers’ grocery dollars annually from April 2022 to April 2023, compared to 20% for Non-SNAP shoppers.
While the traditional grocery sector is still the most popular sector of SNAP recipients, the June Consumer Digest showed that 37% of those surveyed reported shopping at Dollar/Value channels more since the EA allotments were canceled. Over a third (36%) of those surveyed said they “strongly agreed” that their budget goes further at grocery stores, compared to 26% saying so for Dollar chains.
When it comes to where SNAP recipients are now cutting back after the reduction in benefits, 56% are buying less snacks/candy, 47% are buying less at deli/meat/fish, 43% are buying fewer fresh baked goods and 41% are buying less drinks. Only 15% reported not cutting back on anything.
The full report can be found here.