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Report: consumers making changes related to higher food prices

The latest Purdue University Consumer Food Insights report shows inflation and rising food prices are having a greater impact on consumer buying habits.

Jayson Lusk, the head and distinguished professor of agricultural economics at Purdue, says consumers are looking for discounts, switching to generic brands, using coupons, and cutting out nonessentials.

“That’s a real sign that consumers are at a point they’re starting to take note of the inflationary pressures that we’ve been seeing over the course of last year and it’s starting to affect their behaviors,” he says.

He says the number of consumers making changes is higher than it was five months ago.

The Consumer Food Insights Report is a monthly survey of 1200 U.S. food consumers. Purdue’s Center for Food Demand Analysis and Sustainability tracks trends and changes in consumer food demand and food sustainability behaviors.

Audio: Jayson Lusk