FMI's December Grocery Shoppers Snapshot measured sentiment about household finances and food prices and showed that more shoppers are turning to AI to find the best deals.
By: Steve Markenson, Vice President, Research & Insights, FMI
The food industry has navigated extraordinary disruption over the past five years, including the pandemic, supply-chain breakdowns, labor challenges, and inflation. In 2025, change accelerated, driven by emerging technologies and disrupted by the longest government shutdown in history.
We wanted to check in with shoppers one more time before we move on to 2026. Our latest Shopper Snapshot, conducted from December 2 to 7, surveyed 1,521 grocery shoppers on their attitudes and outlook on a range of issues. Here is an overview of what we learned.
Overall Sentiment
- Shoppers’ overall outlook in 2025 now matches the lowest levels for 2025, with 38% having negative feelings and 36% having positive feelings.
On Personal Finances
- By a margin of 2 to 1, shoppers say they are worse off, as opposed to better off, than one year ago with respect to their household finances (39% worse, 20% better) and their ability to buy the food they need (36% worse, 17% better). And only 25% of shoppers say they are living comfortably and can save money.
- Concerns about rising health insurance prices (61% are extremely or very concerned) match those for food from grocery stores (61%).
- Many shoppers (76%) are making changes in their spending behavior, with a general reduction in spending being most common (46%).
On Grocery Prices
- While consumers express somewhat less concern about the rising prices of groceries, groceries are still the most challenging discretionary spending category for them to afford.
- Most shoppers (77%) continue to say they have some control over their grocery finances.
- Most shoppers (70%) agree that grocery retailers try hard to provide options to help them stay within budget.
On Their AI Usage
- One-quarter of all shoppers now say they use AI regularly (68% have at least tried AI); 50% of shoppers use AI for food-related information.
- 39% of AI-users (27% of all shoppers) use AI to find the best grocery prices.
On Perceptions of Retailers Supporting Their Health and Well-being
- Most shoppers (80%) say they believe their grocery stores do at least a good job at supporting their health and well-being, with an equally high proportion (84%) saying their store’s services in this area are valuable.
FMI will continue to monitor grocery shopper trends as we proceed into the second half of the decade. Our first US Grocery Shopper Trends Tracker will be released in mid-January, coinciding with our Midwinter Executive Conference, and our annual comprehensive US Grocery Shopper Trends report is scheduled for release in May.
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