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There are signs consumers are losing their appetite for big grocery spending

General Mills is the latest food company to lower its sales outlook for the year. Campbell’s and Kraft Heinz have done it too.

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Rising prices have made trips to the grocery store a lot harder for many Americans in recent years.
Rising prices have made trips to the grocery store a lot harder for many Americans in recent years.
Brandon Bell/Getty Images

General Mills told investors Wednesday that it expects its sales to fall as much as 2% this year. It’s the latest consumer food company to lower its sales outlook for the year. Campbell’s and Kraft Heinz expect business to slow down, as well. All this comes as some consumers continue to pull back on grocery store spending.

Inflation over the past couple of years has made trips to the grocery store a lot harder for many Americans — and a lot of folks expect prices will keep going up.

That’s influencing the choices they make when they shop for food, according to Ed Johnson, who focuses on consumer industries at Deloitte.

“The places where we’re seeing that choice manifest is only buying essentials, right, so maybe that’s — think about categories in the grocery store that are maybe seen as simple indulgences or as nice to haves,” he said.

So things like snacks or soda — some shoppers are skipping those, he said. Or they’re trading down from name brands to generic versions.

But those store brands aren’t immune either, cautioned executive editor of Supermarket News Chloe Riley. That’s because lower-income consumers are getting pinched by rising prices for basics like coffee and eggs.

“Consumers are cutting out even many of the cheaper items as well,” she said.

All these consumer choices are trickling up to corporate offices, per Craig Rowley, who consults with retail companies at Korn Ferry. He said that his clients are starting to ask, “What do our expenses look like? If our sales are going to be a little bit slight, what can we do to reduce our expenses?”

They could cancel planned investments, leave open jobs unfilled or even lay off workers. Rowley added that his clients aren’t making any of those moves just yet, but they are exploring their options.

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