Overall inflation may be starting to slow but food prices continue to increase. The pace of the increases has decelerated in recent months but it is only small progress. Food prices rose 11.8% in December from a year ago compared with 12% in November and 12.4% in October. Prices of fresh fruits, fish, and seafood fell in December from November, according to the Labor Department.
Grocery prices rose at a faster pace than restaurant bills. Three areas are suffering from the highest food inflation rates according to an Axios analysis.
Dallas, the Twin Cities, and Baltimore are suffering some of the country’s highest rates of inflation for food prices, which rose 14.1%, 13.7%, and 13.5% in those cities respectively, according to an Axios analysis.
By comparison, food prices rose just 7% in Washington DC, 7.7% in Chicago, and 8.8% in Miami, according to the report.
The latest consumer price index report showed that in December, inflation for groceries continued to be higher than for restaurants, with food at home rising 11.8%, and food away from home rising 8.3%.
That’s a twist. Usually it is cheaper to buy groceries and cook at home than it is to eat in restaurants. Grocery prices hit a 40-year high in August with a 13.5% increase. Since then inflation rates have moderated a bit.
The reasons for such steep increases include rising energy and commodity prices because of lingering effects from the pandemic’s supply chain disruptions. Also mixed into the equation are Putin’s invasion into Ukraine and soaring wheat prices that resulted. And, don’t forget the avian flu outbreak that has curtailed the national supply of eggs and sent prices soaring in 2022.
The price of a dozen eggs has really been a big story in recent months. Prices soared in December by nearly 140% from a year ago. Millions of birds have been slaughtered over the past year in an attempt to control the avian flu outbreak. The majority of those birds have been egg-laying chickens. Wholesale prices have fallen somewhat in recent weeks, not that the holiday baking surge has passed. It remains to be seen how much of a price decrease that will produce, if any. One senator calls for the FTC to investigate egg prices.
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Basics like flour (23%), milk (12.5%), and butter (31.4%) rose in December from a year ago. Red meat wasn’t as bad – 2% but poultry prices went up 12.2%.
So, most shoppers are adjusting their buying habits and looking for the best prices for groceries. Whole Foods gets the message and is looking to be able to lower its prices.
Foot traffic to Whole Foods stores decreased about 8% in the fourth quarter of 2022 compared with the same period a year earlier, according to data from research firm Placer.ai. Rival grocers Kroger Co. and Albertsons Cos. have experienced declines, too, though discounters such as Aldi Inc. and Trader Joe’s have recorded increases, according to Placer.ai. Traffic generally remains higher than prepandemic levels across the grocery sector, the data show.
Whole Foods, which operates more than 500 stores in the U.S., Canada and the U.K., has been lowering prices and expanding its lower-cost store brands since its 2017 acquisition by Amazon, part of an effort to reach a broader range of customers. The chain has also expanded online operations and has opened more stores.
Whole Foods executives said at the December summit that the grocer would focus on promotions in 2023 and would aim to hold more sale events.
Whole Foods executives also said the company has been streamlining its merchandising teams that oversee categories of products. They asked vendors to improve supply-chain efforts, give priority to Whole Foods when inventories run short, and ship products on time.
They said that Whole Foods plans to invest in high growth potential areas such as dairy and create more shopping events to draw customers to stores.
Bidenflation hits every household. There doesn’t seem to be any relief in the near future, at least not at the grocery store. You know it’s tough out there when Whole Foods recognizes its prices are too high.
