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It’s no surprise that sticker shock at the grocery store continues to worry consumers. 

The closely watched consumer sentiment index put out by the University of Michigan last week rose 9% in June after a four-month slump — but that sentiment is 13% below the pre-war level in January and 19% lower than a year ago.

Households “feel burdened by the recent escalation in inflation and worry that higher inflation could remain stubborn going forward, particularly in the short run,” Joanne Hsu, the university’s director of consumer surveys, said in a statement. 

The findings highlight just how complex and dynamic consumer attitudes are right now. As shoppers tighten their spending, grocers have pushed promotions and tried to burnish their image as a good value, all while keeping a watchful eye on what’s next.

Here’s a look at four key data points explaining the pressures facing grocery consumers.

Total weekly food and beverage unit sales have continued to decline year-over-year for the last few weeks, according to Circana data cited by 210 Analytics. For the week ending May 31, unit sales dropped nearly 1% compared to the same period last year. By comparison, unit sales rose half a percentage point in the first quarter of the year.

210 Analytics’ report noted that unit sales decreased every week in May, “signaling continued cautious behavior” as consumers tighten their spending. Perishables sales last month dropped 0.8% year-over-year, with seafood taking the hardest hit and refrigerated dairy posting the only sales increase in the category. Meanwhile, center store had a slightly less drastic decline of 0.5%, the report found.

More consumers say they’re turning to buy now, pay later options to pay for groceries. A LendingTree report found that 29% of surveyed consumers in March said they have used BNPL for groceries —  a steady uptick from the 25% who said they did so a year ago.  

BNPL seems to have a wide appeal among consumer cohorts. In the survey by LendingTree, approximately a third each of Gen Z respondents, those with kids under the age of 18 and people with incomes at or above $100,000 said they used BNPL for groceries.

“The growth in grocery purchases with BNPL makes sense when you consider that 54% of BNPL users say they wouldn’t be able to make ends meet without BNPL loans, including 26% who strongly agree,” LendingTree noted.

USDA data shows an approximately 12% year-over-year drop in nationwide SNAP participation in March — a loss of more than 4.8 million people from the program, based on preliminary data. 

This decrease comes as the country’s largest food and nutrition assistance program has undergone a string of updates under President Donald Trump’s second term that have impacted program participation. Many of these changes stem from H.R. 1, the sweeping legislation Trump signed into law last summer that included tightened eligibility requirements for SNAP. 

In May, the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, a nonpartisan research and policy institute, released a report estimating that SNAP participation fell by more than 3.5 million people between July 2025 — when H.R. 1 was enacted — and February 2026. That estimate is based on USDA data and data from the Georgia Department of Human Services, which the policy institute said it used to account for anomalies in USDA data. The institute noted that Arizona, Louisiana, Virginia and Tennessee were among the states with the largest drop in participants. 

Tightening food assistance eligibility has led to worries that more people could face food insecurity and turn to food banks — potentially reducing grocers’ sales. 

Food-at-home prices rose at a 2.7% annual rate in May, hovering near the three-year high of 2.9% recorded in April, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Consumer Price Index. While some foods, like eggs, saw declines in May, others soared. Prices for beef and veal rose about 13%, while instant coffee and tomatoes soared approximately 24% and 32%, respectively.

Overall inflation hit 4.2% in May — its highest level in three years — as soaring energy prices fueled 60% of that increase. The Producer Price Index, which measures changes in wholesale prices, rose just over 1% last month.