COVID cases drop in the U.S. while food prices climb
A new study finds diminished worry about COVID among American consumers, but an overly heightened concern about food price increases
A recent study from dunnhumby, a data science company focused on retail food sales, released its most recent phase of its “Consumer Pulse Survey” (conducted January 25 to February 8, 2022), which revealed that U.S. consumers are less worried about COVID infections, but far more concerned about rising food prices. *
In fact, respondents to the survey are now more worried about rising food prices, the economy and their own personal finances than they are with getting COVID. Perhaps most concerning for retailers and the government is the U.S. consumers surveyed said that the food inflation rate now stands at 17.7% when it actually stands at 7.4% according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. This last research was conducted just past the peak of the Omicron variant of the Coronavirus.