Food inflation drives millions of US families to low-cost supermarkets

Consumers are no longer only changing their purchasing habits for products considered non-essential, but, with prices high due to inflation, they are also changing the way they buy their food.

Inflation has dealt a heavy blow to family budgets and food is one of the products that became more expensive during August, when year-on-year inflation reached 8.3%.

Amid these changes and with fair spending, low-cost supermarkets like Aldi are gaining customers , according to recent figures showing an increase in foot traffic visiting their branches.

As of last September alone, at least one million American households bought their food at one of Aldi's 2,200 stores across the country.

The data coincides with a two-digit growth in its sales in the first nine months of the year and with an increase of 10.5% in the traffic of people in the aisles of its stores , according to figures from the company Placer.ai. a company that uses the location of mobile devices to estimate visits to stores.

But while Aldi's case is high-profile, it is part of a much broader trend in low-cost and dollar stores like Dollar Tree, which are even attracting middle- and upper-income consumers price escalation.

“We've seen a pretty definite shift in consumers starting to shop at discount stores like Aldi, Trader Joe's and Lidl,” said RJ Hottovy, head of analytical research at Placer.ai, in a report for CNN .

Discount prices change the way you shop

Experts in the retail market are clear that with high prices, consumers have decided to look for their best options to spend their budget.

They assure that, in this search, traditional retail stores are losing market share , while discount or low-price stores are gaining it.

Brittany Steiger, senior retail and e-commerce analyst at market research firm Mintel, said consumers are even looking for such deals far from home.

“Most consumers tend to shop at the store closest to their home,” said Mintel; however, “discount retailers are benefiting as consumers look to their neighborhood grocery store for lower prices,” she added.

Aldi is a clear example of these changes: according to company data, the majority of its buyers so far this year are consumers with medium and high incomes, who earn between $50,000 and $100,000 dollars a year or more.

“It is a time when consumers are looking for solutions. Inflation is hitting everyone ,” Aldi Vice President of Domestic Purchasing and Customer Engagement Scott Patton said in a CNN report.