Inflation is changing Americans’ purchasing habits (AFP/Archives/Patrick T. Fallon)
Because of rising food prices, “I don’t go shopping as often as I used to,” remarks Jasmine Reed, 42, at the entrance to a supermarket in the suburbs of the American capital , Washington.
If food prices no longer experience the brutal increases recorded in 2023, the data published Thursday still highlight an increase of 2.2% in April, over one year, an average which is however masked by significant disparities in ‘one product to another.
Because food prices in the United States continue to undergo significant corrections: eggs are thus 9% less expensive than a year ago but butter has increased by 3.5% over the same period, while the milk fell by 1%. As for bread, it remains on an upward trend for the moment, according to data from the Ministry of Labor, which publishes PCI inflation statistics.
However, inflation is one of the main areas of confrontation between the two candidates in the presidential election next November, the outgoing Democratic President Joe Biden and his Republican predecessor Donald Trump.
The first attempts to capitalize on the good health of the American economy, whose growth is the highest among the G7 countries and unemployment at historically low levels, but inflation makes the perception of these successes more difficult to grasp. by Americans, faced with significant price increases on everyday consumer products, which the candidate is trying to exploit.
Eggs on sale in a supermarket in McLean, November 22, 2023 in Virginia (AFP/Archives/SAUL LOEB)
And for consumers met by AFP near a supermarket in Falls Church, Virginia (east), there is no doubt that prices have increased in recent years, to the point of forcing them to review their habits.
“If shopping cost me less, I would certainly cook more often,” says Ms. Reed, who explains that she eats out more regularly.
“In the end it costs me the same price, so I might as well not waste time cooking,” adds this teacher, who lives in Fairfax, about ten kilometers from Falls Church.
– “Everything has really increased” –
“We hear everywhere that prices are falling but I haven’t observed anything like that,” remarks Mary Joe, 66, for her part.
“Everything has been expensive for a while now,” says Gavi, a former Marine turned DJ. The latter, a vegan, estimates that his weekly food expenses have doubled, going from $100 to $200 on average.
Inflation in the United States (AFP/Jonathan WALTER, Samuel BARBOSA)
“I don’t see this being specifically caused by an increase in the price of bread, sugar or milk,” he explains, “I notice that everything has really increased.”
These increases have pushed James Russell, a 66-year-old former mechanic, to rethink how and when he buys his fruits and vegetables.
“I see the prices continuing to increase by 0.25 or 0.50 dollars, it makes things more and more difficult,” regrets Mr. Russell, who lives near the supermarket, “I come here, I look at the prices and I see what I can buy or not.”
A situation that worries Mary Joe: “until now I didn’t really think about what I put in my cart when doing my shopping but now, for each product, I ask myself if I really want or need it.”
© 2024 AFP
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