Dive Brief:

• Shoppers expect to spend an average of $611 per month on groceries next year, an increase of about $79, or nearly 15%, over their projected food budgets for 2021, according to a consumer survey conducted by accounting firm KPMG.
• Approximately half of respondents to the poll said they purchase groceries primarily from a single retailer. Twenty-nine percent reported that loyalty programs are "extremely important" and the primary factor in their choice of where they shop.
• People's grocery budgets are poised to increase as many intend to continue working from home and surging inflation pushes food prices higher.

Dive Insight:

At-home eating appears to be a key reason why people intend to set aside more money for groceries during the coming year than they planned to spend in 2021. Sixty-two percent of the 1,013 consumers who participated in KPMG's 2021 consumer pulse survey, conducted from Oct. 29 to Nov. 7, said they are able to work from home, and of those, more than half said they do all the time.

Consumers are now cooking about 64% of their meals at home and planning to eat out about 10% of the time, according to the survey. They use pickup about 12% of the time for their meals and delivery services about 10%. 

Respondents also expect their grocery spending will be 22% higher in December 2022 than this month, while they are looking at spending 14% more on personal care products, 10% more on apparel and an additional 8% eating out.

In addition, the proportion of respondents in the survey whose expected monthly grocery budgets will exceed the $500 mark in 2022 is higher now than they reported for 2021. About 31% of participants said they plan to spend that amount or more on groceries during the coming year, compared with the approximately 24% who said the same thing for this year.

Meal kit usage is also on the rise, with 35% of participants reporting they used the prepared meal offerings in 2021, up from 25% last year. Meanwhile, roughly 61% said they intend to use meal kits more often in 2022.

HelloFresh is set to be the most popular meal kit brand in 2021, followed by Blue Apron and Home Chef, according to the survey.