Why Are Americans Spending Less on Groceries - as part of the news series by GeoBeats.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, in 1982 Americans spent a little over 12% on groceries. In 2012, it's interesting to note that less than 9% of our income, is spent on groceries.
We are also spending almost 23% of that money on processed foods such as frozen dinners, canned goods, chips, etc. Our spending on fresh fruits and vegetables as a percentage of total grocery spend is relatively the same, but percentage spent on meat sales has declined from around 30% in 1982 to approximately 21% in 2012. According to Stanford economist, Walter Falcon, better equipment and productivity have significantly lowered the cost of meats in the last 30 years.
The reason we are spending less on groceries could be because we are spending a lot more on housing and healthcare.
In 2011, we spent around 40% of our income on housing that now averages over 2,000 square feet. Almost double in size than that for our grandparents back in 1949.
Our expenditure on medical and transportation is 7% and 17% of our income respectively, double the percentage of what we spent in 1949.
What do you think? Why are we spending less on groceries today versus 30 years ago?
