Phil Lempert TODAY Food Editor • Profile • E-mail

Newspapers and television news are continuing to report how the impact of Hurricane Katrina will further drive up record-high gasoline prices. A survey released just yesterday by ACNielsen Homescan reports that even before Hurricane Katrina’s devastating effects were felt on the oil industry, consumers were combining errands, eating out less often, and doing more at home in order to control the cost of gas.

With gas prices expected to continue to rise as a result of the hurricane, we predict that these findings are just the beginning of a trend of more conservative shopping behaviors that should persist through the end of the year.

The high price of fuel is impacting different consumer segments to varying degrees, with a

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higher proportion of poor households than affluent households stating that they are using coupons more often (23 percent vs. 14 percent) buying less expensive brands of groceries (20 percent vs. 10 percent), opting for a lower grade of gasoline (19 percent vs. 12 percent), and reducing spending in other areas “to a great degree” (15 percent vs. 5 percent). 

While the number of food coupons available dropped in the first half of the year by almost 8 percent, the value of the average food coupon is now 80 cents — for nonfoods the value is $1.31 — underscoring the value of using coupons every time you shop.

A higher proportion of affluent households than poor households are shopping more in warehouse club stores (9 percent vs. 6 percent) and on the Internet (7 percent vs. 3 percent).  Not surprisingly, the affluent segment has the highest percentage of households (26 percent) claiming to feel no impact from higher fuel prices.

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The longer-term impact may well create even more business for one-stop-shop retailers like supercenters and warehouse club stores as we watch our expenses. Don’t be surprised to see supermarkets promoting the convenience of their store locations and the value of their take-home meals … as well as lower prices.

Phil Lempert is food editor of the “Today” show. He welcomes questions and comments, which can be sent to or by using the mail box below. For more about the latest trends on the supermarket shelves, visit Phil’s Web site at http://www.supermarketguru.com/.

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