STATE OF THE STATES

Is your state still on stay-at-home order? Limited to essential services only? Are masks required when in public? Or are you dining on patios drinking rosé like it’s 2019? Right now, the country is all over the place in terms of being “open” or “closed” in response to COVID-19.

Interestingly, the government regulations guiding each state aren’t impacting grocery shopping trends differently state by state. No matter where a given state is on the spectrum of open to closed, shoppers across the U.S. are following the same pattern at the grocery store.

If your household has been ordering delivery and takeout for the past several months, it probably still is. If your household has been cooking every meal at home, it’s probably doing a bit more of that today. Really, it all comes down to how we feel and what we want. And as much as we all like to think that we’re comfortable with standing out from the crowd, our behavior and perspective is largely influenced by the prevailing sentiment of the people around us—and around the entire U.S.

CPG sales remain significantly higher than they were pre-COVID—average U.S. household grocery spend was 21% higher in the month of May 2020 compared to one year prior—having settled into a pattern reflecting many more meals cooked at home. Though we have observed a slight drop in sales week over week, this drop is consistent across states that are open or closed.

Percent change in average U.S. household grocery spend from January to May in 2020 compared to the prior month and prior year.

While average household spend does vary by each group of states charted below, it is unrelated to the opening phase of the state. The difference in spend for each state existed before COVID-19, and this difference in position was preserved during the pandemic. Check out the trend lines below and stay tuned for more COVID-19 related CPG shopping trends.