As the cost of groceries continues to climb, Walmart CEO Doug McMillon says customer spending habits indicate the rising costs are significantly hurting shoppers. In particular, those at the lower end of the income scale appear to be having the biggest issue toward the end of the month.
During an event held by the Economic Club of Chicago, McMillon said his company is seeing “stress behaviors” among budget-conscious customers, according to Bloomberg.
“You can see that the money runs out before the month is gone, you can see that people are buying smaller pack sizes at the end of the month,” McMillon said.
McMillon went on to say the habits of customers have remained steady over the last year, regardless of income. In general, shoppers are focusing on getting the best value they can, McMillon said.
Although non-food items have returned to pre-pandemic levels of pricing according to McMillon, food costs are still way up.
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While the skyrocketing price of eggs has gained most of the attention surrounding rising prices, beef, pork, fruits, and other items have also steadily risen in recent years. McMillon said the stress of the situation on shoppers is clear and admits it’s something the company is worried about.
“There are lots of income levels in this country — if you’re at the lower end of that scale, you are feeling more frustration and pain because of higher food prices,” McMillon said. “They’ve persisted for years now, and you’re just tired of it. And you want it to get better.”
