I’m an Instacart Shopper: 6 Grocery Items People Have Stopped Buying
Written by
Laura Beck
Edited by
Levi Leidy
Commitment to Our Readers
GOBankingRates' editorial team is committed to bringing you unbiased reviews and information. We use data-driven methodologies to evaluate financial products and services - our reviews and ratings are not influenced by advertisers. You can read more about our editorial guidelines and our products and services review methodology.
20 Years
Helping You Live Richer
Reviewed
by Experts
Trusted by
Millions of Readers
With grocery prices continuing to climb, shoppers are being forced to make tough choices about what makes it into their virtual carts. GOBankingRates spoke with an Instacart shopper in the Denver area who has had a firsthand look at what items customers are cutting back on or removing from their orders entirely.
“It’s been really eye-opening to see habits change so drastically based on the higher prices,” said the shopper, who prefers to remain anonymous. “There are definitely some former staples that I’m no longer grabbing for most customers.”
Frozen Meals
“I used to fill up multiple bags with frozen meals, but those orders have really fallen off,” the shopper said. With costs rising, these convenient single-serve items may no longer seem worth it for the price compared to making meals from scratch.
According to data from NielsenIQ, sales of frozen meals have dropped over 10% last year as Americans focus on using up existing freezer inventory. The shopper has noticed this trend as well: “It’s way less common now to get an order with multiple varieties of Hot Pockets, Lean Cuisines and the like.”
Beef
While plant-based meats have been gaining in popularity, the shopper has seen a big drop in customers purchasing traditional beef products as prices have skyrocketed. “I used to grab a lot of ground beef and steaks every order, but now it’s much lighter volumes.”
With beef prices up around 7% over the past year, the shopper understands why customers may be cutting back. “With the climbing prices and the environmental concerns, I get why people are buying less.”
Soft Drinks
Whether it’s 12-packs of sodas or bottles of fancy seltzers and juices, sugary drink orders have taken a major hit according to the shopper’s observations. “Those used to account for such a big part of most customers’ carts, but they’ve dropped off dramatically.”
As one of the most discretionary grocery categories, sugary beverage purchases have proven to be an easy cut for customers looking to save money. “I really don’t hear too many complaints when those get left out,” shared the shopper.
Fruit Juice
Another declining category? Fruit juices and juice boxes. “I remember casually tossing cases of kid’s juice boxes and big jugs of orange juice into every order,” the shopper said. “But those have gotten really sparse lately.”
Prices for frozen juice concentrates are up nearly 20% year-over-year, which could explain the drop-off. “With the higher costs, it seems like more people are just buying water or milk for drinking instead of splurging on juice,” said the shopper.
Single-Use Plastics
One surprising change the shopper has noticed is fewer single-use plastic water bottles being purchased. “Especially at the beginning of the pandemic, people were buying a lot of those 24-packs of plastic bottles, but that’s become much less common.”
While the price of water hasn’t risen drastically, the shopper guessed that environmental concerns might be at the forefront of this change. “I see way more people ordering […] big refillable jugs instead of all those individual plastic bottles.”
Soup
Canned soup was once a quintessential pantry staple, but not so much anymore based on the shopper’s observations. “I can’t even remember the last time someone asked me to get those giant cases of soup like they used to.”
Data shows soup has joined frozen meals and juice as declining grocery categories in 2024. “I think people are being more particular about what premade items are worth spending money on,” said the shopper.
No matter what’s causing the shift, the shopper expects to continue adapting their typical item picks as consumer demand changes with the economic climate. “Being an Instacart shopper has really opened my eyes to how quickly spending habits can pivot based on what’s affordable. I’m just trying to keep up!”
More From GOBankingRates
