Consumers Are Buying Fewer Snacks, Studies Show

On April 2, President Donald Trump announced sweeping new global tariffs that will affect the import of goods from nearly every nation in the world. This will undoubtedly affect the price of many groceries, especially when you consider that the United States imports more agricultural products than it exports. 

As people tighten their purse strings, consumers will need to make difficult decisions about the items they put in their carts at the grocery store. And that looks like it’s very bad news for snack companies in particular. 

According to data from a February survey of 1,000 consumers by marketing research company NIQ, 42% of those consulted say they are spending less on snacks now in general. This is already showing up in the bottom line of companies like Frito-Lay, whose corporate owner, PepsiCo, has revealed that sales volume for Frito-Lay decreased by 3% last quarter in an earnings announcement. 

“In 2024, the salty and savory snack categories underperformed broader packaged food, following multiple years in which these categories had outperformed packaged food,” Ramon Laguarta, PepsiCo CEO, and Jamie Caulfield, the company’s CFO, said in their public remarks surrounding the earnings announcement. 

The company’s numbers reveal that beverages are impacted too, with NBC noting that PepsiCo’s beverage category experienced a 3% decline in sales during the same quarter.

As CNN reports, PepsiCo says the downturn in consumer spending is likely due to the “cumulative impacts of inflationary pressures and higher borrowing costs on consumer budgets.”

It’s not just PepsiCo that’s affected by changes in consumer spending. General Mills has also observed decreases in snack sales. In a press release detailing its results for the third quarter of fiscal 2025, which lasts from January through March, Jeff Harmening, the chairman and CEO of General Mills says, “Our third-quarter organic net sales finished below our expectations, driven largely by greater-than-expected retailer inventory headwinds and a slowdown in snacking categories.” 

When it comes to the next fiscal year, Harmening adds that, “We’re focused on improving our sales growth in fiscal 2026 by stepping up our investment in innovation, brand communication, and value for consumers.” As tariffs cause grocery prices to rise, it’s likely that better value will indeed be top of mind for consumers.

Data from market research and technology company Circana gives further insight into where people are forgoing their usual snack choices. Beyond supermarkets, convenience stores are one place where customers are opting out of purchasing snacks. Circana’s findings, as published by the Independent, reveal that convenience store sales volume dropped 4.3% over the last year, with chocolate candy sales specifically decreasing by 6%.

The data also underscores a significant decrease in purchases of rice cakes, dips, nuts, and jerky from convenience stores. Lori Buss Stillman, a vice president for research and education at the National Association of Convenience Stores, tells the Wall Street Journal, “Right now the consumer is looking at a lot of these products and saying: ‘Wow, I can’t remember when it was this expensive.’” 

Just how expensive are snacks these days? As a point of reference, TODAY reports that the average cost of a bag of chips is currently $6.46. That’s an increase of 31% compared to prices from 2021. If you’re purchasing a snack every time you get gas or go grocery shopping, that can add up.

While trends show that customers are clearly purchasing fewer snacks when they go inside convenience stores, there is one edible item that isn’t suffering. Per the Independent, sales of miniature alcohol bottles have actually increased. The media outlet also cites an interview with Lawson Whiting, the CEO of Jack Daniel’s, who tells the Wall Street Journal that sales of 50-mililiter bottles of whiskey and tequila are likely up because they’re far more affordable than a full bottle, even though they’re not a better price per volume.

Although CEOs of consumer packaged goods companies and data experts agree that a large part of this reduction in spending is due to economic pressures, there is one more factor to consider: the increasing use of GLP-1 medications. 

Earlier this year, Food & Wine reported on research by Cornell University which shows that households with at least one GLP-1 user are significantly reducing their grocery spending. The findings published in a research paper by the SC Johnson School of Business conclude that on average, GLP-1 adopters reduced their grocery spending by 5.5% in the first six months of use, while higher-income households had a “notably larger reduction, averaging 8.6%.” 

Furthermore, the paper found that the largest spending reductions were in ultra-processed food categories, including “snack foods, sweets, and other calorie-dense items,” along with other goods often associated with “impulse purchases,” like chips and sweets. 

Evidence like this is prompting some companies to try to make up for the downfall of snacking by appealing to the rapidly growing demographic of GLP-1 users. In its same earnings report that revealed reductions in sales volume, Pepsi noted it will be focusing on protein drinks to hopefully capture the one in eight Americans already on a GLP-1 and the more than one in four who say they plan to try the medication in 2025.