Football season sees surge in meat purchases

This year’s football season started on September 8, and the meat market is already seeing an increase in consumption. Industry analysts, however, have seen a change in consumer’s choices from previous years. 

“The demand for dinner meals away from home was up from July to August,” said Kansas State University livestock economist Glynn Tonsor. Fans are visiting more restaurants rather than eating at home which has reflected in decreasing grocery store purchases. 

“I think people are having many more evening meals out; plus there are other dynamics, such as the population is growing everywhere, especially in those southern states,” said Tonsor. This increasing population, Tonsor notes, is making different decisions in the grocery aisle due to inflation. 

More customers are buying from merchandisers like Walmart and Target or club stores like Costco and Sam’s Club to save money on rising meat prices. “This is an indication that folks are shifting where they buy protein, and probably buying a bigger volume,” Tonsor said. “They may have a more expensive trip to the store, but I think they’re finding ways to get the price per pound lower by buying larger quantities, (and) then taking it home and cutting it up.”

According to the USDA, the Consumer Price Index (CPI) – measurement of inflation – for food bought from grocery stores increased 1.4% from June 2022 to July 2022 and was 13.1% higher than July 2021. The CPI for food purchased at restaurants in July 2022 was 7.6% higher than July 2021. And in regard to the meats, poultry and fish category, prices increased 0.4% between June 2022 and July 2022. 

Only time will tell what consumer trends regarding meat purchases will look like by the end of football season.