Total retail food and beverages grew dollar sales (+1.4%), but units were down -1.1% as macro pressures push consumers to recalibrate spending. All income groups are moderating, with greater pullback among lower-income consumers.
Total food and beverage sales were flat to down across channels, with the exception of e-commerce, which grew unit sales by 25.1% in June.
Unit sales were down for private and national brands in June. However, premium brands continued to hold as shoppers were more willing to adjust how much than what they bought to balance budgets. Financially strained consumers, in particular, shifted to smaller sizes to maintain preferred products.
While inflationary pressures persisted in the meat department, prices are not rising as fast as they were in the latter half of 2025 and the first quarter of 2026. Fresh meat prices increased 3.5% year over year in June 2026.
Closely mirroring the May results, June brought more pound pressure though dollar gains. June sales reached $8.8 billion, with the vast majority of sales generated by fresh meat. Fresh meat enjoyed a 3.1% increase in dollar sales, though this was driven by inflation with pounds down 1.4% year over year.
Despite the second-quarter and June softness, meat department volume sales continue to lap significant gains from prior years and remain above levels recorded two years ago.
For the 52-week period, beef dollar sales were up 9.9% versus year-ago levels, and despite rising prices, volume was also up 2.2%.
Two-thirds of back-to-school shoppers have already begun purchasing items for the upcoming school year as of early July, according to the National Retail Federation, which puts total BTS spending at $128.2 billion. This is up from 55% last year as shoppers are seeking deals and shopping discount stores for savings.
TikTok’s in-app shopping is an emerging growth channel for food manufacturers. TikTok Shop’s food category sales have more than doubled year over year, according to the company. Manufacturers use TikTok Shop to sell products but also to inform their innovation strategies and quickly respond to the next big social media trend.
