<p>By: Allison Febrey, Senior Manager, Research & Insights, FMI</p><img src="https://www.fmi.org/images/default-source/blog-images/group-of-people-sharing-a-meal-outside.tmb-large-350-.jpg?Culture=en&sfvrsn=212dadd0_1" style="float:right;margin:10px;" alt="Group of people sharing a meal outside and smiling" class="-align-right" sf-size="100" /><p>As Spring is in full bloom, I find myself buying more and more plants. This year, I bought a tomato plant and often go outside to check on the baby tomatoes. I find myself celebrating each time a new tomato starts growing. There is a lot to celebrate in Spring, and despite all the concerns consumers have been facing, shoppers find things to celebrate too. </p><p>On the sunny side of life, 80% of consumers plan on celebrating a holiday in the coming month, including Memorial Day, graduations, and other special events. Most (65%) plan to celebrate by gathering with friends and family, and many (43%) plan to enjoy a meal with others indoors, proving that the <a href="https://www.fmi.org/family-meals-movement">Family Meals Movement</a> is still thriving. </p><p>There are still some rain showers in Spring, and consumers remain concerned about a number of food-related issues. Shoppers are most concerned about increased tariffs on imported food.</p><p>[mg-blogcharts ids="1"]</p><p>Among those who are at least somewhat concerned about tariffs, shoppers are worried about:</p><ul><li>Grocery prices increasing (73%)</li><li>The availability of grocery items (55%)</li><li>Affording groceries (51%)</li></ul><p>More than tariffs are on the minds of shoppers. Consumers are also extremely or very concerned about food transportation costs (43%), decreased access to accurate information about food safety issues (42%), and increasing medication costs and/or supply issues (40%). </p><p>Outside the world of food, consumers have broader concerns as well. Over half of shoppers are concerned about:</p><ul><li>Inflation (62%)</li><li>U.S. economy (59%)</li><li>Recession (52%)</li></ul><p>Despite all these concerns, most shoppers (79%) still feel in control of their grocery expenses. </p><p>FMI will continue tracking shopper behaviors and attitudes on a monthly basis, as part of our Grocery Shopper Snapshot series and check out our new <a href="https://www.fmi.org/our-research/sentiment-index-page">U.S. Grocery Shopper Sentiment webpage</a>.</p>
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