FMI Research: Holiday Shoppers Put Family Meals First & Lean on Grocery Loyalty Programs to Save

ARLINGTON, Va.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov 12, 2026--

Holiday food remains the centerpiece of the season, and shoppers are protecting it. According to U.S. Grocery Shopper Trends 2026: Holidays, released today by FMI – The Food Industry Association, 45% of shoppers are extremely or very concerned about rising prices for holiday foods, up 8 points from fall 2025. Yet shoppers say they would rather cut back on holiday clothing, décor or events than scale back their holiday feast, and many are turning to their grocery store’s loyalty program to make the math work.

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Shoppers also report feeling more in control of their grocery budgets. The share reporting a lot or some control over grocery spending rose 13 points since August, and average weekly grocery spending held steady at $172. FMI’s U.S. Grocery Shopper Sentiment Index stands at 72 this fall, near its historical high.

“Food is what holds the holidays together, and shoppers are telling us they will protect the holiday meal even if it means trimming elsewhere,” said Leslie G. Sarasin, president and CEO, FMI. “At the same time, they feel more in control of their grocery spending than any other major household expense for the first time since we began measuring in 2024, and their grocery stores are a big part of that confidence.”

FMI conducted the survey in partnership with The Hartman Group. Data was collected online September 21–28, 2026, among a national sample of 1,467 U.S. grocery shoppers, weighted to align with the U.S. Census on key demographic distributions. Trended data comes from FMI’s U.S. Grocery Shopper Trends studies and trackers fielded since 2020.

Key holiday findings include:

The report also shows grocery loyalty programs are one of the most practical tools shoppers have for saving this season:

“Loyalty programs are delivering exactly what shoppers need right now: everyday savings that help them stay on budget without giving up the holiday meals they love,” Sarasin said. “The opportunity ahead is making sure all shoppers, especially those in lower-income households and younger consumers, know these savings are available and find them easy to use.”

U.S. Grocery Shopper Trends 2026: Holidays is available at FMI.org/GroceryTrends.

Frequently Asked Questions on U.S. Grocery Shopper Trends 2026: Holidays

What is U.S. Grocery Shopper Trends 2026: Holidays?

It is FMI’s holiday edition of its long-running U.S. Grocery Shopper Trends series, examining shopper sentiment, food price concerns, spending, loyalty program use and plans for Halloween, Thanksgiving, December holidays and New Year’s.

How was U.S. Grocery Shopper Trends 2026: Holidays research conducted?

Data was collected online September 21–28, 2026, among a national sample of 1,467 U.S. grocery shoppers, weighted to align with the U.S. Census on key demographics. Trended data comes from FMI’s U.S. Grocery Shopper Trends studies and trackers fielded since 2020.

How much do shoppers value grocery loyalty programs?

Highly. 95% of members find their primary store’s program at least somewhat valuable, and 72% of shoppers with access to a program say it is essential to saving money and staying within budget.

Which loyalty benefits help shoppers save the most?

Shoppers most value and use savings-focused benefits: general everyday savings and discounts, personalized savings, points that apply to a variety of items, and gas savings. When asked to choose, 47% prefer general savings and discounts, 30% prefer personalized offers, and 23% have no preference.

What are the biggest Thanksgiving trends this year?

Shoppers are returning to scratch cooking, with 59% of those planning a turkey making it from scratch at home, up 16 points from 2025. Traditional staples like turkey, mashed potatoes and stuffing are all up slightly versus last year.

Who is the U.S. Grocery Shopper Trends 2026: Holidays report for?

Food retailers, suppliers, marketers and industry strategists planning holiday merchandising, promotions and loyalty programs, as well as media covering consumer and food trends.

About FMI

As the food industry association, FMI works with and on behalf of the entire industry to advance a safer, healthier and more efficient consumer food supply chain. FMI brings together a wide range of members across the value chain — from retailers that sell to consumers, to producers that supply food and other products, as well as the wide variety of companies providing critical services — to amplify the collective work of the industry. www.FMI.org

Holiday food remains the centerpiece of the season, and shoppers are protecting it. According to U.S. Grocery Shopper Trends 2026: Holidays, released today by FMI – The Food Industry Association, 45% of shoppers are extremely or very concerned about rising prices for holiday foods, up 8 points from fall 2025.

NEW YORK (AP) — Before the screams started, Dervie Mapp heard loud popping noises outside her Brooklyn apartment. She bolted out of bed to the kitchen window and watched as a neighboring building came crashing down, raining three stories of bricks and twisted metal.

Stunned survivors cried out amid thick dust and piles of rubble that moments earlier had been people’s homes.

“I saw the whole thing come down,” Mapp, a 67-year-old retiree, told The Associated Press on Thursday. “People were running up out of the pit, screaming and hollering. I couldn’t believe it — I froze.”

The deadly collapse that occurred without warning Wednesday afternoon took down a building that housed a store selling medical uniforms on the ground level and four apartments on the floors above.

Eight people perished, including two children who were Colombian nationals, according to the Colombian consulate in New York. The New York City Police Department identified the children as Nicole Daniela Salvada Rodriguez, 9; and Kevin Santiago Reyes Gonzalez, 10.

Two men from Ecuador, José Luis Caguana Cosquillo, 26, and Gabriel Siguencia, 22, were among the deceased, according to police and the Ecuadorian consulate in New York. Also dead were Juan Daniel Salvada Guzman, 31; Ndiaye Mamadou, 31; Barry Mamadou, 23; and Edgar Sapon, 26, police said. Officials said 18 others suffered injuries.

New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani on Thursday described the victims as “parents and children, young families building their lives in our city and immigrants from Mexico, Colombia, Ecuador, Trinidad and beyond.”

Among those hurt were four firefighters assisting with rescue efforts, which continued Thursday as crews searched for survivors through heaps of debris that included mattresses, a broken sink and a refrigerator with its door missing and food jumbled inside. Vinyl records, shoes and other personal belongings littered the rubble.

James Williams said he heard loud banging at the construction site all day Wednesday as he worked at a deli across the street. He said he noticed bricks falling from a building next to the site. Then the whole building fell down.

The collapse ripped away a wall shared with an adjacent building, which remained standing with the interiors of its apartments exposed — closets crammed with clothing, a stuffed bear sitting atop a pile of shoes and laundry heaped on a pink bedspread.

Security camera video from the building showed an interior stairway shaking as the wall beside it fell in a loud crash and a cloud of dust. The camera later recorded a firefighter helping a resident descend the same stairs above a yawning abyss of debris.

“Nice and easy,” the firefighter said as the person clutched both his hand and the railing.

Despite the chaos, construction workers who had barely escaped with their lives turned around and began clawing through the wreckage to free survivors, said Mamdani. He said their swift actions saved lives.

The mayor said Thursday that two construction workers were among the dead.

They included Caguana Cosquillo, a 26-year-old immigrant from Ecuador who had a young child and pregnant wife, his brother, Carlos Caguana, told WNBC-TV.

“He was the sole provider for the family,” Caguana said, adding that his brother's wife was devastated.

“She’s completely overwhelmed,” he said, “and can’t even find the words to speak.”

Rico reported from Atlanta. AP journalists Russ Bynum in Savannah, Georgia; Hannah Fingerhut in Des Moines, Iowa; Scott Bauer in Madison, Wisconsin; Laura Turbay in Little Rock, Arkansas; and Hannah Schoenbaum in Salt Lake City contributed.

A police official and a K-9 dog inspect the site of a building that collapsed the previous day in the Brooklyn borough of New York, Thursday, Nov. 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

New York City Department of Buildings employees stand on a rooftop during their investigation of a building that collapsed the previous day in the Brooklyn borough of New York, Thursday, Nov. 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)