Continued Shift to Home Cooking Boosts Supermarket Sales Amid Economic Stress

Meanwhile, restaurant chain sales point to another trend: consumers forgoing expensive lifestyle meals in favor of more affordable options.

9/12/2025|Updated: 9/12/2025

News Analysis

Sales at the nation’s supermarkets and restaurant chains for the second quarter reveal a continued shift in Americans’ eating habits: more meals at home, fewer meals out, and a move away from expensive lifestyle eating to value meals amid growing economic stress from elevated food inflation and uncertain job growth prospects.

Panos Mourdoukoutas

Author

Panos Mourdoukoutas is a professor of economics at Long Island University in New York City. He also teaches security analysis at Columbia University. He’s been published in professional journals and magazines, including Forbes, Investopedia, Barron’s, IBT, and Journal of Financial Research. He’s also the author of many books, including “Business Strategy in a Semiglobal Economy” and “China’s Challenge.”