Price now the key factor when Aussies go grocery shopping

Taste and nutrition are on the chopping block as Aussies start sacrificing both in favour of price, with cost of living pressures hitting grocery bills hard. TAKE OUR POLL

Hip-pocket pressure is influencing the types of food Australians are purchasing. File picture

Taste and nutrition are on the chopping block as Australians have started sacrificing both in favour of price, with cost of living pressures hitting grocery bills hard.

Exclusive polling has revealed 55 per cent of Australians prioritised price over all other factors when making food choices at the supermarket, with just 29 per cent considering nutrition and health and 51 per cent placing the most importance on flavour.

It comes as 80 per cent of the population admitted to struggling in some capacity to afford groceries, according to the Lighthouse Consumer Tracker polling for April 2025, conducted exclusively by News Corp Australia’s Growth Intelligence Centre.

Australian Medical Association president Dr Danielle McMullen said achieving a healthy balanced diet in a cost of living crisis could be difficult, but said it was vital to our long-term physical and mental health.

“If people are really going without adequate nutrition it would be really devastating to see the impacts of that in our society,” she said.

Australian Medical Association President Dr Danielle McMullen. Picture: Richard Walker

She revealed one of the biggest challenges people faced was relying on cheap carbohydrates like bread, pasta and rice to fill up, at the expense of other nutritious options.
“While carbs are part of a balanced diet, we see challenges when people are forced to eat large amounts that means we may be missing out on some of the nutrients in other foods,” she said, noting it was particularly difficult for those with Type 2 diabetes.

Dietitians Australia president Dr Fiona Willer agreed and said when Aussies were forced to simply choose any kind of food over going hungry, it could have health implications.

“If people are choosing the same kind of things over and over again and the dietary variety becomes quite narrow, we end up then being a bit more on the precipice of nutrient deficiencies,” she said.

She revealed it took just four to six weeks for a vitamin C deficiency to occur, with those skipping fruit at risk of possible scurvy.

“That is a retro throwback we don’t want to go to,” she said.

She said the key to maintaining health while on a budget was to increase the variety of foods eaten, swapping out different fruits, vegetables, protein and wholegrains each week.

“If you’re basing meals around rice and pasta and potatoes and those starch staples, not choosing the same one all the time is the point,” she said.

“Building around that with a bit of protein, it doesn’t have to be expensive. Choose lots of different types of veggies and types of fruit – and that can be what’s on special, the idea is to get a variety over a period of weeks.”

The data showed almost half of all shoppers (49 per cent) were buying cheaper or budget brands to make their dollar go further, while one in four were purchasing more frozen items to save costs, and one in seven were choosing more canned and preserved foods.

Originally published as Price now the key factor when Aussies go grocery shopping