How consumers’ egg buying behavior has changed since January

Consumers may be becoming “desensitized” to elevated egg prices, though their shopping behaviors around the high-priced commodities are changing, according to a new survey by Numerator.

Though egg prices have skyrocketed since January, Numerator’s survey of 1,050 egg buyers in April found that fewer consumers said egg prices in their areas were somewhat or very expensive than they reported in a prior version of the survey in January. There’s also a growing gap between what egg consumers say they’ll pay and what they actually pay for eggs. In January, they said they were willing to pay $4.90, and actually paid $4.84 on average per dozen, while in April they said they were willing to pay $5.56, and paid $6.54.

However, consumers are buying eggs less often, Numerator found. The percentage of egg consumers that buy them once a week (36.7%) dropped 4.8 points since January, while those that buy them monthly (19.6%) rose 2.7 points.

More shoppers are buying standard eggs (cage-free, free-range, pasture-raised, and organic eggs dipped four points since January) and 26.8% said they buy whichever eggs are cheapest, up 4.2 points since January. If standard eggs aren’t available, 46.1% opt not to purchase any, up 6.5 points; 20.7% will switch to premium, down 5.7 points; and 23%, will head to another store nearby, down 0.7 points. And if eggs are fully out of stock, 54.8% won’t head elsewhere to buy them, up 7.1 points, and 35.2% will see if they can get some at a nearby store, down 6.8 points.

Fewer consumers are seeing out-of-stocks or shortages. Those that do are more often urban egg buyers, those in the Western US, and shoppers of BJs, Trader Joe’s, Costco, Wakefern, and Albertsons.

Tough to crack: President Trump recently faced criticism over his claims to ABC News that “egg prices are down.” While wholesale prices have notably dropped in recent months, retail prices remain elevated, with the most recent average reported by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics being $6.23 a dozen in March. Those prices at retail could still be high as contracts between egg suppliers and grocers set prices for several weeks, but grocers also don’t have much incentive to slash prices as egg sales have held steady, experts told ABC News.