Walmart Sees Higher-Income Shoppers Amid Rising Grocery Prices and Broad Consumer Cutbacks
Walmart CEO John Furner said last week that higher-income customers are buying more and visiting more often. Food prices including ground beef at $6.90 per pound and orange juice up 21% have prompted spending cuts across income levels.
forbes.comJohn Furner, CEO of Walmart, told reporters during the retailer’s annual shareholders’ week in Bentonville, Arkansas, last week that higher-income customers are coming to Walmart more often and buying more. He said the company continues to see these shoppers increase both frequency and volume of purchases.
Furner also noted that Walmart’s lower-income customers show more signs of stress under current economic conditions.
He identified fuel prices as the main pressure point and expressed hope for relief on energy costs. 4% over the same period, according to Toast data cited by Fortune. 90 last month, up about 19% from a year earlier.
3%. Around 75% of Americans report cutting spending on other expenses to afford groceries, according to a 2025 survey by Swiftly. More than seven in 10 six-figure earners now shop at discount grocery chains, per a 2025 report from Clarify Capital.
Todd Vasos, CEO of Dollar General, told analysts last week that the chain’s core customer remains financially constrained. He said the pressure is more pronounced in rural communities where shoppers minimize trip distance and make trade-offs for affordability.
Among six-figure earners, 74% are cutting back on dining out, 54% are reducing entertainment spending, 51% are spending less on clothes, 49% are scaling back subscriptions, and 49% are spending less on travel, according to the Clarify Capital report.
Walmart, America’s largest food retailer, has absorbed some fuel cost increases to keep prices lower, company executives said. Fortune reported that this approach could change if gas prices remain elevated.
