This article in the Wall Street Journal panics about the declines in spending on Foods. The headline is that third quarter consumer spending on food declines at -3.7% "The steepest decline in the 62 years" that records have been kept.
At face value, really terrible news... "Markets and Restaurants Feel the Pinch as People Purchase Generic Brands and Stay Home" is the subhead. But let's think about the macro environment. The second quarter of 08 saw the price of food was the highest it has ever been: By the 3rd quarter, that had changed.
In the late second and through the third quarter, food suppliers started to see a significant fall in their costs (packaging, ingredients, transportation etc). Suppliers and retailers then began to pass along the savings in price promotions.
2008 was a wacky year... and the data from it will require intense analysis to provide real insight and explanation.
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