48% of Price-Stressed Americans Treat Themselves Just Once a Week

Nearly half of grocery-stressed Americans — 48% — treat themselves exactly once a week, compared with 34% of people who report no price stress, according to the Brand Joy Lab's database of more than 15,000 Americans (n=407). The finding frames a holiday season in which cost of living topped voters' concerns in this week's midterms and Thanksgiving dinner will cost around $90, per PwC.

What is inflation doing to food joy?

The Lab has tracked grocery price stress since August 2025. Every month, more than 4 in 10 Americans say they feel more stressed about grocery prices than earlier in the year. The columnist behind the inaugural Brand Joy Lab "Note" argues this anxiety makes consumers "ration our joy."

Price-stressed consumers actually get slightly more joy from buying themselves something they don't need. "The value of that moment is in treating yourself," the Note states. "Price determines how many of those little wins we get."

Are healthy habits public or private?

Half of Americans say they are very likely to eat healthy when alone (n=436). At a restaurant, that figure drops to a third. Asked what is joyful about eating well, people cited energy and feeling good. Almost no one mentioned looking good or others' opinions.

In the Lab's latest wave, 72% of Americans strongly want to feel in control of their health, versus 52% who want to feel attractive to other people (n=407). The Note's takeaway for brands: good-for-you foods behave less as badges and more as fuel for private moments.

Who feels guilty about store-bought dishes?

One third of Americans love cooking more than ordering in; two thirds do not (n=783). The guilt gap runs wider: 84% of Americans say a store-bought potluck dish is fine when someone else brings it, but 74% would feel they took a shortcut bringing one themselves.

That gap is the marketing opening. Most food brands sell price or convenience, the Note argues. "The open territory is permission. If a store-bought pie can save time, effort, and money, and let the person bringing it feel good about it, you have a win-win-win-win situation."

With a roughly $90 Thanksgiving on the table, brands that enable the gathering without the cost and effort of cooking and shopping "could create lasting emotional ties with their customers."

Are the value wars winning hearts?

As inflation has soared, value wars have pushed chains from McDonald's to Sweetgreen into menu deals. A third of Americans cut back on fast food last year (32%, n=1,625). The same share went looking for more small joys — a number the deals race has largely ignored, the Note suggests.

Chipotle's BOGOs are filling seats, per Restaurant Business. But among grocery-price-stressed Americans, Chipotle's Joy Index score falls to 28, versus 45 among everyone else (n=407). Purchase intent barely moves, dropping less than a point on a 10-point scale. Price pressure does not stop visits; it takes the love.

Americans also rate their own go-to fast food spot higher than any named chain the Lab tested (n=398). Limited-time items give them a reason to switch, if only for one meal: the McRib's return, Arby's deep-fried turkey, Burger King's pretzel-bun burger. The Note calls this "the menu is the marketing." The data backs it: 79% of shoppers want new things to discover and no surprises (n=824).

Does human effort still sell?

Making something with your hands rates 64 on the Lab's Joy Index (n=872). Customers prefer a knowledgeable person over a self-checkout machine by 40% to 29% (n=376). The Note cites a recent Bon Appétit argument that hand-painted signage signals restaurants are for people, and warns brands off AI-generated menu signage: "leave the slop for the table."

For food marketers entering a pricey holiday season, the Lab's data points to permission, private-wellness framing and visible human effort as the underexploited territory beyond price.