An increasing number of shoppers are using buy now, pay later financing options for groceries.
Walmart is extending its 10% employee discount to nearly all groceries, offering financial relief as food prices continue to strain household budgets.
Walmart Chief People Officer Donna Morris told employees in a Wednesday memo, obtained by FOX Business, that the company was simplifying and expanding its Walmart Associate Discount Card program, effective immediately, to all food categories. This includes dairy, frozen, dry groceries, meat and seafood, in addition to general merchandise and fashion.
With the change, the associate discount now covers 95% of regularly priced items across the store, according to Morris. Previously, the discount only applied to fresh produce and most general merchandise.
BUY NOW, PAY LATER USAGE FOR GROCERIES NEARLY DOUBLES AS CONSUMERS STRUGGLE WITH FOOD COSTS
Car park and storefront with logo of a Walmart store and supermarket in Florida City in Florida State in the United States of America (USA) on August 5, 2025. ( JC Milhet/Hans Lucas/AFP via Getty Images) / Getty Images)
The Walmart Discount Card program, which launched over 50 years ago, is available to all U.S. store and home office associates after their first 90 days on the job. Employees who reach 20 years of employment, though, become eligible for a lifetime discount.
Even though food prices are easing, grocery costs have risen more rapidly than general inflation in recent years, putting ongoing pressure on household budgets. Even food industry executives, such as Campbell’s CEO Mick Beekhuizen, warned that consumer sentiment continued to soften throughout the last quarter, with shoppers becoming even more deliberate about how they were spending money on food.
MORE AMERICANS TURN TO HOME COOKING AS ECONOMIC CONCERNS WEIGH
A customer with a shopping cart in the snack aisle of a Walmart store in Florida City in the state of Florida in the United States of America (USA) on August 5, 2025. (JC Milhet/Hans Lucas/AFP via Getty Images) / Getty Images)
Food prices were elevated in July compared with a month ago, as the government’s food at home index decreased 0.1% and the food away from home index rose 0.3%. Over the last year, the overall food index is up 2.9%, with food at home up 2.2% and food away from home up 3.9%. However, from 2020 to 2024, the all-food consumer price index rose 23.6%, outpacing the entire index, which grew 21.2% over the same period.
Though food price growth slowed in 2023 and 2024 because wholesale food prices and these other inflationary factors eased across industries, some experts fear that President Donald Trump’s tariffs could increase food prices again.
Automatic checkouts with cashiers and customers in the aisles of a Walmart store and supermarket in Florida City in the state of Florida in the United States of America (USA) on August 5, 2025. (JC Milhet/Hans Lucas/AFP via Getty Images) / Getty Images)
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Nearly 50% of U.S. consumers surveyed reported rising prices as their top concern, followed by tariff policies at 29%, according to the report.
Despite the ongoing trade talks, the uncertainty and volatility that persist in the market are already forcing most of the survey respondents to “explore a range of personal financial behaviors to protect their pocketbooks,” the firm said.
If they haven’t done so already, they plan to soon, even if the tariffs’ effects have yet to hit store shelves, according to McKinsey.
