Buying Groceries with Cash

When Americans shop for groceries, they are most likely to pay with cash, according to a Boston Fed analysis of Nielsen scanner data. Over a one month time period, cash is the payment type used in 48 percent of grocery store transactions, cards (debit or credit) are used in 45 percent of transactions, and checks in 7 percent.

Examine transactions by value, however, and the pattern changes. Cards account for 57 percent of the value of grocery store transactions, cash accounts for about a third, and checks account for the remaining 10 percent. The average cash expenditure in a grocery store is $35.36. The average card expenditure is $64.91. The average check expenditure is $79.20.

Source: Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, Payment Choice with Consumer Panel Data