Economic ‘shock and awe’ leaves Philly-area consumers uncertain

Courtney McCallum is making more money than she anticipated earning at 30 years old.

Still, the Manayunk magazine editor said, “I am living paycheck to paycheck.”

McCallum and her husband, an accountant, would love to buy a house and start a family, she said, but they are holding off until they can save more.

Student loans, car payments, and groceries — which cost them $700 to $800 a month — are eating up a chunk of their income, she said. They plan to rent their apartment for at least another year and hope prices fall.

“It’s shocking to me that you can make a middle- to upper-middle-class income and still feel like you’re struggling,” McCallum said. “I have been really scared about the tariff situation and the cost of goods, even the prospect of stagflation” — continued inflation plus stagnant growth and increased unemployment. “I’m just trying to save any bit of money that I can.”

Across the U.S., others are similarly on edge. In February, the consumer confidence index dropped precipitously, marking the largest monthly decline since August 2021.

Spending is down among all income levels, the Wall Street Journal reported this week, with executives from Walmart, McDonald’s, Dollar General, Costco, and Kohl’s saying that customers seem to be cutting back so far this year. Convenience-store sales are down, too, according to the Journal, and major airlines are bracing for a slowdown.

In the Philadelphia region, consumers said they are feeling the pain, as are food pantries and other organizations that help people in need.

In Bryn Mawr, Jennifer Tran is anxious about the unknown.

“Financially we’re feeling OK, but the future is very uncertain,” said Tran, a 41-year-old marketing consultant. “My husband and I are just taking things day by day. Not super worried, but being more mindful of spending on unnecessary things or big-ticket items.”

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For the couple, it’s a delicate balancing act.

Tran said they strive to save money when they can. At the same time, they want to support regional businesses and companies that align with their values. It can be tough to do both.

They have no fuel costs or car payments, for example — but that’s because they own a Tesla, which they bought before Elon Musk ascended to power in the Trump administration. They would prefer not to support the billionaire, she said, but they cannot bring themselves to sell a paid-off electric car.

For groceries, they shop at MOM’s Organic Market, McCaffrey’s Food Market in Gladwyne, Riverwards Produce, and local farmer’s markets, along with chains like Aldi and Trader Joe’s. They are participating in the national boycott of Target over the company’s move away from diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts.

And Tran is trying to be mindful of her Amazon Prime habit, she said, often by leaving items in her online cart for a day or two while mulling its purpose.

“I’ve been trying to be more thoughtful,” she said, “if it’s a thing I want but don’t need.”

Local anti-hunger programs have unique insight into how Philly-area consumers are feeling — and a growing number of them are food insecure, executives said.

Since 2021, the need in the region has been higher than in some other parts of the country, said Shannon Isaacs, executive director of the Montco Anti-Hunger Network (MAHN).

Between 2022 and 2023, the most recent year for which data are available, food insecurity increased 9.5% nationwide, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. But in 2023, visits to Montgomery County food pantries rose 60%, according to MAHN data.

In recent years, some of the highest demand has been in wealthier Main Line communities, where housing costs are also elevated, Isaacs said.

“What I’ve heard from pantry managers is they’re seeing another layer of the onion,” Isaacs said. “They’re seeing people who have never been to a food pantry.”

With food donations down, more than half of Montgomery County’s pantries have had to turn people away, Isaac said. She worries about what is to come.

“Should inflation be impacted through tariffs, any of those scenarios would lead to very concerning situations,” Isaacs said.

The situation is similar in the South Jersey suburbs.

Last year, at hundreds of pantries in Burlington, Camden, Gloucester, and Salem Counties, the Food Bank of South Jersey saw 185,000 people a month on average, said president and CEO Fred Wasiak. That’s up from about 95,000 a month at the height of the pandemic.

“It’s hurting everyone’s pocket. When people go to the grocery store, it’s shock and awe,” Wasiak said. Those who are coming into the pantries now are from “all walks of life.”