Americans will drive less and make fewer shopping trips in 2022 because of pricey gasoline and soaring inflation, Target CEO says

Target CEO Brian Cornell said on Sunday that Americans will drive less and make fewer shopping trips this year because of expensive gasoline and accelerating inflation, Bloomberg reported.

"Some of the historical ways consumers react to inflation will play out again in 2022," Cornell said at an event held by the National Retail Federation in New York cited by Bloomberg.

"You'll drive fewer miles, you'll consolidate the number of times and locations where you shop," Cornell said at the event, per Bloomberg.

Shoppers are likely to eat at home rather than in restaurants, and look for cheaper own brands compared to pricier national brands, Cornell said, according to Bloomberg's report. 

"We're going to learn a lot about how the consumer reacts in the next 60, 90, 120 days to rising prices," the Target CEO said at the event.

Inflation in the US hit a near 40-year high in December after the consumer price index rose 7% from a year earlier, the Bureau of Labor Statistics announced in January.