NEW YORK, Aug 16 Reuters U.S. inflation at a fourdecade high has hit lowerincome Americans the hardest. On Tuesday, Walmart39;s results showed that those with bigger wallets are getting squeezed, too.

The nation39;s largest retailer, which caters to budgetconscious shoppers, said it saw more middle and higherincome customers shop at Walmart during the second quarter, a shift it said was different from prior economic downturns.

In Walmart39;s U.S. business, we have seen midtohigher income customers come to Walmart looking for value. As you would expect, food and consumables, in particular, are places where they39;re looking to save some money, Walmart39;s Chief Executive Officer Doug McMillon said on an investor call.

The Bentonville, Arkansasbased retailer said the company grew market share in the grocery segment during the second quarter ended July 31, with threequarters of the gains coming from shoppers with annual incomes over 100,000. The company did not provide additional details on its market share gains.

Most of these sales came through its U.S. ecommerce business, which grew 12 during the quarter, and helped the retailer post betterthanexpected sales and lift its fullyear profit forecast.

In the United States, Walmart39;s online grocery market share, which includes pickup and delivery services, rose to 55 in the month of June from 52 in March.

By contrast, online grocery delivery platform Instacart39;s share dropped to 27 from 28, Amazon39;s declined to 7…