Online Grocery Shopping Behaviors among Generations
With the convenience of online shopping, more people start to purchase on their phones and rarely go to retailers, especially after the pandemic. In the graph from Statista, we can see younger generations — Gen Z and Millennials — prefer online shopping or Hybrid to in-store shopping. In contrast, Gen X and Boomers are still more interested in in-store shopping for all categories.
Online shopping provides convenience as people can purchase stuff at home, and receive the door-to-door delivered package. They don’t need to drive, walk in the large stores, and even go to different locations to find out the products they want. Younger generations are more familiar with shopping on their phones, but after COVID, all people started to use online ordering for convenience and safety. Stores began to provide services like pick-up or delivery for non-contact purchases.
Let’s specific to grocery shopping
In my own experience, I still go to grocery stores weekly, and I only use home delivery for products I cannot purchase in-store. I enjoy the time walking through the shelves and picking up what I want, especially fresh fruits and vegetables. My friend uses online grocery shopping on almost everything since COVID so that she can order online in advance, and park in the lot waiting for someone to bring her products. It somewhat depends on personal habits of shopping.
In CSP, Brett stated curbside pickup and delivery keep growing since the pandemic. Although most customers said they miss shopping in stores, only 20% plan to increase in-store shopping. Shoppers behave differently now compared to pre-COVID. They need more safety, speed, and convenience for some grocery shopping. They can get everything they need on the mobile app without walking shelf by shelf, and they don’t have to wait in lines for a cashier. Moreover, people are experiencing not only social distance but also physical. Some people might find social awkwardness when entering a store someone greets you. Therefore, people tend to choose online shopping to avoid those situations.
So, we can find the data from Statista about people’s online grocery shopping habits in different generations.
Home delivery is most popular among all ages. 40% of Gen Z and Millennials use online subscriptions, 22% of them use curbside pickup, 19% pick up in-store, and 13% use lockers or other methods. Gen X utilizes curbside pickup more than Gen Z and Millennials, which is 29%. 20% of them use online subscriptions, and another 20% pick up in-store, 8% would use lockers or other methods. Boomers have the highest percentage use home delivery and curbside pickup. Other methods are not so prevalent in this generation.
*Note: This article is a class assignment for BUS 465 — Integrated Brand Promotion and Advertising at NCSU Poole College of Management.
