Generational differences abound in grocery shopping behavior, reveals Acosta Sales & Marketing [download page] in a new report. The study indicates that younger shoppers tend to be less loyal to brands: 42% of Millennials (born between 1982 and the early 2000s) say they’re buying more store brands to save money, a figure that drops to 36% among Boomers (born between 1946 and 1964) and just 26% of Silents (born between 1925 and 1945). Although they make the most number of routine shopping shopping trips per month (4.1 on average), Millennials have the smallest average monthly grocery spend.
At $252.60 per month, Millennials trail Silents ($263.70) and Baby Boomers ($295.50) in average monthly grocery spend, with Gen Xers (born between 1965 and 1981) spending easily the most ($323.10).
Differences in generational shopping behavior stretch beyond spending and brand loyalty into channel preferences. While Millennials are increasing their club and drug channel trips, Gen Xers and Baby Boomers are visiting grocery and dollar channels more often. Silents, meanwhile, are increasingly frequenting drug and dollar channels.
The study also details some of the high-indexing grocery categories by generation. Not surprisingly, high-indexing categories for Millennials and Gen Xers include diapers and baby needs. For Baby Boomers, tobacco and accessories, ice, and beer top the list of high-indexing categories, while for Silents, books and magazines and floral and gardening index highest.