Post-COVID, consumers are beginning to return to their old ways of consumption as in-person shopping is reintroduced. The coronavirus pandemic had and continues to have an impact on the way baby boomers shop, as this generation is the most at-risk for long-term complications due to the virus. As a result, baby boomers have taken over the online shopping category with people in their 60s, 70s, and 80s continuing to rely on these services to make their lives easier.
Grocery delivery services like Instacart, Cornershop, Peapod, and others are the most commonly used by baby boomers, and popularizing these services during the peak of the pandemic has benefitted this category significantly. Companies such as Kraft Heinz are aiming to streamline their online shopping services by working with brands like Instacart, Kroger, and more.
"We’ve seen a significant increase in baby boomers shopping online, so the focus has been, ‘How can we make this as easy as possible for them?’" said Elizabeth Bennett from Kraft Heinz. "If you think about a traditional store, I can’t control which entrance you walk in or which aisles you go down. But online, when we see who you are as a consumer, we can surface certain items."
Boomer-Focused Grocery Services
Baby Boomers Continue to Dominate in Online Shopping Post-COVID
Trend Themes
1. Boomer-targeted Grocery Subscription Services - Subscription-based grocery services tailored to the needs of baby boomers are growing in popularity, providing an opportunity for companies to capitalize on this demographic's online shopping habits.
2. Smartphone-based Grocery Shopping Platforms - Smartphone apps that enable baby boomers to order grocery items online easily are seeing increased user adoption levels, indicating a need for more user-friendly smartphone-based grocery shopping platforms.
3. Personalized Shopping Recommendations for Older Adults - Personalized shopping recommendations based on the individual's age, dietary needs, and purchasing history are becoming more important in helping baby boomers to navigate online grocery shopping, opening doors for companies to develop AI-powered recommendation engines that meet these specific user needs.
Industry Implications
1. Online Grocery Delivery Services - Online grocery delivery services, such as Instacart, Cornershop, and Peapod, should further focus on providing a user-friendly digital platform for older adults to increase adoption rates among this age demographic.
2. Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG) Brands - Consumer packaged goods (CPG) brands ought to expand their online offerings and streamline their online platforms by collaborating with grocery delivery companies to better cater to the needs of baby boomers.
3. Mobile App Developers - Mobile app developers should develop more user-friendly smartphone applications to enable older adults to easily shop for groceries online, providing a significant opportunity to tap into the tech-savvy boomer demographic.