Boomers More Likely Than Gen Y to Buy Food, HBW Online

Shoppers age 50-54 lead the charge when it comes to purchasing health and beauty products online (52 percent), and shoppers ages 45-49 are purchasing more food and beverage products online (29 percent) than any other age group.

That’s according to the latest issue of The Checkout, an ongoing shopper behavior study conducted by The Integer Group and M/A/R/C Research.

All age groups show an increase in shopping online, with an overall increase in shopping in general, versus The Checkout’s results from last year that showed 73 percent of shoppers who were buying more online were not shopping more, they were just shopping differently.

Last year, The Checkout also showed that boomers were the largest group of shoppers purchasing consumer packaged goods products online (health, beauty, food, beverage). Both reports indicate that other age groups still aren’t sold on the idea of doing standard grocery shopping online, stating that their barriers for purchasing these goods online are product expiration dates and shipping costs.

“Grocery shopping online is a concept most shoppers have yet to adopt, which means there are conventions ingrained in their shopping behavior that must be disrupted,” said Craig Elston, Integer senior VP. “Manufacturers and e-tailers have the most to gain if they can help shoppers get over their purchase barriers.”

Randy Wahl, M/A/R/C Research executive VP, added: “The flexibility and simplicity of shopping online becomes even more appealing the busier people get. Shoppers across all demographic groups aren't just becoming smarter, they are now making the time to find the best deal.”

Data for The Checkout comes from a national survey conducted by Integer and M/A/R/C where consumers are asked about their shopping attitudes, shopping behaviors and economic outlook. Topics range from criteria shoppers use to select retailers, to which in-store stimulus is most likely to drive purchase, to factors that might lead shoppers to leave an aisle empty-handed. The Checkout is available for download at Integer's blog.

The Integer Group is one of the world’s largest promotional, retail and shopper marketing agencies, and a key member of Omnicom Group Inc.