Traditional with a twist
60% of older shoppers still primarily rely on the classic shopping list to help them make purchasing decisions, with loyalty programs (46%) and promotion leaflets (41%) representing secondary touch points. However, as 88% of Boomers own a smartphone, digital touch points are next on the list: 27% use retailer apps, and 26% use digital coupons. Boomers are digital, just not “social.”
Shopping online does not seem to be the first channel of choice at first glance: 56% of older shoppers will not shop online, while 16% will. If Boomers do shop online, their baskets primarily contain products for home and personal care, followed by staple and canned foods. Not surprisingly, drugstores are their favorite online retailers. The virtual door is open: among those who shop online, the potential for entering an online drugstore is the highest across all generations.
It is not that older shoppers do not buy online. The number of those who buy FMCG online is fairly high and more or less on par with average rates for all generations. Only a handful of countries show a difference in online penetration between older shoppers and the average population exceeding 20%, most notably in smaller Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries. In larger countries such as Germany and Italy, online FMCG penetration among Boomers is actually higher than average: in Sweden, for example, the average for all generations is 58%, while for Boomers it is 63%.
Shopping FMCG online is just less of a weekly household habit. As Boomers primarily shop for staple products, the size of their online basket is often lower. Yet, in markets like Sweden, the difference is minimal: 6.3% online value share of all FMCG purchases, compared to 5.9% for Boomers, meaning nearly 6 Euros out of every 100 spent on FMCG is spent online.
In the Netherlands, the picture is different: the online FMCG value share of all households is 7.8%, whereas it only reaches 4.5% among Boomers. Plausible reasons include a very high minimum order for delivery in the early days of online grocery shopping, plus a high density of stationary retailers with easy access.
Boomers are by no means afraid to venture into new territory online. Comparing a few big near-FMCG retailers with a stronghold in Europe shows that Temu has the highest reach among Boomers (29%), beating the likes of Amazon, Action, and Ikea.
Mass media and targeting
Despite nearly 90% of Boomers owning a smartphone, their media consumption remains largely traditional or an extension thereof: 41% watch TV for more than three hours a day, and another 41% for at least one hour. Over half of Boomer households have subscribed to a streaming service, with 24% watching series for at least one hour a day.
Media consumption >1 hr daily
Gen Z
Social media
Internet browsing
Streaming
Linear TV
Youtube
Boomers
Linear TV
Internet browsing
Radio
Social media
Streaming
Source: YouGov Behavior Change Fall ’24, EU-20
When it comes to media consumption, Gen Z and Boomers are worlds apart. However, one cannot say that the older generation is anti-digital. Interestingly, a staggering 92% use Facebook, 41% use Instagram, and 21% use Pinterest. For content, cooking and baking, and travel stand out as the two main types they like to engage with.