The Covid-19 impact on grocery shopping behaviours of baby boomers

The purpose of this study is to identify how Covid-19 has impacted the behaviour of baby boomers when grocery shopping. While most countries in the world went on lockdown, the Swedes decided otherwise. Covid-19 has caused unprecedented behavioural changes amongst Swedish consumers, to avoid risks affiliated with the virus. This has led to the largest increase in usage of online grocery services among all industries. Baby boomers increased their online presence during the pandemic, more so than any other generation. Therefore, identifying and elaborating on these behavioural changes could help predict whether these are temporary or here to stay. Researchers applied the exploratory design with a qualitative approach which allowed for extensive investigation of the baby boomers' experience and presented rich details of the topic from various perspectives. Through a deductive approach, the authors reached a conclusion that is in line with a predetermined proposition based on logic in theory and applying it. Therefore, existing literature was first reviewed to provide the authors with a theoretical framework. Next, primary data was collected through semi-structured in-depth interviews with participants that were gathered with the snowball sampling technique. The data was organised according to three global themes: Objects, Doings and Meanings. It was later compiled in a codebook, providing a general overview for comparison and analysis. The study showed that during the pandemic the frequency and shopping schedule changed. Participants modified this behaviour to avoid crowding. In-store grocery shopping was preferred due to the generation’s desire to test the quality of products before purchase. After the pandemic, the majority of participants were eager to utilise digital tools in-store to a greater extent, as a means of convenience and efficiency. In addition, online grocery shopping is viewed to be complicated and it inhibits their ability to test the quality of products.