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The Disappearance of Generational Gap?

May 5, 2020 | AppCard Team

One of the most exciting and fascinating phenomena arising from the recent pandemic is the disappearance of generational gaps. Before the past weeks and months, it was assumed that Millennials and generation Z are vastly different from their more experienced Gen X and Baby Boomer shoppers, but recent trends clearly show that such gaps are disappearing fast. 

 

It was a common understanding that Millennials and Gen Z tend to purchase prepared meals, eat more outside, and are willing to pay more for local and healthier ingredients. They were less aware or sensitive to the availability of coupons and above all, idealized convenience. 

 

On the other hand, Gen X and Boomers were considered to be more traditional, put emphasis on the experience of picking their own produce items, being price sensitive, more biased toward known brands, and above all eating more at home as they cherish the values of preparing freshly cooked meals. 

 

All these and more have all changed in the light of COVID-19. The largest increase in online grocery shopping was registered among Gen X and Boomers as they quickly were forced to jump on the digital wagon. At the same time, based on google searches and grocery stores web site browsing analysis, Millennials and Gen Z are seeing home cooking as the new ‘cool’ hobby and activity to relieve stress and connect with family and friends. #1 searched item among these shoppers,  is a healthy and fun recipe. Moreover, a recent Valassis report indicated that 68% of Millennial parents and 50% of Gen Z are actively clipping and searching for digital coupons. An increase of 10% on average from previous year.  

At AppCard for years, we have claimed all shoppers belong to Gen EX – the generation of EXpectation and EXperience! Generation EX emphasizes the fact that all generations have a common denominator —  as each shopper would like to be listened to, appreciated, and communicated with offers, rewards, and content that is relevant to him/her based on their preference and purchase behavior. Retailers in general and Independent grocers in particular, that are quick to realize this and personalize their shopper’s experience sees a continued increase in customer loyalty, customer advocacy and growth. 

 

AppCard is a Member of the Intel IoT Solutions Alliance. A global ecosystem of more than 800 industry leaders, the Alliance offers its Members unique access to Intel technology, expertise, and go-to-market support, accelerating the deployment of best-in-class solutions. Powered by Intel CPU, AppCard J-brain ensures data is captured at the EDGE and transferred to the cloud where we run our machine learning and AI to guarantee that offers, rewards and campaigns are all personalized to shoppers and employees.

 

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