Food Purchase Decisions of Millennial Households Compared to Other Generations

Do the purchasing decisions of Millennial households, headed by those born after 1980, differ significantly from the rest of the population? This report uses Information Resources, Inc.’s Consumer Network dataset to investigate how Millennial households allocate their food-at-home budget, breaking monthly purchases out by food category. Evidence shows that Millennials exhibit a higher preference for convenience than do other generational cohorts when making food-at-home purchases, with the largest budget shares going to food categories dominated by ready-to-eat foods. Additionally, Millennials spend less money, overall, on food at home and make fewer trips to the grocery store. These findings differ slightly for low-income Millennials and for Millennials who were of working age during the Great Recession (December 2007-June 2009). This latter group demonstrates whether the recession may have fundamentally altered Millennial shopping behavior through its negative impact on employment and earnings.