According to the latest study from The Feedback Group, supermarkets continue to be popular with older demographics, but are less compelling to younger shoppers. Asked about their most recent food shopping visit, Silent Generation and Boomer consumers chose supermarkets as their top destination. However, Gen Z, Millennials and Gen X prefer such other formats as Walmart, ALDI, dollar stores and club stores. Notably, supermarkets plummeted from the second-most shopped channel among Millennials and Gen X in 2024 to near the bottom this year. “A generational reshuffling is underway, with younger shoppers gravitating more toward other food formats, leaving supermarkets to re-evaluate how they engage this critical audience to remain relevant,” observed Brian Numainville, principal at The Feedback Group. Supermarket satisfaction remained high overall (4.39 on a five-point scale), with older shoppers and younger shoppers reporting higher satisfaction than middle generations. Shoppers using cashier-assisted lanes report higher satisfaction (4.45) versus self-checkout users (4.29), underscoring the continued worth of human interaction. Shoppers who couldn’t find all of the items they wanted rated their satisfaction considerably lower (3.99) than those who were able to find everything (4.47). Digital circular use once more surpassed print, with 52% of shoppers now using a digital ad, up from 48% last year. In-store mobile use continued to be strong, with one-third of shoppers using phones for such tasks as finding specials and accessing loyalty programs. In spite of robust social media use (88%), just 25% of shoppers are connected to their primary supermarket on any platform, which the research spotlighted as an area of opportunity, especially among younger consumers.