Walk into any grocery store these days, and beyond the usual crowd of parents doing the weekly haul or retirees sticking to their lists, you’ll also see Gen Zers—young shoppers with an eye for niche brands. Some might have their phones in hand referencing their favorite influencer, and a few might even be turning grocery shopping into content.
They may not realize it, but Gen Z is making a statement. Their grocery shopping habits reflect a shift in values and priorities that’s impacting how the food retail industry thinks. From in-store experiences to social media-fueled product discoveries, Gen Z is shopping with intention, and everyone from big-box grocers to boutique brands is taking notice.
For Gen Z, Grocery Shopping Is Personal
Generation Z—those born between 1997 and 2012—now accounts for 21% of the U.S. population, with an estimated $12.6 trillion in spending power by 2030, according to a recent Bank of America Institute report. That kind of financial clout is shaping the future of the food industry, because Gen Z isn’t spending like the generations before them.
For Gen Z consumers, the weekly store run is no longer just about stocking up on staples. It’s also about aligning purchases with identity. According to a February 2024 McKinsey report, groceries ranked as the number-one category where Gen Z and millennials planned to splurge, surpassing travel, dining out, and fashion. And those splurges aren’t limited to special occasions. They’re baked into everyday purchasing decisions, where function, wellness, and brand ethos carry as much weight as price.
From gut-health drinks and adaptogenic snacks to plastic-free packaging and community-focused branding, Gen Z grocery shoppers are bringing intentionality to every aisle. They’re looking beyond the food itself for brands that match their values, their vibe, and sometimes even their feeds.
The Rise of “Affordable Affluence”
Luxury groceries are the new status symbols. At high-end grocers such as Erewhon in Los Angeles, where smoothies can cost $20 and shelves are filled with micro-influencer-approved items, Gen Z shoppers spend up to $200 a week, according to Vogue. And not on rare wine or caviar, but on wellness-forward, beautifully branded products that feel both exclusive and shareable.
It’s part of a larger trend dubbed the “new lipstick effect” in which younger consumers gravitate toward smaller luxuries when major lifestyle purchases are out of reach. And right now, that means food. Grocery purchases are filling the same emotional role a status handbag once did.
A Vogue Business survey backs it up: More than half of Gen Z respondents reported buying at least one luxury food item in the past year. These weren’t just everyday essentials but rather choices meant to be seen. Think $6 gut-friendly sodas, or $20 jars of sustainably sourced nut butter: products that double as content and hold cultural cachet on social media, especially when brands like Poppi are tossing out brand deals like candy at parades.
Not All Gen Z Shoppers Fit the Mold
According to the Advantage 2024 Shopper Outlook report, which surveyed more than 8,000 U.S. consumers, Gen Z’s grocery shopping habits aren’t one-size-fits-all. In fact, one of the bigger emerging shopper personas among Gen Z and younger millennials is the Price Hunter. This group—primarily made up of white Gen Z and millennial women—isn’t focused on trendy wellness brands or aesthetic packaging. They’re focused on price. Value is king, and private-label items are the go-to. For them, stores like Aldi and Walmart are first stops.
That insight challenges a lot of assumptions about what Gen Z wants. Because while some Gen Zers are, in fact, spending top dollar on sourdough, others are budgeting carefully and hunting for everyday low prices. And often, it’s the same shopper splurging in one category while saving in another.
For grocers and other retailers, that means assortment strategies need to thread a needle. It’s not always going to be about launching buzzy new products or overhauling the store layout. It’s about building a grocery store experience that balances value and novelty, meets functional needs, and still feels personal. All Gen Zers may not shop the same way, but they are united by one thing: They expect more from the places they spend their money. If your shelves can’t deliver both excitement and affordability, they’ll find one that can, online or off.
Social Media Is Gen Z’s Shopping Guide
If you want to understand Gen Z’s grocery shopping habits, start by scrolling. TikTok is where they watch their favorite influencers flaunt new products as if the platform were the Met Gala of grocery shopping.
And it’s working. According to Student Beans, 55% of Gen Z consumers have made a purchase after seeing a brand on TikTok. Another 83% say trending products on the platform have influenced their buying decisions. It’s less about traditional ads and more about seeing real people use real products in ways that feel authentic.
Instagram isn’t far behind, with 60% of Gen Z using it to discover new products and services. YouTube ranks as the go-to research hub for 47% of this demographic, with many watching haul videos or review breakdowns before deciding whether a product is worthy of their cart.
But despite being deeply online, Gen Z still craves the IRL experience. In fact, Retail Dive notes that Gen Z grocery shoppers still show a strong preference for in-person shopping, especially when it comes with a bit of entertainment or discovery baked in. For grocers, that means the in-store experience has to match the energy of what they’re seeing online.
What This Means for Retailers
So what does all this mean for retailers?
For starters, Gen Z is setting a new bar. They want curated product assortments with personality, compelling private-label options, and brands that reflect their values: sustainability, inclusivity, transparency. Traditional marketing won’t win them over, but word-of-mouth and social media buzz might. And while they’re still building financial independence, Gen Z shoppers are already influencing household grocery purchases in a big way.
Just as important, the line between online discovery and in-store decision-making is nearly gone. Gen Z wants the full experience: Scroll a product on TikTok, try it in-store, snap a pic for Instagram, and tap a QR code to reorder it later. That level of fluidity doesn’t happen by accident. It happens through testing, and that’s where InContext comes in.
How InContext Helps Retailers Meet Gen Z’s Expectations
Gen Z moves fast, and retailers need more than trend reports that can become outdated in a flash. They need validation.
InContext’s virtual store testing platform gives grocers the power to test everything from new products to signage to layout changes before rollout. Want to know which shelf placement makes a new plant-based snack stand out? Whether a TikTok-famous soda deserves an endcap? How younger shoppers respond to a redesigned private-label display? You don’t have to guess. You can test it, track it, and optimize it with confidence.
And because our platform captures real shopping behavior from Gen Z respondents (and other age groups), you’re not just following trends; you’re learning what resonates and making smarter moves that can influence what comes next.
(Interested in how to follow trends without blindly trusting them? Here’s how we recommend testing before you invest.)
Get Ready for a New Generation of Shoppers
Gen Z is already shopping in full force and reshaping shelves and expectations in real time, and they treat grocery shopping as a personal experience. One week it’s functional mushroom drinks. The next, it’s retro cereal boxes or coconut oil popcorn. The point isn’t to keep up with every fad but to build a strategy that lets you test, learn, and evolve quickly.
That’s what InContext helps retailers do. We give you the tools to see what’s working, spot what’s not, and make confident decisions before your products hit the shelf.
Because it’s not enough to stock what’s trending. You have to know that it works.
And Gen Zers are already in your stores, carts ready. The only question is, will you be ready for them?
