Grocery shopping has changed dramatically over the past 50 years, and not everyone is happy about it.

Baby boomers — generally defined as those born between 1946 and 1964 — are particularly frustrated by many of today’s grocery-store features, according to The Takeout. Technology-driven shopping is among their biggest complaints, along with several other modern grocery-store changes.

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No. 1: Self-checkout

When asked to choose between self‑checkout and cashier‑assisted checkout — each with equal lines — 62% of respondents to a YouGov survey aged 65-plus said they preferred cashier-assisted checkout, compared to 34% who said they like self-checkout.

Fifty percent of respondents aged 45-64 said they preferred checking out with a cashier, while 44% said they would choose self-checkout. In the 18-29-year-old demographic, meanwhile, 52% said they prefer self-checkout, while 26% said they would prefer cashier-assisted checkout.

The major hangups boomers have with self-checkout is weighting produce, the lack of human interaction and the feeling they’re doing free labor, The Takeout reported.

No. 2: Bargain grocery stores

Cleanliness and organization are what baby boomers prioritize in grocery stores, a 2024 survey published by the Feedback Group found.

Boomers have a strong preference for supermarkets (32%), the survey found, while Walmart (28%) was their second choice for grocery shopping. Gen X shoppers preferred Walmart (28%), followed by supermarkets (25%), while Gen Z opted for Walmart (23%), Aldi (20%), dollar stores (17%) and club stores (15%). Traditional supermarkets ranked last among Gen Z shoppers, with only 11% reporting this as their go-to store.

No. 3: Searching for products

Grocery stores carefully arrange products to encourage shoppers to spend more time in the store and buy more items.

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Frequent product relocations were another common complaint in the social-media responses highlighted by The Takeout.

No. 4: Digital coupons

The share of people aged 65 and older who are tech-users grew in the last decade, a 2022 Pew Research Center poll found. Despite this trend, many baby boomers say digital-only coupons put shoppers without smartphones at a disadvantage.

Trader Joe’s is an outlier, The Takeout noted, since the grocery-store chain doesn’t offer discounts or sales.

No. 5: Neglected shopping carts

Shopping carts offer a “tactical maneuver” for some older adults who rely on them for mobility and stability purposes and as a rest aid, according to The Takeout.

Some baby boomers expressed frustration at having to bag their own groceries, since many modern supermarkets lack a dedicated bagger. (iStock)

Several baby boomers reacted to a Facebook post asking about their grocery-shopping experience to say they value shopping carts with wheels that swivel easily and are easy to push.

No. 6: Generic groceries

While younger generations are more likely to shop at budget grocery stores and buy off-brand products, a sizable number of baby boomers always go for name brands.

More than one in four (26%) baby boomers “rarely or almost never consider switching from their favorite brand,” a Numerator survey on consumer trends found.

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A Reddit forum featured many commenters expressing frustration with the older generation for spending more money for a comparable, generic product, The Takeout reported.

No. 7: Sold-out products

Many Americans grew accustomed to encountering out-of-stock items when the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted the supply chain. But baby boomers aren’t as accepting of the reality as others, according to social-media posts on the subject.

Many retirees live on fixed incomes and rely on sale-priced products to help stretch their grocery budgets, meaning unavailable items can have a greater financial impact on older adults.

Retirees on a fixed income who rely on sale items can be disproportionately affected when grocery items are out of stock. (iStock)

No. 8: Understaffing

Food retailers have faced recruitment and retention challenges in recent years, and it’s a pattern keenly felt by baby boomers.

Social-media comments summarized by The Takeout suggest many boomers associate understaffing with longer checkout lines, slower service and fewer opportunities for personal interaction with employees.

No. 9: No grocery baggers

Going hand-in-hand with frustrations over self-checkout and understaffed stores, many baby boomers also dislike the growing absence of dedicated grocery baggers.

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Plenty of boomers complain on social media about this modern grocery-store, expressing frustration at doing their own labor, according to The Takeout.

No. 10: Convenience foods

Millennials, those born between 1981 and 1996, comprise the generation most likely to spend money on prepared grocery meals, a U.S. Department of Agriculture survey found. Prepared meals often cost significantly more than cooking from raw ingredients because shoppers pay for the added convenience.

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According to research summarized by the Institute of Food Technologists from FMI’s (originally the Food Marketing Institute) U.S. Grocery Shopper Trends report, 29% of shoppers ages 65 and older reported buying prepared foods to save time, compared with 45% of shoppers ages 15 to 24.