Gen X CONSUMER INSIGHTS & SHOPPING BEHAVIOR
Discover the Gen X consumer.
Gen X are major spenders in US consumer goods & general merchandise, surpassing even Boomers. As their children begin to start their own lives and raise families of their own, Gen X is becoming empty nesters. They are transfering their lucrative spend to other categories, brands and retailers. See what Gen X is doing today with their shopping behavior and other buying habits.
What are the buying behaviors of Gen X?
Gen X (born between 1965 and 1981) make up 30.4% of US households. In fact, Gen X households spend the most out of any generation in the US. They spend $16,880 annually for CPG & general merchandise. They make over 480 shopping trips in a year and spend $35 on each of those trips, on average.
Gen X represents the total US in the retailers they shop. They primarily spend their money at Walmart (19% of spend), Amazon (10%) and Costco (7%). The top brands that overindex with Gen X were overwhelmingly snacks and sweets related and highlights a generational following to nostalgic brands. Gen X are over 27% more likely to purchase Combos, 100 Grand and Whatchamacallits compared to the total US.
30.4%
of Total US Households
$16,880
Spend per Household
482
Trips per Household
$35
Spend per Trip
Source: Numerator | Sectors include: Baby, Grocery, Health & Beauty, Household, Pet, Electronics, Home & Garden, Office, Sports, Tools & Home Improvement & Toys. Only showing brands with Gen X penetration >5%.
Who is the Gen X shopper?
Gen X represents a white-predominant shopper at 63% of households with Black and Hispanic / Latino households making up 15% each and Asians at 6%.
They also represent an age group that is seeing their children off from the house as 2 in 3 (64%) of Gen X households do not have children living in the home. The largest household size for Gen X are 2 person / couple households, representing 30% of Gen X. However, 28% of them still live in larger homes consisting of four or more people requiring brands and retailers to segment their shoppers to reach all Gen X shoppers.
Gen X incomes sit in two main ranges: middle income (44%) and high income (39%). They are likely to be found in suburban locations followed by urban and rural geographies.
What are the major trends happening with Gen X?
Craving food on-the-go.
Gen X appreciates the convenience of eating out. The average Gen X shopper is 14% more likely compared to total US to say they eat out because they are too busy to cook. Although Gen Z is still emerging in driving recent traffic to limited-service restaurants, Gen X is the base consumer group for fast food.
Among the top 10 limited-services restaurants (LSRs), Gen X overindexes in penetration across all of them compared to the total US. That’s in contrast to Millennials who only overindex on Starbucks and Gen Z overindexing on Chick-fil-A and Starbucks. Boomers fair better with 6 of the top 10 LSRs overindexing, particularly at Arbys and Dairy Queen.
This shouldn’t come as a surprise as 1 in 10 (9.9%) Gen X households say they eat out four or more times per week. The single biggest biggest reason for dining out among this groups is to satisfy a craving at 35%, followed by “treating myself” (28%) and “treating my family” at (27%).
It's all about me now.
Becoming empty nesters and no longer having children at home to worry about, Gen X is looking to do three things:
- Treat themselves to new gadgets for the house such as security equipment or for themselves like speakers and headphones.
- Travel by purchasing new luggage and travel accessories.
- Take care of their health & wellness both inside and out by purchasing products such as vitamins and fragrances.
These three trends are evident in Gen X purchasing behavior among the top growing departments. In fact, 9 of the 10 departments were growing at or above total US growth, showcasing differentiated growth beyond market dynamics.
GLP-1 use on the rise.
Numerator research found that consumers who are using GLP-1 primarily for weight loss are 44% more likely to be Gen X compared to non-users. Gen X represents 43% of GLP-1 weight loss users.
As spending power grows and Gen X looks to take care of themselves, consumption of food and snacking categories could face disproportionate impacts. However, the impacts of GLP-1 could extend beyond just regular consumer goods and into areas such as the apparel industry or even airlines.
In our latest survey, we found that GLP-1 weight loss users were over 60% more likely to say they have purchased from Abercrombie & Fitch, Coach and Michael Kors compared to non-GLP-1 users. As GLP-1 users lose weight, new wardrobes will be needed and brands that connect with these users could see tailwinds.
Understand the consumer across generations through our deep dives.
Generations Hub
See Generational Comparisons
Discover how purchasing behaviors differ across generations.
Gen Z
Rising Fast, Spending Big
Dive deep into the ESG issues, social media and retailers they care about.
Millennials
Building the Next Generation
Learn how Millennials are starting up their families and influencing Gen Alpha.
Boomers
Resilient Purchasing
Find out how Boomers are spending their golden years across categories and brands.
Want to see how your brand stacks up with Gen X?
Over 41M+ Gen Z trips captured with digital and in-store methods.
150K static panelists to discover historical and in-depth shopping behaviors across 44K tracked retailers.
500K+ purchase-verfied panelists to survey based on purchasing behaviors and understand the why behind the buy.
Numerator uncovers your consumer to inspire you for growth. Reach out to find out how.