The Pandemic Got Seniors to Buy Groceries Online. That Might Not Last
More than three in 10 Americans 60 and older recently bought food on the web. But Instacart, Kroger and Walmart will struggle to keep them loyal.
When the pandemic hit the Brookdale Chambrel senior living community in Williamsburg, Virginia, Nancy Crowell knew hopping in the car and heading to the local Harris Teeter supermarket was now out of the question. The virus was spreading fast, and Brookdale’s residents were being encouraged to stay put. Staff set up computers in the main common room and began teaching residents how to open online accounts to order groceries.
Crowell’s first attempt to order from Kroger Co.’s Harris Teeter chain failed, so the 85-year-old retiree switched to another local grocer’s website only to discover an annoyance familiar to legions of online grocery shoppers: substitutions of her favorite brands and products. “Once, I ordered a few ounces of bouillon and got a great big quart bottle,” she said. “It’s still in my closet.”
Crowell tried Harris Teeter again and succeeded, ordering seven times between May and August. But when the holidays rolled around last year, Crowell was once again walking the aisles. “There’s just something about picking up your own stalk of celery,” she said.