Australians might be shopping in the same supermarkets, but we’re not shopping in the same way. New research from global product intelligence and consumer insights platform, Vypr, has revealed our shopping habits have never been more fragmented.
According to its report, Six Generations, One Shelf: How Australians Shop, Decide and Spend, we are, for the first time, a six-generation shopping nation, making the traditional mass-market messaging harder than ever.
From Gen Z entering adulthood under sustained cost pressure, to older Australians shopping with deeply ingrained routines and heightened price sensitivity, each generation holds vastly different views and preferences when it comes to what they want from not only a product, but how they are communicated with and the shopping experience itself.
Yet despite these differences, the same shelves, messages and promotions are still expected to work for everyone.
Based on research conducted in January 2026, the report reveals that while some behaviours (such as first asking a familiar face for a recommendation before making a purchase) unite all Australians, others are splitting sharply by age – from impulse buying to the role social media plays in discovery.
Over half of Australians (52%), for instance, make up their minds about what to buy before they start shopping, but this tends to increase with age – from nearly half (48%) of 18-24s up to two-thirds (67%) of over 65s.
Younger shoppers are far more spontaneous, with not a single respondent in the 18-24 cohort saying they rarely or never make impulse purchases, while older consumers are markedly more intentional and routine-driven.
More than four in 10 (43%) 18-24-year-olds decide while browsing in-store or online, compared to just one in 10 (10%) 55-64s.
At the same time, value and quality are universal triggers. Nearly six in 10 (58%) respondents say they’re most likely to make an unfamiliar purchase if it’s discounted or on offer, peaking among 18-24s (71%) and 55-64s (66%). Poor product quality is the biggest frustration across generations, with nearly half (47%) saying they’d be most annoyed by food that spoiled too quickly or didn’t last; and a decrease in quality would send over half of 55-64s (52%) and over 65s (50%) to another brand.
Vypr International chief revenue officer, Sam Gilding, said the findings paint a clear picture of what Australians want right now.
“Shoppers across every generation are still united by simple expectations: they want value they can see, quality they can trust and reassurance from people they know. But how they discover products and make decisions looks completely different depending on whether you’re 22 or 72.
“Social media, for example, is a powerful discovery and research channel for younger Australians, but not for older cohorts,” Gilding said.
When asked where they found information about the last new product they purchased, social platforms dominate among 18-24s, with over half (52%) saying they found a new product via TikTok or Instagram.
In the reverse, roughly one in 15 (7%) 55-64s and no (0%) over 65s answered the same. For these older brackets, recommendations from friends and family (25% for 45-54 and 23% for 65+) proved much more effective.
However, with the new social media restrictions for under-16s, this digital supremacy could diminish as the preferences of future consumers are initially shaped away from these platforms.
Additional research highlights
Word of mouth holds universal influence. All (100%) of respondents in every age group said they ask someone they know for a recommendation before making a purchase. This ranked above conducting a Google search – a practice that scored higher for 25-34s (69%) and 18-24s (67%), though dipped for 65+ shoppers (37%) in line with the established digital divide.
The regular shelf still matters. Despite the growing digital-first demographic, regular shelves remain the most likely place for a product to catch a shopper’s eye, with around four in 10 (43%) citing regular shelves ahead of special displays (41%) and end-of-aisle caps (28%).
Special displays proved especially effective among 18-24s, with almost three in four (73%) recalling seeing a new product this way, where only one in five (20%) 55-64s said the same. The effectiveness of special displays returns with an improved 33% of over 65s.
Loyalty is mainstream but not equal. A strong majority (58%) of Australian shoppers regularly use loyalty schemes. Across all age groups, loyalty participation is high, but frequency and intensity varies.
Over seven in 10 (71%) 55-64s and nearly the same (67%) over 65s say they use a loyalty card or app almost every time they shop.
In contrast, younger shoppers show more mixed behaviour with only less than half (48%) of 18-24s using loyalty cards every time, less than four in 10 (38%) using them only sometimes, and one in seven (14%) – the highest among all ages – not using them at all.
Price rises can break loyalty fast. Nearly eight in 10 (79%) 55-64s and roughly the same (76%) over 65s said a product getting too expensive was the main reason they might switch away from it, though younger generations were also sensitive to pricing changes, with nearly six in 10 18-24s (57%) and 25-34s (56%) also giving this as a reason.
Spending is reserved at both ends of the spectrum. Food and drink spend tends to peak during mid-life (35-54), likely reflecting household size, career progression and broader grocery responsibility.
Most Australians report spending between $50 and $149 per week on food and drink, with about one in four spending between $100-$149 (27%) and $50-$99 (25%). 18-24s show lower spending (29% spend $50-$99, with 19% selecting under $50) while 35-44s and 45-54s spent the most on average, with 21% and 22% respectively spending upwards of $200 per week.
Reversely, despite having the deepest pockets, the over 65s remain relatively frugal, with less than one in 10 (9%) spending over $200 and over one in four (28%) staying in the $50-99 range.
Brand disconnect is evident across generations. Despite being able to recall ads, however, most respondents struggled to name a specific brand they felt any kind of connection with. This sentiment was common across all age groups and saw consumers expressing scepticism or indifference towards branding altogether.
The full report is here.
