Going into the grocery store to shop becoming a class signal?
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Anonymous
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At least for older millennial and gen X families*
My last few visits to grocery stores it looks like all retirees shopping, plus a handful of singles using the salad and hot bars. The aisles are filled with solo workers collecting orders. It seems like parents my age, whether they're actually wealthy and super busy (  ) or merely want to give that impression, exclusively do home delivery or drive-up pickup. Even the upper middle income SAHMs I know who have plenty of free time during the day do at-home delivery or drive-up pickup for groceries. Is grocery shopping in-person becoming lower class and/or elderly retirees thing?
It's almost like status-conscious people don't want to be seen grocery shopping because of the perception it gives that they're not wealthy or have too much free time. At least that's kind of what it feels like after Covid. |
Anonymous
| You need to use your brain for something that matters. There isn't some grand movement to avoid the grocery store as some kind of class distinction. Your conclusions are faulty. |
Anonymous
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I really don't think so. I prefer to do my own shopping because the substitutions are always ridiculous. I see older people shopping but it's because I work from home and shop at "off" hours intentionally. I expect other working parents who prefer to shop for themselves are there on weekends or after work hours.
Of course some people find grocery delivery worthwhile, but I'm not sure it's along SES lines. I've seen grocery delivery recommended as a cost-savings measure for lower income people because it helps force you to stick to a list and can be paired with economical meal planning. |
Anonymous
| If doing my own grocery shopping is wrong, I don't want to be right! |
Anonymous
| Ughhhh, who wants delivery people to pick their groceries up? They give zero Fs about the quality of produce they pick. If you say you want bananas, they'll pick you the most yellow most over ripe ones you'll have to eat in an entire day. Their hands are also filthy due to the number of orders they fill and how many times they go to stores and touch things in a day. Many wear gloves, but you can see how many times they reuse them over and over and they're often very dirty and grimy. |
Anonymous
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I can afford to order whatever I want, but I actually like grocery shopping!
I will say I do order sometimes and it’s only like…$10 more than just buying it in the store. |
Anonymous
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I have an autoimmune disease and stopped shopping in person during Covid, I've never gone back to grocery shopping in person on the whole. Even though I would like to, it's an added risk that I don't want to take if there is another option.
Currently my favorite grocery store offers free pickup and sometimes free delivery, so it's worked out. The last time I went into a grocery store two weeks ago, I was appalled how gross the other customers (mostly middled aged and older) were acting - nose picking, coughing (no mask), one guy in front of me wiped his snot on his shirt with his hand so I switched lines..Ugh. I swear it's worse than before Covid. Assume others found that outsourcing grocery shopping worked for them for any number of reasons. |
Anonymous
You can request green bananas, if that's what you want. |
Anonymous
| I don't think this is status related at all. Maybe time related. Of course it makes sense that retirees with no job can go to the market and shop for hours every day. Busy parents doing grocery pickup or delivery just makes sense for how busy they are. |
Anonymous
If you add up the door to door time, grocery shopping isn't a quick thing. Every once in a while I need a random item and I'll dash to the store for it. Other than that it's honestly well worth the fees and tip for all of our normal weekly items. |
Anonymous
| I'm a SAHM, and eff you for thinking I have nothing better to do with my alleged oodles of free time than walk the aisles of the grocery store. It's not about being status conscious, it's about using my time well, and grocery shopping is a boring, time-consuming chore that I can now outsource for free with a pickup order. Occam's Razor, OP. |
Anonymous
It's just an interesting observation is all. A broader theme of UMC becoming more and more secluded, seemingly outsourcing everything to a servant class. We don't go into coffee shops, we order from an app and don't have to speak to baristas. We don't go into grocery stores, worker bees deliver it to our door step. We take an uber and request the driver not talk. |
Anonymous
| Grocery checkout lines are longer than ever or you have to ring up and bag your own items. It seems they want everyone ordering online or from their apps. |
Anonymous
| I order groceries if I’m having a particularly busy week but I never order produce, just packaged foods that I need for school lunches or a gallon of milk, eggs, etc. I don’t trust them to pick produce that’s actually good and I don’t trust them to keep the meat cold. |
Anonymous
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I'm a SAHM mom and I actually have time to shop, but I do pick up most of the time because it's convenient and free. I'll even do a pick up order and then still go in and get the 10% of stuff I want to pick myself, or didnt think of in time.
I dont get the wealth thing because it costs the same? |