Youth Perspectives and Experiences With In-Person and Online Grocery Shopping During the COVID-19 Pandemic

OBJECTIVES: During the COVID-19 pandemic, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has recommended limiting in-person grocery store visits by using online delivery and pick-up. We sought to understand how the pandemic has impacted grocery shopping patterns among adolescents and young adults, including the shopping mediums (i.e., in-person, pick-up, or delivery) and types of goods purchased. METHODS: This research is part of MyVoice, a national text message survey of US adolescents and young adults between 14 and 24 years old. In November 2020, this cohort was asked these open-ended questions: 1) During the pandemic, how have you or your family been getting groceries (in-person, pick-up, delivery)? Why? 2) If you or your family have shopped for groceries online during the pandemic, was it pick-up or delivery? How did it go? 3) During the pandemic, have you or your family changed the types of food you are buying? Tell us about it. Responses were assessed using thematic analysis. Quantitative data were summarized using descriptive statistics. RESULTS: Among 889 responses (RR = 77.6%), 47% were female, 56% were White, 13% were Hispanic, and median age was 18 (interquartile range 17, 21). Since the pandemic began, 86% of respondents reported at least use of in-person grocery shopping. Meanwhile, 46% indicated they had used a form of online grocery shopping; 26% reported use of delivery and 27% reported use of pick-up. Over half of participants using online shopping had a positive experience. Half of respondents changed their grocery purchase choices since the pandemic began, among whom 33% reported healthier purchases, 27% bought more snack foods, 24% bought in bulk and/or more non-perishable foods, and 10% bought more foods to cook at home. CONCLUSIONS: Among young people, online grocery shopping is widely utilized with generally positive perceptions, although in-person shopping remains most prevalent. While many young people reported healthier purchases, there was a tendency toward more snack and non-perishable foods. Further investigation is needed to understand reasons behind changes in purchasing habits of adolescents and young adults and the impact of these changes on diet quality during the pandemic. FUNDING SOURCES: Michigan Institute for Clinical & Health Research, University of Michigan MCubed program, University of Michigan Department of Family Medicine