A new consumer survey of more than 33,000 Americans of all ages by TIME and its data partner Statista shows how each generation—from Gen Z to Baby Boomers—is currently shopping.
asserted
generation → show → Boomers
And while there are slight deviations between Baby Boomers, Gen X, and Millennial shopping habits, Gen Z appears to be changing the game altogether.
asserted
Z → be → game
The 10-minute online questionnaire asked respondents to select categories in which they had made a purchase or researched within the past three years and to list up to three brands within those categories.
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they → ask → categories
Then they were asked to evaluate the brands based on customer service, user experience, and quality on a scale of 1 to 5, with 1 being terrible and 5 being excellent.
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5 → ask → 5
The final question asked them how likely they are to recommend the selected brands to friends and family around the same age on a scale from 0 to 10, with 0 meaning they would definitely not recommend it and 10 meaning they would definitely recommend it.
asserted
they → ask → it
The brands listed in each category are the ones that each generation typed in the most and rated most highly.
asserted
generation → list → that
Baby Boomers sprint to Brooks for running sneakers, which comes in at number 1 on the list of the top 10 brands selected by that generation.
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which → sprint → generation
Designer Kate Spade got it in the bag, leading Gen X’s top 10 list.
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Spade → get → list
No matter how you slice and dice it, kitchen appliance brand Ninja topped millennials’ list.
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Ninja → slice → list
And bottled water Ice Mountain, popularized by TikTok, summits the Gen Z section.
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water → popularize → section
But some categories were left entirely blank by Gen Z, offering a glimpse into how different their lifestyle habits are from older generations.
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habits → leave → generations
Three examples include department stores, women’s clothing brands, and ovens.
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examples → include → stores
In department stores, Nordstrom was ranked by Baby Boomers, Gen X, and Millennials—but no meaningful number of Gen Z participants listed a single department store, suggesting they may be less relevant to that generation.
uncertain
they → rank → generation
It’s been well-documented that Baby Boomers frequent department stores more than Gen Z.
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Boomers → document → Z.
Historically, if Americans wanted to shop Prada, Chanel, and Louis Vuitton all in one place, they’d go to a department store like Neiman Marcus.
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they → want → Marcus
Neil Saunders, Managing Director and Retail Analyst at GlobalData Retail, points out that over the last decade, those couture brands are opening their own stores elsewhere.
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brands → point → stores
“Every year, the segment has seen its market share, share of retail sales, decline,” says Saunders.
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Saunders → see → sales
In addition, a lot of department stores are in malls, and as millennials and Gen Z are doing more online shopping or buying second-hand, most malls are seeing declining foot traffic.
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malls → do → traffic
In the U.S., an average of 40 malls closed every year between 2017 and 2022, according to Capital One Shopping Research.
uncertain
average → close → Research
Rather than buying everything in one store like a department store, Gen Z tends to hit up a mix of high-end and budget stores to buy different brands only sold at those places, such as shopping directly at Michael Kors, Coach, or Zara—“the ultimate day-traders,” as Jeff Fromm, author of Marketing to Gen Z and Marketing to Millennials, puts it.
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Fromm → buy → it
They are also less loyal to a particular designer brand than previous generations, says Fromm, and more interested in whatever clothes are worn by people they follow on social media.
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they → say → media
He adds that Gen Z and millennials tend to spend more on experiences than things—especially travel, sporting events, concerts, and Instagrammable foods.
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Z → add → things
And those foods are store-or restaurant-bought; zero brands of ovens appear in the Gen Z section of the survey.
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brands → buy → survey
While it’s true that Gen Z devours viral TikTok videos of recipes made from countertop appliances like air fryers and Instant Pot, Saunders points out Gen Z is spending more time eating takeout from fast-casual restaurants than cooking meals in an oven.
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Z → ’ → oven
They have access to DoorDash, Uber Eats, and a whole menu of fast delivery apps that older generations didn’t have when they were younger.
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they → have → that
But Jack Curran, Senior Analyst and Team Lead at IBISWorld–which published a 2026 report on household appliance manufacturing in the U.S.—wrote to TIME in an email that any gap might have more to do with homeownership rates: “Only about 25% of Gen Z owns their own homes, so about 75% of the generation isn’t responsible for purchasing their own ovens and other large appliances.
uncertain
% → publish → ovens
For the most part, if you rent an apartment, you just use whatever appliances are already there.”
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appliances → rent → apartment
But Gen Z isn’t the only generation that appreciates fast food, and all the generations agreed on their appreciation of one brand: Chick-fil-A.
See all of the survey results below:
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generations → appreciate → results
The Aporia
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