Baby Boomers' Consumer Habits Amid COVID-19 Pandemic Could Have Lasting Changes

CHICAGO (CBS) -- Seafood is in and deli food is out – at least for this week.

As quarantine life continues, some shopping habits are really starting to stick. CBS 2's Lauren Victory looked at a particular consumer group commanding changes that could last long after the COVID-19 pandemic.

America loves to hate Millennials. But while the world seems to revolve around them, several businesses have their eyes on a different age group that includes many of those Millennials' parents right now.

"This is a generation that has shaped a lot of American thinking, politics," K.K. Davey of IRI Worldwide Strategic Analytics said of Baby Boomers.

And Baby Boomers will strongly shape the post-COVID world too, Davey said.

Davey tracks consumer spending with his strategic analytics at IRI Worldwide.

Those between the ages of 56 and 74 hold more than half the wealth in the U.S.

"So we wanted to take a closer look at what is happening," Davey said.

IRI found 88 percent of Boomers still prefer to do their own shopping in-store, but their behavior changed because of COVID-19.

"They feel rushed," Davey said. "They want to get in and get out."

That means few if any impulse purchases or discovering of new brands.

The time spent in the aisles is down 39 percent. What does a couple of minute lost in a store translate to?

"A couple of minutes in normal times can actually translate into billions of dollars of lost sales," Davey said.

The coronavirus has also inspired Baby Boomers to let others shop for them. That is impressive for such a particular group, according to Davey.

"You want the right banana, the right meat," he said.

Thirty-one percent tried online grocery shopping for the first time in the past two months.

Davey predicts the shift from store to online will double in the next year or so. That could mean the rise of more fulfillment centers – a whole new generation.

Another pandemic Baby Boomer trend is buying self-care products and immune-boosting foods, because not many hare hitting the gym right now.