The grocery planning gap: Why households with kids struggle more

Households with children face distinct challenges when it comes to grocery shopping planning. Catering to the dietary preferences and nutritional needs of children, who can be finicky, coupled with the time constraints of busy family schedules, makes grocery shopping a more complex task.     At a time when parental burnout is a significant concern, CPG brands and retailers that address the complexities and stressors faced by families with children can create more meaningful and supportive shopping experiences, leading to stronger customer relationships and a positive impact on the well-being of parents and children alike. 

Grocery shopping planning with kids

When asked to rate the ease of planning for grocery shopping, 40% of respondents from households without children rated it as extremely easy but only 28% of respondents from households with children said the same.  

Notably, both household types described similar comfort levels with actual meal preparation. The sizable gap between households without children (40%) and those with children (28%) finding grocery planning easy suggests that the complexity of coordinating food preferences, and nutritional needs for multiple family members creates a unique pain point in the planning phase, rather than in the cooking phase.     This presents an opportunity to develop solutions specifically for the grocery planning process for households with children, such as through meal planning tools, shopping list automation or bundled product offerings, while indicating that cooking-focused solutions may be less impactful since both demographic groups report similar comfort levels with meal preparation (26% versus 30%). Other ideas include: 

• Recipe suggestions that are customized based on child age groups, common dietary restrictions for babies and young children and quick weeknight meals that appeal to both adults and children.  

• Online shopping lists with features that allow parents to mark kid-favorite items, track school lunch supplies and set up recurring purchases for staple items their children regularly consume.   

• Digital coupons that could be automatically filtered to show family-sized portions and kid-friendly products, while also highlighting savings on bulk purchases common for larger households.  

Creating a more supportive and convenient shopping experience for households with children starts with understanding the pain points. Alleviating some of the complexities associated with grocery shopping planning, for instance, could lead to increased brand loyalty, greater basket sizes and stronger emotional connections with shoppers. 

Find more grocery shopper insights in our report, “2024 year in review - balancing act: wallet & wellness.”