Wealthy millennials love Target, while Gen Z can't get enough of Trader Joe's. Here's who is shopping the most at 11 major stores.
Dominick Reuter
- US shoppers are highly likely to visit a top retail brand more than once in a given year.
- As individuals choose to return to certain brands, interesting trends emerge about a "typical" customer.
Over the course of a year, just about everyone in the US will eventually buy something from one of the top retail brands at least once, but some people shop more frequently at certain stores more than others.
To find out which types of shoppers preferred which brands — and to learn more about what they like to buy — Insider teamed up with the market research company, Numerator, which has unique data on more than a million US consumers. For example, roughly 95% of the shoppers in Numerator's survey visited Walmart two or more times in the past year.
The typical Amazon shopper makes the most transactions – with nearly two orders per week – but their annual spending is outdone by the typical Walmart shopper, who buys $3,534 worth of stuff each year. And the typical Costco shopper has the highest income among the brands included here, while Dollar General has the lowest.
Continue reading to meet the typical shoppers at 11 of the top retailers in the US.
Dollar General: An older rural worker with a high school education and an income of less than $40,000
The typical Dollar General shopper buys eight items per visit, spending an average of $19.99, and they make 32 trips per year.
Their favorite products to buy at Dollar General are candy, chips, and sodas, and they prefer brands like Coca-Cola, Reese's, and Lay's.
CVS: a white, Gen X, college-educated city dweller earning a high income
Roughly half of US shoppers shop at CVS, and the typical customer visits every other week, spending about $20 per trip.
In addition to OTC pain medication and cough remedies, the typical CVS shopper often prefers to buy candies, chocolates, and bottled water.
Walgreens shopper, a white college-educated suburban baby boomer earning $80,000
Roughly two-thirds of US shoppers shop at Walgreens, and the typical customer visits every three weeks, spending about $23.25 per trip.
Walgreens customers have an affinity for Coca-Cola brand sodas, M&M's, Reese's, and Hallmark greeting cards.
Kroger: a married suburban baby boomer earning over $80,000
Nearly half of US shoppers shop at a Kroger-owned grocery store, and the typical shopper visits at least once a week, spending about $47 per trip.
Some of their favorite categories include frozen seafood, baking chips and bars, as well as dish and laundry detergents.
Whole Foods: a highly educated West Coast millennial woman earning $80,000
People who shop at Whole Foods typically visit a little more than once per month and spend about $42 per trip. They also drink a lot of kombucha.
Whole Foods shoppers also tend to choose the store's in-house 365 brand, as well as Organic Valley dairy products, Applegate meats, and Discolors berries.
Trader Joe's: a younger, married, college-educated person earning over $80,000
The typical Trader Joe's shopper visits about once a month and spends about $42 per trip.
Trader Joe's shoppers tend to choose pre-made foods like frozen dinners and salad kits, as well as brands like GT's Living Foods and Volpi cured meats.
Home Depot: a 45-year-old white man with a college degree earning over $80,000
The typical Home Depot shopper buys six items per visit for an average cost of $83.55, and they make an average of one trip per month.
The typical customer's favorite products to buy are building supplies, fasteners, paint (from Behr), and lawn and garden supplies (from Scotts).
Amazon: a college-educated married woman in the Southeast earning $80,000
The typical Amazon customer buys just one or two items per transaction, and they make 83 purchases per year for an annual expense of $2,969.
They tend to buy Amazon's in-house labels, and their favorite name brands are Disney, Hanes, Kraft, and Apple.
Target: a millennial suburban mom with a household income of $80,000
The typical Target shopper visits every two to three weeks — about 23 trips per year — and buys seven products for a total cost of about $50 per trip.
Target shoppers tend to favor Target-owned private labels, especially for children's apparel.
Costco: a 39-year-old Asian American woman earning more than $125,000 a year
The typical Costco shopper visits a little more than every other week — about 30 trips a year — and spends about $100 per trip.
Her top shopping categories in the store are groceries and personal-care items, and she also buys a lot of Duracell batteries and Adidas apparel.
Walmart: a 59-year-old white suburban woman earning $80,000 a year
The typical Walmart shopper visits at least once per week — about 63 trips per year — and picks up 13 products for a total cost of about $54 per trip.
Her favorite five brands at Walmart are Turkey Knob, Cheetos, Betty Crocker, Dole, and Tyson.
Popular Right Now
Popular Keywords
Advertisement