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Consumption junkies or sustainable consumers: considering the grocery shopping practices of those transitioning to retirement

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  04 September 2015

S. VENN ,
K. BURNINGHAM ,
I. CHRISTIE  and
T. JACKSON
S. VENN*
Affiliation:
Centre for Environmental Strategy, University of Surrey, Guildford, UK.
K. BURNINGHAM
Affiliation:
Centre for Environmental Strategy, University of Surrey, Guildford, UK. Department of Sociology, University of Surrey, Guildford, UK.
I. CHRISTIE
Affiliation:
Centre for Environmental Strategy, University of Surrey, Guildford, UK.
T. JACKSON
Affiliation:
Centre for Environmental Strategy, University of Surrey, Guildford, UK.
*
Address for correspondence : S. Venn, Centre for Environmental Strategy, University of Surrey, Guildford GU2 7XH, UK E-mail: [email protected]
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Abstract

The current generation of older people who are approaching or recently experiencing retirement form part of a unique generational habitus who have experienced a cultural shift into consumerism. These baby boomers are often portrayed as engaging in excessive levels of consumption which are counter to notions of sustainable living and to intergenerational harmony. This paper focuses on an exploration of the mechanisms underpinning the consumption patterns of baby boomers as they retire. We achieve this through an understanding of the everyday practices of grocery shopping which have the potential to give greater clarity to patterns of consumption than the more unusual or ‘extraordinary’ forms of consumption such as global travel. In-depth interviews with 40 older men and women in four locations across England and Scotland were conducted at three points in time across the period of retirement. We suggest that the grocery shopping practices of these older men and women were influenced by two factors: (a) parental values and upbringing leading to the reification of thrift and frugality as virtues, alongside aspirations for self-actualisation such as undertaking global travel, and (b) the influence of household context, and caring roles, on consumption choices. We conclude with some tentative observations concerning the implications of the ways baby boomers consume in terms of increasing calls for people to live in more sustainable ways.

Keywords

ageingretirementbaby boomersconsumptiongrocery shopping
Type
Articles
Information
Ageing & Society , Volume 37 , Issue 1 , January 2017 , pp. 14 - 38
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2015 

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