Boomers Prefer This Beloved Grocery Store Over Aldi In 2026

Millennials and Gen Xers are kind of obsessed with Aldi — but boomers don't share the same sentiment for the German grocery chain. In a survey by YouGov asking people whether they have positive or negative opinions on a variety of grocery stores, millennials and Gen Xers alike voted Aldi the most positively regarded grocery store, while Trader Joe's was the No. 1 pick for boomers. While we can't know the exact reason why Aldi ranked higher with younger generations and Trader Joe's came out on top, we can certainly speculate. 

Generally, prices at Aldi are lower than prices at Trader Joe's (budget-friendly prices are just one item on a list of things Aldi does better than Trader Joe's). According to 2017 data from the USDA, boomers and Traditionalists (the latter refers to people born prior to 1946) spend more money on food per person per month than millennials and Gen Xers. If higher food spending translates to a little more flexibility in the grocery budget, it could help explain why boomers would choose a slightly more expensive experience with a few more frills.

To be clear, YouGov ranked the most popular grocery stores by generation according to the percentage of each group who had a positive opinion of different grocery stores — not necessarily which grocery stores they choose to shop at most frequently. The ranking didn't consider where boomers (or other generations, for that matter) actually spend their dollars. Let's take a look at what exactly sets Trader Joe's apart from the other grocery stores and pushes it to the top of the list for boomers.

We know that boomers have some restaurant habits that are hard to ignore, so it makes sense that the cohort has some distinctive grocery shopping habits too. Boomers prefer traditional customer service methods and aren't fans of self-checkout machines, which could help explain why they'd prefer Trader Joe's. In an episode of the Trader Joe's podcast (yes, that's a thing), the president of the chain stated that Trader Joe's has no plans to implement self-checkout, as the company doesn't want to pass work on to its customers.

This also lines up with the vintage grocery store features that boomers remember fondly, including having dedicated baggers at checkout stands. While bagging etiquette seems to vary from one store to another, the general consensus is that you don't have to bag your own groceries at Trader Joe's, unlike Aldi, where cashier bagging isn't an option. Boomers also enjoy shopping in a grocery store as opposed to curbside pickup or grocery delivery. Trader Joe's doesn't offer pickup or delivery options, choosing instead to focus completely on delivering a great in-store experience. This means boomers have a chance to chat with employees and enjoy the traditional customer service style they prefer when they shop at Trader Joe's versus a grocery store with a higher focus on efficiency, like Aldi.