Diving into the lifestyles of Singapore’s Sandwich Generation

Narratives of Singapore’s Sandwich Generation - loosely defined as 40-60 year olds with children and elderly dependents - have largely focused on the stressors faced by this unique group, such as the heavy financial and caregiving responsibilities they undertake. 

Our initial hypothesis was largely influenced by this, and we thought that consumers belonging to this group would tend to be more thrifty and spend less than their peers on leisure, entertainment and on-demand convenience like food delivery services - but we were proven wrong. 

Using Milieu Insight’s always-on audience profiling platform, Portraits, we dive into the consumption habits and lifestyles of the Sandwich Generation and compare them to their peers, i.e 40-60 year olds with either children or elderly dependents or none of both. Here are some of the key insights:

Shopping habits

With limited time and probably too many household chores, the Sandwich Generation are turning online to get their shopping done. Many of them are regular online shoppers (74%), with 55% getting on their digital devices at least once a week to shop online. Their most common purchases are Clothing & Accessories (69%), Groceries/Everyday Products (68%) and Electronics & Software (55%). 

‍

This group of consumers sure love their shopping, even when it comes to groceries. Most of them are the decision makers for groceries in their households, and over 8 in 10 say that they enjoy grocery shopping. 

Despite being regular online shoppers, online grocery delivery services have yet to take off within this group of consumers, with only a small percentage (7%) of these decision makers primarily getting their grocery shopping done online. Where food and perishables are concerned, consumers are still understandably hesitant to make the jump.

They enjoy having their meals in the comfort of their homes

The hustle and bustle of city life unsurprisingly means that dining out is the most common way to get our meals, and the Sandwich Generation is not an exception. 

However, their dining patterns throughout the week seem to be more varied across home and dining establishments. Where food is probably Singapore’s national love language, we can often find home-cooked food in the homes of the Sandwich Generation  (63%).  

Home-cooking, however, can be tiresome, and food deliveries are probably a godsend to the Sandwich Generation where at least three generations or more live under the same roof. More than 5 in 10 (51%) are food delivery regulars (vs 40% of their peers), and they are not particularly brand loyal and tend to switch between food delivery brands.

Sandwiched, but not bogged down

While the Sandwich Generation may have more responsibilities compared to peers, they have their ways to make the best out of life: 59% are regular gamers and 38% enjoy shopping and find every opportunity to do so (vs 50% and 31% respectively among their peers)

As busy as they are, they tend to be more physically active, with 60% of them regularly participating in outdoor activities and 72% exercising at least once a week. Even so, their love for exercise is apparent - only 36% think that they are getting enough exercise! 

‍

A look at the data showed us that indeed, the Sandwich Generation tends to be stressed about their household expenses (57%) and family relationships (42%), more so than their peers. Yet again, they are much more than their identities at home - they are individuals who enjoy hobbies and getting out of their homes, and sometimes even splurge on their favourite games or some retail therapy. As busy as they are, their lifestyles are much more vibrant than we had initially assumed - and we’re glad to be proven wrong.

Deepdive into your target audience across thousands of audience profiles ready at your fingertips, or customise your own to understand their consumption patterns, lifestyles, media exposure and more. Book a demo with us here.

‍