In the digital age, Gen Z has the world at their fingertips. Everything is done online: ordering food, buying clothes, even picking up that random thing you decided you needed at 3am. But the game changes completely when it comes to the challenge of… grocery shopping.
You’ve probably seen that viral TikTok of a young Spanish woman trying to buy meat. With over 200,000 views, the story perfectly highlights how the simple task of going to the butcher’s turns into an anxiety-filled maze for this generation.
The Cheese and Salmon Dilemma đ§đ
Picture this: you’re at the fish counter and, without a clue what you’re doing, you ask for “some salmon”. The guy hands you the whole fish, and the price? Oh, a mere âŹ64. What do you do? Complain? Return it? No! You accept your fate and walk away with the salmon as if it were a trophy… or perhaps a curse. The same goes for cheese: ordering 50 grams may only get you one slice. End result? Gen Z walks away, clutching the cheese, silently mortified.
Why is this so hard, anyway?
Gen Z has grown up in a world where everything can be handled with a touch, no human interaction required. Ordering something in person means… you have to talk. And let’s be real, interacting with employees is basically a big taboo for this generation. The fear of not knowing what to order, how much or even how to ask for the price seems like an impossible barrier.
The genius solution: “A quarter of everything”
One girl came up with a strategy that can only be described as brilliant: just order “a quarter” of anything. She overheard an older woman ordering a “quarter of chorizo” and thought, “Eureka! That’s what I’m going to do too.” Efficient? Yes. Accurate? Probably not. But hey, at least it saves you the awkwardness of asking questions.
Real-life shopping? Only if itâs pre-packaged
Thatâs why more and more young people are opting for pre-packaged items or, better yet, just buying online. E-commerce already accounts for almost 50% of this generationâs spending, while older people are still clinging to the good old-fashioned brick-and-mortar experience. After all, who needs human contact when you can have everything delivered to your door, no awkward conversations required?
