Why do the elderly go to supermarkets on Saturday?

[CheeseLover2026]

I’ve just got back from doing the family shop. I work full time long hours, so it’s shopping on weekend or nobody eats.

Shop is heaving. Everyone is slightly tetchy, rightly. The meat aisle is practically a bin fight. Trolleys in the way. Kids messing about.

And yet, so many elderly people, many of whom have mobility issues and are probably slightly frightened by the way my kind swoop in and swoop out to get an item while they are stood there pondering over this or that.

Yes, they have a right to do what they like. But WHO IN THEIR RIGHT MIND would choose a frenetic Saturday when they have more civilised options?

Transport - as others have said - is very often the issue.

There's a small bus (not mini-bus - a bit bigger) that takes pensioners from the estates round here to the town centre. If you go in the morning, then you can get your shopping and have your lunch before returning in the early afternoon.
If you wait until a bit later, then there's no public transport available.

Some pensioners will not see anyone else unless they go out for a bit of shopping and then have lunch or a coffee.

The overriding thing here is that anyone is entitled to go shopping anytime they like. It might be irritating but it is their choice 100%.

I do get it though. A lot of elderly people in my area head to the park at 12pm-2pm every day too (I work from home and either of those two hours is my lunch break so I walk the dogs) and the park is full of elderly people, which makes it harder to walk, especially as they tend to let their dogs run off leash. However, again, it is their choice. That's life and there's nothing to be done about it.

Maybe family members take them or maybe they like to get out every day for a bit and that includes weekends?

My Grandad walked to the supermarket every day once he moved into a retirement flat until the day he died at 92!. He went to the Newsagent first thing. Then home then either Morrisons, Iceland or Waitrose on rotation.
It got him out of thd house and a break from my Nan who was bloody hard work!

My local Lidl is generally much quieter on a Saturday than in the week.

Habit mostly i think. It's the same folk that get wound up about school kids boarding the half past 3 buses.

My dad does the same and probably for the same reason. He walks to Tesco or Waitrose every day for the paper or a little bit of shopping.

The tone is annoyance. Its what most shoppers will be feeling if you do this. It is widely considered rude to block the aisles in a supermarket.

Exactly. I have no idea how this thread is still standing.

Obviously they don't mind the crowds as much as you do. Just because they may look a little startled if someone rudely swoops past them to grab at food like its on ration, doesn't mean they find the overall experience unpleasant.

Ma and Pa do this too!

Always moaning that they were stuck on the bus with a load of kids.....well yes thats because you always insist on getting the three o'clock bus that goes past 2 large schools!

My MIL went every day come rain or shine (and 6ft snow and solid ice).

Another good point- many supermarkets if you’re not there before midday the bakeries are bare. Apart from the wierd sourdough loaves no one likes. And M&S with their garlic bread made from the unsold loaves in the week…

I remember vowing, when I was younger and queuing up at a supermarket till for my lunch behind a squad of pensioners, that when I was a pensioner I would do my utmost to avoid supermarkets at times when other people had little choice but to go.

And now I do.

Also, it has the benefit of being quieter, with easier parking.

Yes, it’s an odd choice. If I had all week, I’d choose a quiet weekday morning

Agreed. If there was a bus. Or you have a car. Or if you have someone to drive you there.

Well I'm nearly 70 and a supermarket at any time/day is my idea of hell on earth. That's what online shopping is for IMV. Anyway for those "elderly" (like me) who insist on clogging up the aisles with their sticks and walkers and wheelchairs, I have an idea -

Give anyone over the age of X (probably be 100 knowing how mean some supermarkets are lol), a discount of 20% or whatever on everything if purchased before 10am Monday - Wednesday.

A surcharge of 50% applies if anyone over the age of Y attempts to go into a supermarket at any other time.

Proof of retirement is needed for the discount, and ID for the surcharge.

Mon - Wed will be rammed with all the mobility scooters, sticks, aids, walkers, and shouting from those with hearing aids, (that's me).

Obviously this post is in jest. I am mocking myself.

If I see, I object.

This is such a depressing and upsetting topic. We've taken my dad shopping today because me and my brother work and he is using a crutch. We had the most lovely coffee and then a wander around the supermarket together. Dad was so grateful for us being there to help and we see it all as precious time.
You are not more valid because you think that you are busier, more entitled and/ or can't see further than yourself.

Where are all these relatively quiet supermarkets during the week? I shop throughout the week and it can be just as busy then, sometimes even busier.

Contrary to popular belief the elderly aren’t all sitting around twiddling their thumbs, many volunteer and have caring responsibilities, and you’d be amazed by how many are still working.

I find it bizarre to question whether one particular group of shoppers should be out. Why do they need a reason other than because they want to and/or it works for them yet I’ve seen many threads on this. Perhaps the people asking should be questioning why they are also out shopping when they could order food online? Or perhaps not because it’s a ridiculous notion.

I think the same of people who question why parents go to supermarkets with their children. Why shouldn’t they? Now I do think they should keep them under control, unlike the 3 young children who were seemingly abandoned in my local Aldi today and were causing chaos without a parent within sight or earshot, now I do question the logic of that but even though I am a professional grump who isn’t fond of children but I don’t expect everyone to base their shopping habits around my prejudices and preferences.

Because they have every right to and they don't answer to you.

"I usually shop at Lidl and I can confirm none of these elderly had their daughters or sons with them assisting with driving or shopping."

I know a lady in her 80s who no longer drives and whose daughter often takes her to the supermarket. They arrive together but then go off on their own to do their shopping and they meet at the door when they are both finished. The only reason I would have known her daughter had taken her was because she told me. They aren't together in the supermarket.

Loneliness?

You’ll look back on this when you’re old and/or have limited mobility and you will think ‘oh god, what a numpty I was’.
The answer to your question from this 67 year old wheelchair user is some of us do it specifically to piss you off. Alternatively, it’s because I fucking shop where and when I choose. It might be that my lift wasn’t available in the week. Whatever, don’t marginalise our space in society, one day it’ll be your space and being nearly invisible, unless for a targeted grumble, you will fight for it.

Their reason for being there is no concern of mine. All I know is that entire families complete with screaming, meandering kids blocking the isles is a bloody pain. They should organise themselves better and visit when it's convenient to me.

@AllPlayedOutamazed at how many are still working? What’s the figure then?