Household Life Cycle Transitions: Implications for Grocery Consumption

In two separate studies, this thesis examines the medium-term and short-term effects of life transitions on households’ food baskets by tracking the actual purchases of U.S households from 2010 to 2015. Study 1 finds that specific life transitions such as empty nesting, divorce, time progression without role changes (i.e., when singles/ couples without children become older), time progression with role changes (i.e., when all children in the household grow up /become older) affect households’ food basket healthiness and households’ food basket convenience orientation. Study 2 finds that households consume more stress relieving products in the immediate aftermath of the childbirth.