Catering news • 17.11.2014

More men are grocery shopping

But they do so grudgingly, reports NPD

More men are grocery shopping for themselves or their families now than in the past, but they’re not happy about it, reports The NPD Group, a leading global information company. Men now represent 41 percent of all primary grocery shoppers, but they make up more than their fair share of people who say grocery shopping is a chore, according to NPD’s recently released report, The New Grocery Shopper.

Younger male grocery shoppers, ages 18-34, who are single and never married before, are most likely to feel that shopping is a chore. These shoppers are more likely to have increased their responsibility over the past 5 years due to a variety of reasons including being on their own for the first time or having money to spend on items they want. They are less likely to say that they do all or most of the grocery shopping when compared to older consumers.

As grumpy as male shoppers may be about having to shop, those who say shopping is a chore are conscientious shoppers and take their responsibility seriously by preparing a list most of the time and buying on sale. They don’t impulse buy and spend about 56 minutes shopping, which is four minutes short of those female and male shoppers who are food enthusiasts and enjoy shopping. Though male shoppers, overall, spend less time than females shopping.

For all their complaints about having to shop, there appears to be a discrepancy between what males and females think about their shared grocery shopping responsibility. Over half of males feel that the shared responsibility is evenly split, while more than 60 percent of females feel they do most of the grocery shopping when responsibilities are shared. Based on The New Grocery Shopper report findings, females are more likely to be primary grocery shoppers, and males are more likely to say that they are doing more of the grocery shopping than they were 5 years ago. Since there is not an associated decrease in female grocery shopping, this shift is likely due to males sharing the responsibility with females.

“With more men taking on the role as the primary grocery shopper, manufacturers and retailers need to come together and develop strategies intended to transform the shopping experience to meet men’s unique needs and make it a more enjoyable experience,” says Darren Seifer, food and beverage industry analyst. “They also need to keep in mind that women, contrary to what male shoppers may think, still do the bulk of the grocery shopping.”

Source: NPD Group

channels: services, food technology