Study: Men shopping for groceries more

Seattle - Increasingly, men (who now compose 43% of primary shoppers) are shopping frequently for groceries and they now make just as many monthly grocery store visits as women. According to “Food Shopping in America 2014,” a study from MSLGroup and The Hartman Group, on average, U.S. grocery buyers shop three channels per week, including visits to grocery, specialty, mass merchandise, club, convenience, dollar and online stores.



This results in 15 visits a month, with 52% of grocery consumers shopping at two or more stores per trip. Unlike past years, males and females are shopping the same amount. Men are still less likely to be the biggest spender in the household, but more men are now helping their partners by sharing grocery shopping responsibilities and should be counted as a major force in the marketplace.



The expansion of the food department in non-traditional channels has given grocery shoppers considerably more options on when and where they shop. Unlike women, men can be more often found in club (34%), convenience (21%) and online (6%) retailers for food and beverage.



Study results show that men show a preference at club, convenience and online stores because these channels allow them to easily find everything they need. With their higher household income and spending power, men are less price sensitive than women. Instead, convenience is priority.



Unlike women, men prefer to simply "search and retrieve" the few items they need rather than browse. Search and retrieve is all about getting in and out of the store as quickly as possible. Their baskets are full of meat and alcoholic beverages more than women's are, but there is still a fair amount of produce, sweets and snacks.