Survey: More men buying groceries, not happy

Chicago-– The perception of men as not enjoying the process of grocery shopping may have some truth to it. 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 new NPD Group report, “The New Grocery Shopper,” shows that men now represent 41% of all primary grocery shoppers, but are much more likely than women to say grocery shopping is a chore. 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 in the past five 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.



However, men who say grocery shopping is a chore are 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. Overall, male grocery consumers spend less time than females shopping.



There appears to be a discrepancy between what males and females think about their shared grocery shopping responsibility. More than half of males feel that the shared responsibility is evenly split, while more than 60% of females feel they do most of the grocery shopping when responsibilities are shared. 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 five 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,” said 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.”