Grocery shopping study finds women beat the budget while men rule the convenience buys

A SUPERMARKET shopper study has explored the difference between women and men when we hit the grocery aisles. The results reveal who is best at saving money.

WOMEN are queens of budget grocery shopping while men are kings of convenient buys, a study has found.

Research on the battle of the sexes across supermarket aisles reveals blokes are pulling more weight with shopping chores, and now make up half of all visitors to stores.

But they are often not trusted to take control of the trolley if friends are coming over for dinner or a meal needs to be made from scratch.

And one in six is regularly armed with a list their partner has provided when they do hit the shops.

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Daniel Hall and Liz Roache at Woolworths in South Yarra. Picture: Alex Coppel

Females tend to be more focused on saving money, seeking private labels, and making healthier choices than male counterparts, the Koji study concluded.

Men are more easily tempted to make unplanned buys that may blow the budget.

“Males are more driven to make impulsive product selections,” Koji founder Mike Cassidy said.

“Four in 10 bought something unexpectedly, compared with three in 10 females.

“Men often go for what is easy to get to, within arms’ reach, and straight in front of their field of vision. Easy shopping will usually win out over making them work for their purchase.”

The retail trends agency surveyed the habits of 2000 customers nationwide.

Shoppers Liz Roache and Daniel Hall say they agree with the findings.

“When I shop I know exactly what I’m looking for — I always go to the right aisle and find things on special, I don’t have to go back and forth looking for items,” says Ms Roache.

Mr Hall agrees he needs a bit more direction when shopping for groceries.

“My girlfriend gives me a list when I go shopping because I can’t be trusted — otherwise I don’t know what I’m buying.”

Women are more likely than men to visit the fresh fruit and vegetables section. Picture: iStock

Half the women were worried about getting best value for money and/or to sticking to their budget. That compared with two in five men who were fussed about finances.

Healthy options were a factor for two-thirds of females, against half the males.

The fresh fruit and vegetable section was a pit stop for half the women on their last visit, compared with one-third of men.

Almost one in five guys headed for the ready-meals and deli departments, compared with one in eight women.

The number of supermarket visitors is now evenly split by gender, the Koji study suggests. Five years ago, females made up six in 10 visitors.

Mr Cassidy attributed the change to a growth in single households, along with big mortgages resulting in both parents resorting to full-time work and shared shopping duties.

“Typically, males are more involved helping with the ‘big shop’, that periodic and often weekend-timed visit to pick up the heavy items such as a slab of soft drink, or non-perishables such as nappies and toilet rolls,” he said.

@KarenCollierHS