By Ryan Dean
St. Louis, MO (KSDK) - Whether it's the current unemployment rate or just a cultural shift, studies show that more men are becoming the primary grocery shopper in their household.
Rick Shea, of Shea marketing Inc., specializes in supermarket consulting. He says about 40 percent of men are the primary grocery shopper in the family, that's up 50 percent from two decades ago.
"We're seeing this due to a couple of things; the leveling of the traditional male and female roles, the increase in the number of single parent households, also, the recession has hit men a little bit harder than women from an employment standpoint," Shea said.
Shea said supermarkets and suppliers are taking notice, by offering more pre-prepared meals and snack displays. He says research shows men are more impulse buyers than women at the grocery store. Shea says some stores are targeting men by not being as female focused in advertising as in years past.
When KSDK approached Schnucks about the story to get a local opinion, the chain decided to do its own research.
Called "Schnucks Listens," the grocery chain emailed more than 13,000 customers are a survey. More than 6,000 shoppers responded to the survey on men shopping. According to Schnucks, the numbers show the amount of men who are the primary shopper in the household has increased six percent in the past five years.
The study also found that women spend more money per shopping trip, but men shop more often.
"So when we looked at the numbers overall (when comparing who spends more) it pretty much was a wash," said Mary Ver Mehren, Schnucks project manager of consumer research.
Schnucks research also shows that men are faster shoppers than women.
"Men want to get in and get out; they're pretty quick about it. They don't care about all the fluff. They don't want all the extras," Ver Mehren said.
Shea says some retailers are offering "man isles" trying to better serve the male shopper.
"It's being driven by Procter and Gamble. It's really being led by the personal care items; shaving creams, razors, men shampoo. It's being tested...trying to make it easier for men to find personal care items. We see Walmart, Target and Walgreens testing "man isles" in the future.
KSDK