London - When it comes to food shopping men are found to be better at it than women, who find themselves flustered and stressed in a supermarket environment.
The surprise findings emerged in a study of 2,000 people commissioned by The Co-operative Food. It found that one third of females get themselves into a complete flap when they do the weekly shopping.
Despite being organised shoppers, women dislike crowds, feel rushed at the checkout and are always shocked at the price of their purchases.
This, despite being organised and armed with shopping lists, money off-coupons, tissues, vouchers and recycled carrier bags.
In contrast, three quarters of men quite enjoy their food shopping experience and are happy to navigate their way around the aisles searching out products.
Men are less forgetful about what they want to buy, are less likely to feel rushed by the cashiers and are more methodical at the checkouts.
“We suspect one of the key reasons why women are more agitated in the supermarket is largely because they are rushing round trying to conduct the shopping as quickly as possible,” the Daily Mail quoted Helen Nunn, Head of Marketing at The Co-operative Food, as saying.
“Doing the food shop will be one item on a massive list of jobs, and something which simply has to be done at speed.
“Men seem to adopt a much more laid back and methodical approach, taking their time looking for bargains and make sure they’re getting the most for their money,” she said.
The survey shows two thirds of females dislike battling the crowds in the supermarket to get at what they want and 34 per cent hate it when other people’s children get in their way.
One in 10 women even admitted to having an argument with another shopper in the supermarket - either because of trolley rage, fighting over the same item or queue jumping.
Four in 10 women can’t stand feeling rushed when the cashier scans items too quickly so they struggle to get everything into the right bags and 35 per cent claim they are shocked every time they reach the till and realise how much they have spent.
While 51 per cent of men are most likely to opt for brands they know the best, 26 per cent of women will simply buy anything that appears on offer.
But the poll suggests women are the savvier shoppers as they are less baffled by all the different brands in the shop and are more likely to ask for help if needed.
As a consequence, eight in 10 women always come home armed with bargains compared to 67 per cent of men.
But men are happy to use technology to get what they want in the supermarket - being more likely to whip out their mobile phone to compare prices or download vouchers as they shop.
“Both men and women are consciously becoming savvier shoppers because of the current economic climate, but it’s clear from these findings that they’re using different approaches to net their bargains,” said Nunn.
“This study suggests men have more time to stroll around and use their mobile to check out deals and compare prices online, and that’s resulting in a new breed of male supermarket shoppers,” she added.
Today : Saturday - May 26, 2012, 02:47pm (GMT+5.5)
