In choosing where to buy groceries, more men than women prioritize location

On an average day in 2014-16, 69 percent of Americans age 18 and older who were the main grocery shoppers in their households reported that the majority of groceries were obtained from a grocery store, as opposed to a supercenter, warehouse club store, or other store type. According to data from the Eating & Health Module of the American Time Use Survey, these individuals most often cited location as the primary reason they shopped at a grocery store, followed by price and quality of products. Men and women had the same ranking of preferences, but the size of the shares varied by gender. The share of men who preferred to shop in a grocery store because of its location was 47.5 percent—nearly 6 percentage points higher than the corresponding share of women (41.9 percent). A higher share of women than men reported that they preferred to shop in a grocery store because of price, quality, or variety of products offered. Neither gender commonly cited customer service as a determining factor, but a slightly higher share of men than women chose a grocery store because of its customer service. This chart appears in the ERS report, Adult Eating and Health Patterns: Evidence From the 2014-16 Eating & Health Module of the American Time Use Survey, October 2018.

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