E-mail updates
Follow on Twitter
Subscribe to RSS
Brian Snyder / Reuters file
According to a survey, 52 percent of dads say they are the primary supermarket shoppers in the household.
There’s a good chance dad might be shopping for his own Father’s Day breakfast in bed this Sunday. No, he’s not in the doghouse, but apparently dads are doing more of the grocery shopping these days.
According to a survey released this week by brand marketing firm Cone Communications, 52 percent of dads say they are the primary supermarket shoppers in the household, and 35 percent of moms admitted fathers have more influence when it comes to grocery purchases.
“This research goes against all stereotypes of the ‘Father Knows Best’ dad who doesn’t concern himself with domestic responsibilities,” says Bill Fleishman, president of Cone Communications, about the online survey that polled 1,000 parents with children under 17.
The company’s research also found dad shoppers aren’t just winging their supermarket hunting. Dad’s polled said they:
- Create a detailed shopping list – 63% (vs. 65% of moms)
- Collect coupons or read circulars – 56% (vs. 62% of moms)
- Plan meals for the week ahead of time – 52% (vs. 46% of moms)
- Perform background research on grocery products – 24% (vs. 11% of moms)
And moms are more likely to spend more time in the grocery store than dads. While Cone’s study found fathers were doing more of the grocery shopping, Today Money Facebook fans we informally polled Friday largely said the opposite it true.
“If my husband went to the store we would be having frozen pizza and macaroni and cheese for dinner every night,” said Mariska Colbert of her husband Zac.
And Melissa Klement added, “Wish my hubby would do it.”
But Roberta Harwood Speller, who works in a grocery store said: “There are several men that shop each week there for their families. They do very well. Even have their kids with them.”
For those of us who just can’t accept father foragers in the supermarket, it may be time set aside your bias in the aisle.
“We’re finding that dads are not acting so differently from moms in their approach to grocery shopping,” maintained Cone’s Fleishman.
(Full disclosure: My husband does most of the supermarket shopping these days, but I have to write up the list.)
More from msnbc.com business:
- That bundle of joy will now cost you $234,900
- The search is on for America's ugliest car
- Family, work balancing act? Dads have to do it too
- Another summer and broke families plan staycations
- NBC Nightly News video: Finding the hidden bank fees
Follow msnbc.com business on Twitter and Facebook
Leave a Comment:
Maybe more Dads are spending time in the super market because they are unemployed... Thank you Obama...
Less dads are unemployed than when Bush left office, Pi. Thank you, selective memory.
What is your source song boy?
BLS data ()
If you look at the data, you'll see that unemployment was on a steep increase before Obama took office. By the middle of Obama's first year, the rising unemployment had leveled off and started to decline.
You don't actually believe that Obama created the trend, do you?
In fact, why do you believe that any president can so fully control the economy as to prompt millions of layoffs? Methinks you are clueless as to how the whole system works.
Additionally, unemployment rates were lower at the end of Bush's cycle because the sharp increase in unemployment had not finished yet.
Source
Who knew so many men would lie on a stupid survey like this...... I call BS cause I'm not seeing it at the stores.
This trend is not what I am seeing in stores. I see mostly women with lists. My husband would do the shopping if I asked him to and gave him a list.
They are only saying fathers are. There are plenty of single, childless women who still shop. And I think who you find at your store depends on where you shop. My dad did a lot of the shopping growing up. My mom doesn't like crowds of people.
You should thank President, Barack H. Obama, if he did get fathers to become more engaged with their families and kids, and women can now go out of the house to spend it with girlfriends at work, meet some ready-men to date out of the home like men do and did in the old days.
314159, Or maybe their wives earn so much more and enjoy their career so much more they are stay at home Dads. Or maybe they are improving their education and the wife is working so the family can improve it's financial earning ability. Or maybe they are just doing their share of the household chores. It hasn't rained in a awhile is that Obama's fault too? The economy was just friggen imported beer and pretzels before 2008 right? Troll somewhere else. Which president was handed a surplus and a balanced budget and which president was handed two wars financed on credit and a economy collapsing due to the Gram-Leach-Bliley Act.
Now this real news. What a crock. MSNBC f__k O__
When President Obama took over the unemployment rate was 10.5%. Now it is 8.2%. Also, 4.2 million private sector jobs have been created since he took over. Thank you Mr. President! Good job!
Interesting piece, but I fear the research lacks validity. There is reams of marketing research that contradicts the findings of this on-line snapshot. Over 90% of purchase decisions are made by females in the home, and the majority of women do the shopping for the home. I would suggest you consider doing research that outlines opposing findings before running a story such as this. There are a host of marketing organizations that will help you get a clearer picture of shopper marketing.
I am a single dad, so I do all my shopping by default, but I agree with Sarah regarding the validity of this. When I am shopping, virtually all the shoppers are women, or women WITH their husbands.
It is possible that it is due to my area having more stay-at-home moms, but I doubt it.
Let me guess. You live in San Francisco and your significant other is also female. Hate men?
Sarah, I do make most of the purchase decisions for my home (my husband doesn't like to do it, so I do). However, my husband does 99% of the grocery shopping (I don't like to do it, so he does it).
Since this article addresses grocery shopping exclusively, I don't see that the studies you reference necessarily contradict the survey described.
I like to see these examples showing both spouses are involved in running the household.
Sarah's right, and when I looked into the background info on the survey I couldn't find any more info than it was based on 1000 people, could have been all guys in San Diego, no reason to think it's a representative population.
When my wife shops she's buying boxes of prepackaged salt and fat, but saving $$ by finding the coupons and deals. I buy the healthy stuff and specialty items, but I'm still only doing 30% of the shopping.
Theo, seek help, really.
Sounds like Theo needs to do some shopping for some more IQ points and about 15 years' worth of maturity.
That is right, TraceyS!! If someone isn't PC then they are stupid and immature!! Because all smart and mature people are PC!!! You tell him, womyn!!!!
Additionally, anicdotal experiences/observations of the male/female ratio when one may be grocery shoppying is going to be influenced by many factors. To suggest that because only experiences mainly females while you are shopping may simply be indicitive of when you are shopping during the day. Clearly the grocery stores have male shoppers considering the number of single males who are shopping for themselves must eat, too. It is reasonable that midday shopping will be dominated by females due to the limited number of stay at home dads compared to the number of stay at home moms.
I do all the shopping for my household. If my husband did the grocery shopping, the grocery bill would be double!!! He doesn't bother to check out the prices or look for deals.
Same here, Cheez. My husband is (grudgingly) willing on occasion, but refuses to use coupons or look for healthier options. I absolutely detest grocery shopping and just wonder how long the average weekly shopper is trapped in these enormous grocery mazes they now call a store. For me it's a minimum of 1 1/2 hours, not to mention prep time getting the list and coupons ready. It's incredibly frustrating that the grocery industry really isn't doing much AT ALL to reduce the sodium and fat content if foods.. no wonder there's such a huge obesity epidemic. I don't care if the 'average American' wants to eat junk with tons of preservatives and additives (which probably have a major role in the cancer rates)... why aren't better options being made available by the major food manufacturers. It shouldn't be that I have to go to a 'health food store' (not convenient here!); put them in the neighborhood grocer shelves. And yes, I get the vast majority of my meat from Costco, and buy tons of whole grain products and fresh produce. Last note on this topic: if my husband goes along to the store, it's like taking a hungry 12 y.o. boy with you... whining about how long it's taking while he's throwing the worst junk possible in the cart. He's a wonderful guy but if he did the shopping the final cost would be at LEAST 50% higher... and we'd both be much heavier!!!
I have to do it because my wife has no concern for proper nutrition for our kids or herself. My kids wouldn't be able to recognize a fruit or vegetable if my wife were doing it. I don't want my fridge filled with Pepsi and my pantry with Doritos, so I take care of it.
Ahhh what a lucky Lady................and kids.
I do 75% of the shopping and 100% of the planning. My husband is pretty clueless about grocery shopping, but he tries. Sometimes, I will send him off with a list (and he still ends up with the wrong items), but all of the planning is done by me. Additionally, he doesn't quite understand couponing, but (again) he tries. He also doesn't bother to compare prices or remember what things cost. I agree with Cheez-its, our grocery bill would be at least double if my husband were solely responsible.
your husband sounds mentally challenged as shopping, going off a list, and couponing are not hard things to do. that or he's pruposely doing it wrong it hopes that you'll do it next time so you can get the correct item. i do 75% of our shopping cause my wife has longer hours at work and it's as easy as find the product and look at the price then look left and right for a lower one.
LOL Your logic is rather silly, Hatr. No, my husband isn't mentally challenged. He's just inexperienced when it comes to grocery shopping.
You sound in denial. Or you give really poor instructions. It's not hard to get a specific brand of orange juice, or to specifically buy romaine lettuce.
Try writing a better list if he's truly not handicapped. After all, "bread" can mean a lot of things.
Additionally, how can he screw up couponing? I'm leaning towards you being in denial.
boom!reason; When we were first married I sent my husband out for lettuce and he came back an artichoke. Somehow I don't think that specifying a particular kind of lettuce would have been helpful. I can almost understand the failure to procure a certain kind of lettuce; when I was a kid my mother sent me out for lettuce and I came back with cabbage. But seriously, how does anyone confuse artichokes with lettuce? We still laugh at that one.
35 years later, I still do all the shopping. I don't want to hear about how a loaf of decent bread costs so much money and I don't want to take him shopping with me because that always puts us over budget.
He's really good at other things, but I won't ask him to do the grocery shopping. List or not, he tends to impulse buy.
I'm a man with a wife and 2 kids. I do all of the shopping, meal planning and cooking. When I shop I generally have at least one of the children and sometimes both. I'm not unemployed and our bills are just about the same as they were before my wife stopped coming with me.
Though on a side note, I do notice the while shopping I do get asked if I need help at least 4-5 times a trip. I've always wondered if that was normal or just employees assuming that because I’m a man I don't know where anything is.
It's probably either that you go to a grocery store with excellent customer service, or that you are hot. Lots of women are turned on by guys with kids. I am a woman, and I get offered help at the grocery store as well, but I just chalk it up to the excellent customer service at Publix.
If you're tall (or at least taller than me), I'll be asking you for help! Every grocery store trip, it seems there is always one thing just out of my reach. There's never a store clerk around, so I appreciate the help with the shelves!
These men should have married smarter women and should look for their children's fathers. Guess the new generations really are wimps.
I'm curious on just what intelligence has to do with whether your wife shops or not? Also are you insinuating that because I do not force my wife to do something she really doesn't care for that I am less than a man?
cunical's comment didn't make much sense if any.
Cunical: Oh, I get it...because women who ask their husbands to go to the grocery store are actually cheating, heartless hussies? Wow! Life must be interesting and challenging with no logic skills whatsoever and a giant case of he-man stupid complex.
I do the vast majority of the shopping, because I do the vast majority of the cooking, and I know what specific items I want. Fortunately, my sweet wife does the cleaning, so it is a total win-win, as she hates to cook and I hate to clean...
My wife and I usually grocery shop together, and I do most of the cooking - mainly because I am better at it. We also split the cleaning pretty evenly. I'd feel guilty if I sat around watching her go get the groceries, cook everything, clean everything, and other domestic chores. Guys need to man up and realize being manly doesn't mean having a "woman" to do the housework.
No surprise there. Women do not cook anymore unless you think cooking is heating up microwave dinners.
Yes, women do cook anymore. I own a microwave but only use it a few times a week. I don't like to eat microwave dinners and I don't want to serve them to my family.
Let's just make a few more bitter, sweeping generalizations that make no sense, shall we Ciscoet? Are you buddies with Theo and Cunical? You can find a three-for-the-price-of-one "women are icky" therapy package.
When I was married, I did all the shopping. Now that I am alone, I still do the shopping (it is one of the chores I love to do). I go directly to the store on my way home every Friday night so that I have all weekend to cook for the next week and plenty of fresh vegetables and produce for the weekend.
But what bothers me is when a husband and wife are shopping together. It may be their way of doing something together, but all I can think about is that he doesn't trust her to spent a single cent without his supervision and approval. And this just infuriates me in the store. And they are always buying cheaper items and nothing nice like lobster or meat or expensive treats.
I like it may way better - no one to report to.
sooo agree! I also noticed they are often fighting/disagreeing and angry. It validates my sensibility to remain single for the last 12 year after 24 yrs of marriage. I want a woman in my life...only NOT IN MY HOUSE!!! Ha Ha Ha....
You get hot and bothered when you see a couple shopping together because you assume the man is controlling? You are basing your assumptions on your own past history. I'm guessing you had a controlling father or husband. Or perhaps you were an uncontrollable spender who racked up debt.
I do most of the shopping in my family. My husband and I consult each other before making large purchases such as furniture, cars, vacations, ect... I don't have to ask my husband's permission to buy groceries or other similar household items.
However, when my husband and I are both off from work, we go shopping together because we enjoy each other's company. I'm going to gander that the majority of couples shopping together do so because they both work and have limited time to spend together.
Eternal war of egos. Men hating women, women hating man - the "I am better than you syndrom". We all see things we want to see.
Kudos to Agg1557 - the sane voice in the ocean of insanity :)
Maybe they are just shopping together because it is more entertaining than shopping alone. Or they both like to shop. I don't like shopping, but I also can't make a list for someone else to do it for me because I usually don't know what I want for dinner until I've wandered around the store for a while (I only buy for one day at a time because it limits snacking and I walk to the grocery). My companion comes with me to the store because we both like the company, not so he can control my spending.
I had to do it out of desperation. The wife would have to stop everyday to get things to complete the meal. She would spend $150 per week for three and have NO meals!!
I'm blessed with a husband who LOVES to go shopping, ALL kinds of shopping! Because he works 3rd shift, he doesn't get the opportunity much any more, but when he does, we enjoy doing it together. We had THE best time when we both worked for a homeless organization, grocery shopping for over 100 people.
I agree with some others in that this info does not seem to jive with my personal experience. I am a man, and when I am at the grocery I would estimate that at least 75% of my fellow shoppers are female. If dads are doing all of this shopping that is great, but I don't see that many in my store.
I see dads buying groceries for the grill on the weekends. However, I don't see them buying items for everyday meals.
For this & the MSN.Com online survey where is the everyone button. Why limit shopping to man (DaD), woman (MoM), the help, or someone else? We all do it so there are no excuses!
p. s. The online MZN.Com survey has 64% MoM, 31% DaD, 5% someone else. What happened to your survey, did you just want men to shoulder the responsibility?
That is, of course, MSN. oops
This survey with "1000 famities with children under 17" is very specific. Any other social mix will give different results. If you ask 1000 divorced men/women who does most of their shopping, it is hard to expect that they will say their spouses do :); they may talk about their exes, however that will not reflect their current status.
I split the shopping duties with my wife 50/50 - I buy the groceries, she buys the other good stuff. Sometimes we shop together for major things, but mostly I do the grocery shopping alone, and my wife buys most of the other stuff alone - I just drop her off at the store and come back later. However, that is just about us, and tell you the truth, I do not care how other people do it. It is not my business:)
Since I do virtually all of the cooking, I do all of the shopping. MY wife comes with me about once every 6 weeks and the grocery bill is always higher when she comes with me. I send so much time at the grocery store some people thin I work there.
My first task on Sunday morning is to get the coupons out of the papers, go through them and see if there are any for the things we usually buy. On TU when the grocery ad comes is when I plan what I am going to buy by what is on sale. I don't plan menus.
I am a man and do most of our shopping. Why because I do not spend much time in the groceries, I do my homework and coupons and make my list before getting to the store. When I am there I am following my list.
For me cooking is therapeutic, a break from work and routine. So shopping is my way of making sure I have what I need. I must admit, we are not like our fathers. My son says we are Dad 2.0 a better version of our fathers.
If women can do everything men can do I think men can get close with the exception of giving birth.
So we are Fathers 2.0
I can't trust my husband to do the grocery shopping properly, even if I give him a detailed list. I do the shopping, he prefers that. I plan our meals ahead of time and make detailed lists. It helps save money and ensures that we eat healthy meals.