I was reading my daily fix of the National Post the other day, and a small article caught my attention.

Men : lost in the supermarket

U.S. [also applies to Canada just the same] me are doing more grocery shopping, both for themselves and their families, but retailers are still not doing much to make the trip any more enticing, retail consultants and industry experts say.

“Men do represent a large part of grocery shopping dollars and they aren’t being very well accommodated.  Sales are being lost,” said Mandy Putnam, vice-president at consulting firm TNS Retail Forward.

In a recent report titled Men in Grocery Stores, Putnam said that men shop inefficiently, which leads to missed sales for retailers.

“They never ask for help, except maybe from the butcher, but they always say they never had problems finding anything when the cashier at the register asks,” she said. Unlike women male shoppers typically focus more on convenience than price, and retailers will need to cater to that need, consultants said.

Men also tend to bristle at the overwhelming number of choices, Putnam said.

“One guy I thought was going to have a nervous breakdown in the cereal isle,” Putnam said.

 Well DUH.

I could have told you this a long time ago.

I moved out of home at the young age of 18 (got kicked out actually) and since then I’ve been holding my own for shopping etc. I’m 21 now, almost 3 years since I moved out of home (October marks the 3 year period) and I still have trouble at the grocery stores.

First of all, the inefficiency part is completely true. I rarely write down all the things I need, and I often come home and realize I forgot something. Do I necessarily go back the next day to get it? No. I just live without it unless it’s absolutely critical (like milk - I make protein shakes out of milk every day).

Secondly, I still don’t understand why, but I never ask for help finding something anyhow. The only way I get help is when I have a lost look on my face looking for something, and a store assistant feels pity for me and offers help. Otherwise, while I look for that something I need, I get distracted by other things, and then I forget about it.

Third, it is completely true that men look more for convenience than for cheaper prices. I could go to Costco, or the Great Canadian Super Store, which offers goods for a much cheaper price, in bulk. I never do that. The stores are too damn large, it takes me too long to find. I could probably save about $100/mth at least if I got into the habit of going to Costco, which is actually even closer than the Safeway or Marketplace IGA that I go to, but I still shun Costco for everyday goods. I’d rather go to a smaller store where I can get from one end of the store to another within 20 minutes and get it over with.

Lastly, the overwhelming number of choices is irritating. Trying to buy laundry detergent, yogurt, toilet paper, etc. is so fucking difficult you have no idea. I just stare at the shelves full of all sorts of brands and types of product and I am in complete shock. I often do mutter out loud, “why do they have to make 5 different brands?” at those aisles. I remember going to Shoppers Drug Mart to get sunscreen (and once again, Shoppers Drug Mart is much more expensive than Costco), and I thought I was going to freak right out. I can comprehend with that guy having a nervous breakdown at the cereal aisle.

Now, is this something we should blame the retailers for? No, men are just stupid at these things. 

This entry was posted on Saturday, June 2nd, 2007 at 12:09 pm and is filed under Hot Issues, Rants. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.