FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT:
Telephone:
Fax:
email:
Dane Twining
Director, Public Relations
(212) 972-3131
(212) 983-1382
[email protected]
Four in ten moms are now family breadwinners.
But guess who still shops, cooks and cleans.
NEW YORK, NY ― According to a new Pew Research study, women are the primary
wage earners in 40% of US households with children under age 18, vs 11% of 1960
households. But a separate study completed recently for the Private Label
Manufacturers Association shows that, despite radical changes in society – such as
those suggested by Pew Research – women still dominate the retail marketplace.
Although women’s personal and professional advancements have grown significantly in
recent decades, The PLMA study makes it clear that the time spent grocery shopping
has not decreased. The findings are particularly surprising in light of documented shifts
in US demographics over the past several decades, and as retailers and manufacturers
have found it increasingly complicated to pinpoint who are today’s primary shoppers.
According to the PLMA study, conducted by GfK Custom Research North America and
titled “Today’s Primary Shopper,” two-thirds of women say they still handle much of
the grocery shopping and, furthermore, they still take the time to make the decisions
with three quarters of them forming shopping lists and 53% taking time to clip coupons
and search for specials. And 40% of women shoppers say they spend about an hour in
the supermarket.
Women are also the rulers of the kitchen. Eighty-four percent of women still act as the
sole preparer of meals in the household, with 61% of women stating they prepare meals
at least five times per week. And the majority of these meals are not prepackaged meals
that require a quick nuke in the microwave, 64% make most meals using fresh
ingredients which generally take more time.
(more)
630 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017 ● Telephone: (212) 972-3131 Fax: (212) 983-1382 Website: www.plma.com
PLMA Consumer Study: “Today’s Primary Shopper”
2
Aside from meal preparation and grocery shopping, women are also responsible for the
other important household areas: Seven in ten women say cleaning the house is their
job and three-fourths take on the majority of the laundry in the home. Since women are
those making the purchases, they have become frequent store brand purchasers, with
only three percent saying they never buy store brands.
The survey was conducted to assess the role the women play in household shopping
and thus how marketing strategies would be impacted for U.S. retailers and store brand
suppliers. The study included over 1,000 women who were pre-qualified as their
household’s primary shopper. The results of the study do show that for the majority of
women their roles in the household have not changed in any significant way.
For additional information, contact Tom Prendergast, PLMA’s Research Director at
(212) 972-3131, or email [email protected].
###
EDITORS: The Private Label Manufacturers Association is the industry trade association devoted
exclusively to store brands. Founded in 1979, PLMA today represents 3,400 companies who are
involved in the manufacture and distribution of store brand products, including food, beverages,
snacks, health and beauty aids, over-the-counter drugs, household supplies and general merchandise.
The full report “Today’s Primary Shopper” is available to PLMA member companies, retailers and
wholesalers at no charge. To request a copy, contact [email protected].