According to new statistics from Nielsen, men have increased shopping trip shares between 2004 and 2010 in almost all retail channels, including an average dollar basket size increase from $27.49 to $34.81 in the grocery category. The recession is widely blamed, since men have faced a higher unemployment rate than women (8.8 percent compared to 7.9 percent), resulting in more men at home who have assumed household duties. Additionally, more women have assumed bread-winning duties. There are more women than men in the work force, and women in the United States are almost twice as likely as men to earn a bachelor's degree. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that it is unlikely this education gap will close in the near future. With these shifts, researchers project that men could be taking on an equal share of household responsibilities and childcare by about 2050. This will have a major effect on household consumption in the United States, and alter the conventional assumption that women are the core target for household purchases. To better understand this new dynamic, it is important to explore the changing role of men.
Check out the full report here
