The underlying premise of this article is that changing demographics will lead to a splintering of the mass markets for grocery products and supermarkets. A field study investigated the relationships between five demographic factors—sex, female working status, age, income, and marital status—and a wide range of variables associated with preparation for and execution of supermarket shopping. Results indicate that the demographic groups differ in significant ways from the traditional supermarket shopper. Discussion centers on the ways that changing demographics and family roles may affect retailers and manufacturers of grocery products.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
AllenChris T., and SchaningerCharles M. (1980), “Dual Career, Dual Income, and Non-Work Wife Families: Perspectives and Research Directions,” in 1980 Educators’ Conference Proceedings, BagozziR. P., eds., Chicago: American Marketing, 93–96.
2.
AndersonBeverlee (1972), “Working vs. Non-working Women: A Comparison of Shopping Behavior,”Proceedings of the AMA Fall Conference, Chicago: American Marketing.
3.
BartosRena (1978), “What Every Marketer Should Know about Women,”Harvard Business Review, 56 (May-June), 73–85.
4.
BernhardtK., and KinnearT. (1975), “Profiling the Senior Citizen Market,” in Advances in Consumer Research, 3, AndersonB. B., ed., Chicago: Association for Consumer Research.
5.
BerryLeonard L. (1979), “The Time-Buying Consumer,”Journal of Retailing, 55 (Winter), 58–59.
6.
BerryLeonard L. (1980), “The New Consumer,” in Competitive Structures in Retail Market, The Department Store Perspective, StampflRonald W., and HirschmanElizabeth, eds., Chicago, IL: American Marketing, 1–12.
7.
BloodRobert O. (1963), New Roles for Men and Women, New York: Association Press.
8.
BussW. C., and SchaningerCharles M. (1983), “The Influence of Sex Roles on Family Decision Processes and Outcomes,”Advances in Consumer Research, 10.
9.
ClancyK. (1975), “Preliminary Observations on Media Use and Food Habits of the Elderly,”The Gerontologist, 15 (December), 529–532.
10.
CoxDonald F., and RichStuart U. (1964), “Perceived Risk and Consumer Decision Making—The Case of Telephone Shopping,”Journal of Marketing Research, 1 (November), 32–39.
11.
DouglasSusan P. (1976a), “Cross-National Comparisons and Consumer Stereotypes: A Case Study of Working and Non-working Wives in the U.S. and France,”Journal of Consumer Research, 3 (June), 12–20.
12.
DouglasSusan P. (1976b), “Working Wife vs. Non-Working Wife Families: A Basis for Segmenting Grocery Markets?,”Advances in Consumer Research, 3, 191–198.
13.
GeikenK. (1964), “Expectations Concerning Husband-Wife Influence in Consumer Purchase Decisions,”Journal of Marriage and the Family, 25 (August), 349–352.
14.
GreenRobert T., and CunninghamIsabella C. M. (1975), “Feminine Role Perceptions and Family Purchasing Decisions,”Journal of Marketing Research, 12 (August), 325–332.
15.
GuiltinanJoseph P., and MonroeKent B. (1978), “Identifying and Analyzing Consumer Shopping Strategies,” working paper no. 122, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University.
16.
HacklanderEffie H. (1978), “Do Working Wives Shop Differently for Food?,”National Food Review, 2 (April), 14–22.
17.
LazerWilliam, and SmallwoodJohn E. (1977), “The Changing Demographics of Women,”Journal of Marketing, 41 (July), 14–22.
18.
MartinClaude R. (1975), “A Transgenerational Comparison: The Elderly Fashion Consumer,”Proceedings, Association for Consumer Research, 453–456.
19.
MasonJ. Barry, and BeardenWilliam O. (1978), “Profiling the Shopping Behavior of Elderly Consumers,”The Gerontologist, 18 (October), 455ff.
20.
MasonJ. Barry, and BeardenWilliam O. (1979), “Satisfaction/Dissatisfaction with Food Shopping among Elderly Consumers,”The Journal of Consumer Affairs, 13 (Winter), 362.
21.
MasonKaren, OppenheimJohn, and CzajkaSara Arber (1976), “Change in U.S. Women's Sex-Role Attitudes, 1964–1975,”American Sociological Review, 41 (August), 573–596.
22.
McCallSuzanne H. (1977), “Meet the ‘Workwife’,”Journal of Marketing, 41 (July), 55–65.
23.
MiklosPam (1982), The Supermarket Shopper Experience of the Older Consumer, Washington, DC: Food Marketing Institute.
24.
PareliusAnn P. (1975), “Emerging Sex Role Attitudes, Expectations, and Strains among College Women,”Journal of Marriage and Family, 37 (February), 146–154.
25.
RapoportRhona, and RapoportRobert (1969), “The Dual Career Family: A Variant Pattern and Social Change,”Human Relations, 22 (February), 3–30.
26.
RapoportRhona, and RapoportRobert (1971a), Dual Career Families, Harmondsworth, England: Penguin.
27.
RapoportRhona, and RapoportRobert (1971b), “Further Considerations on the Dual-Career Family,”Human Relations, 24 (December), 519–533.
28.
RapoportRhona, and RapoportRobert (1978), Working Couples, New York: Harper.
29.
ReillyMichael (1982), “Working Wives and Convenience Consumption,”Journal of Consumer Research, 8 (March), 407–418.
30.
ReynoldsFred D., CraskMelvin R., and WellsWilliam D. (1977), “The Modern Feminine Life Style,”Journal of Marketing, 41 (July), 55–65.
31.
RobinsonJohn, and ConversePhilip (1972), “Social Changes as Reflected in the Use of Time,” in The Human Meaning of Social Change, CampbellAngus, and ConversePhilip, eds., New York: Russell Sage.
32.
SarbinTheodore R., and AllenVernon (1968), “Role Theory,” in The Handbook of Social Psychology, LindzeyGeorge, and AronsonElliot, eds., Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley, 488–567.
33.
ScanzoniJohn (1975), Sex Roles, Life-Styles, and Child-bearing: Changing Patterns in Marriage and Family, New York: Free Press.
34.
ScanzoniJohn (1978), Gender Roles and Family Change: A Panel Study, Lexington, MA: Lexington.
35.
SchaningerCharles M., and AllenChris T. (1981), “Wife's Occupational Status as a Consumer Behavior Construct,”Journal of Consumer Research, 8 (September), 189–196.
36.
SharirSamuel (1974), “Brand Loyalty and the Household's Cost of Time,”Journal of Business, 47 (January), 53–55.
37.
SharpHarry, and MottPaul (1956), “Consumer Decision in the Metropolitan Family,”Journal of Marketing, 21 (October), 149–156.
38.
SpehThomas W. (1977), “A Summary of Doctoral Research Relating to Retailing,”Journal of Retailing, 53 (Spring), 73–82.
39.
StaffordFrank, and DuncanGreg (1977), “The Use of Time and Technology by Households in the United States,” working paper, Department of Economics, University of Michigan.
40.
StroberMyra H. (1977), “Working Wives and Major Family Expenditures,”Journal of Consumer Research, 4 (December), 141–147.
41.
StroberMyra H., and WeinbergCharles B. (1980), “Strategies Used by Working and Non-working Wives to Reduce Time Pressures,”Journal of Consumer Research, 6 (March), 338–348.
42.
WalkerKatherine E., and WoodsMargaret E. (1976), Time Use: A Measure of Household Production of Family Goods and Services, Washington, DC: Center for the Family, American Home Economics Association.
43.
WolgastElizabeth H. (1958), “Do Husbands or Wives Make the Purchasing Decisions?,”Journal of Marketing, 23 (October), 151–158.
44.
YankelovichS. (1972–1977), Yankelovich Monitor, New York, NY.
45.
ZeithamlValarie A. (1982), Supermarket Shoppers’ Profile, Washington, DC: Food Marketing Institute.
