A History of the Ministry of Information, 1939-46
IV.
SHOPPING DIFFICULTIES
New Series Regional G.3.[Text Missing]
Interviewing was carried out during the period 12th to 24th October.
A sample of 2888 adult civilians was interviewed. These were selected in representative proportions from different regions and occupational groups. Details of the sample are given at the end of this report.
Summary
84.5% of women, 19.8% of men did some household shopping.
13.0% of women, 63.1% of men did personal shopping only.
49.1% of wage earning women were mainly responsible for household shopping.
16.1% of the whole sample had difficulties over shopping.
Wage earning women more frequently had difficulties than other groups.
The difficulties were chiefly lack of time, the inconvenient hours at which shops shut, and having to wait in queues.
Suggestions made were chiefly concerned with arrangements of shop hours and working hours.
Informants were asked “Do you do the household shopping or help with it, or do you do only your own personal shopping?”
| % Whole Sample | |
| Mainly responsible for household shopping | 44.9 |
| Help with household shopping | 13.5 |
| Only personal shopping | 33.2 |
| No shopping at all | 8.4 |
| Sample | 2888 |
Results for men and women were as follows:-
30% of the whole sample and 73% of the women interviewed were housewives with no other occupation. Results for housewives and for women in other occupations (excluding those who were retired or unoccupied) are given in the table below.
It will be seen that nearly half of the women in other occupations were mainly responsible for household shopping. 55% of the women in this group were either married or widowed. A breakdown of the answers received from working women (not housewives) by marital status is as follows:-
* Discrepancies in sample figures in this report are due to a few forms being unclassified in some respects. The proportions are not affected.
The results for working women may be compared with those given by a sample of the industrial population interviewed in August 1942. (Wartime Social Survey, New Regional Series I.1). It should be noted that in this sample, women in managerial and professional positions and in other small miscellaneous groups were not included, whereas the present sample covers all working women.
Informants who did any shopping, whether household or personal, were asked: “Apart from general shortages, have you had any shopping difficulties lately?”
| % of shoppers | % of whole sample | |
| Difficulty | 17.6 | 16.1 |
| No difficulty | 80.4 | 73.7 |
| No information | 2.0 | 1.8 |
| Do no shopping | - | 8.4 |
| Sample | 2644 | 2888 |
Analysis of these results by answers to the first question are as follows:-
It will be seen that a greater proportion of those doing household shopping had experienced difficulties than of those doing only personal shopping.
Breakdown by men and women is as follows: In considering these figures it is relevant to note that whereas 84.5% of the women interviewed did some household shopping, only 19.8% of the men did any.
| % of shoppers | ||||||
| Men | Women | Total | ||||
| Difficulty | 12.2 | 20.7 | 17.6 | |||
| No difficulty | 85.4 | 77.1 | 80.4 | |||
| No information | 2.4 | 2.2 | 2.0 | |||
| Total | 958 | 100.0 | 1656 | 100.0 | 2644 | 100.0 |
| Do no shopping | 198 | 42 | 244 | |||
| Sample | 1156 | 1698 | 2888 | |||
Breakdown by housewives and by women in other occupations is as follows:-
| % of shoppers | ||||
| Housewives | Other Occupations | |||
| Difficulty | 13.8 | 30.1 | ||
| No difficulty | 84.6 | 67.6 | ||
| No information | 1.6 | 2.3 | ||
| Total | 895 | 100.0 | 702 | 100.0 |
| Do no shopping | 11 | 15 | ||
| Sample | 906 | 717 | ||
There is a marked difference between the two groups, a higher proportion of women in other occupations than of housewives having difficulties. It should be remembered that 72.8% of those in other occupations did some household shopping as against 97.7% of housewives.
The results for housewives may be compared with those of a survey carried out in May to June 1942 (Wartime Social Survey, New Series H. 1) in which the same question was asked.
The samples are not quite comparable in so far as 14% of the housewives interviewed in May to June were doing other work, either part-time or full-time as well as housekeeping.
| Housewives | ||
| May-June | October | |
| 1942 | 1942 | |
| % | % | |
| Difficulty | 18.5 | 13.8 |
| No difficulty | 81.5 | 84.6 |
| No information | - | 1.6 |
| Sample | 2944 | 895 |
Breakdowns by housewives in urban and rural areas and in different income groups show no statistically significant differences.
There is a slight difference in the proportions of housewives with and without children, 15.9% of those with children having difficulty and 11.6% of those without children.
The number of housewives is not large enough to give a regional breakdown for[Text Missing] housewives.
The regional figures for the whole sample may be affected by the proportions in different regions who do household shopping and only personal shopping, and for this reason tables showing the answers to both of the questions are given together below.
It should be noted that the proportion of housewives is the same in each region, but that the proportions of men to women differ somewhat in different regions. This is necessary in order to cover adequately the different occupation groups represented in the sample.
% doing different kinds of shopping
% having difficulties
It will be seen that a higher proportion had difficulty in Scotland and the North than in the Midlands and the South. London shows the lowest proportion having difficulty.
The proportion doing some household shopping in London is relatively high, and since more household shoppers experienced difficulties than personal shoppers, this shows that the low proportion having difficulty in London is not due to the type of shopping done by those interviewed in London.
Other differences in the first table are not sufficiently marked to account for the differences in the proportions having difficulty, and there is therefore evidence that the results given in the second table represent conditions in the different regions truly.
Those who had had shopping difficulties were asked what these were. Some informants gave more than one reply, and therefore the answers given below add to more than 100.
Informants with shopping difficulties were asked: “Can you suggest any arrangement that would make it easier for you?”
66% of those having difficulties offered some suggestions a few offered more than one and the results given below therefore add to more than 100.
THE SAMPLE
Total: 2888