It’s spend, spend, spend for World Cup football fans as men get the groceries in

London, 3 June 2010: This year’s World Cup will see men showing women the red card, as football fever drives them to tackle the weekly grocery shop.

According to the latest research by TNS Omnibus, 34% of consumers are planning to spend more money on beer while watching the tournament, with the average cost of a World Cup party reaching £120.

And the World Cup is kicking-off men’s interest in food shopping, with more men than women showing interest in related supermarket promotions. In the survey, TNS Omnibus found half of men were able to say which supermarket offered the best value-for-money World Cup-related grocery promotions compared to just a third of women.

Whilst in overall terms 28% of us claim we’ll change our usual shopping habits to get the most out of World Cup supermarket offers, again, it is men leading the way here. Over a third of men will shop to maximise offers, promotions and competitions compared to just under a quarter of women.

ASDA is the grocer most likely to benefit on the back of the World Cup with 16% of consumers perceiving it as having the best value promotions and offers. Tesco comes in a close second with 14%.

Predictably, with men becoming more involved with grocery shopping during the World Cup, the most popular planned purchases are foods that need little preparation or attention. TNS Omnibus’ survey found that a third of consumers will be buying more beer and bagged snacks and one in four spending more on BBQ food.

TNS Omnibus managing director, Sue Homeyard, comments: “Women are not normally out of touch when it comes to knowledge of supermarket promotions, which implies that football tie-ins are making an impact on men. However, these World Cup promotions aren’t resonating with women, with only 5% saying they make products more attractive to buy compared to 11% of men. We may therefore see more men encouraging or even initiating the visit to the supermarket during this sporting season.”