The gender divide: How British men and women shop differently

Key findings: 

• British women are more receptive to retail rewards: 76% say they use sales, coupons and deals whenever they shop, compared with 65% of men.
• Product discovery differs by gender: Women are more likely to discover products through recommendations from friends and family (52% vs. 42%) and influencers (22% vs. 15%), while men are more likely to use search engines (49% vs. 44%).
• Women are more engaged with loyalty programmes: Nine in ten (90%) belong to a retail rewards or loyalty programme, compared with 80% of men.

While British men and women share many shopping behaviours, there are clear differences in what motivates them, how they discover new products and how they engage with retailers.

New YouGov Profiles data reveals how retail attitudes, product discovery habits and loyalty programme participation vary between British men and women.

Insight #1: British women embrace retail rewards, while men favour premium and established brands

Shopping attitudes reveal distinct differences in what appeals to British men and women.

Women are more likely than men to say they subscribe to loyalty programmes whenever they are given the opportunity (53% vs. 42%). They are also more likely to say they make use of sales, coupons and deals whenever they shop (76% vs. 65%) and to agree that loyalty programmes are a good way for brands and businesses to reward their customers (80% vs. 70%).

Men, meanwhile, are more likely to favour premium products and known brands. Around three in ten (28%) say they tend to choose premium products and services, compared with 19% of women. Men are also more likely to say they would never buy second-hand clothes or accessories (28% vs. 16%) and to only buy the best-known brands (19% vs. 13%).

Insight #2: Women are more likely to discover new products via peer recommendations and influencers compared to men

Recommendations from friends, family or colleagues are the leading source of product discovery among women, cited by 52%, compared with 42% of men. This 10-point difference is the largest gender gap across the channels measured.

Women are also more likely to discover new products through social media influencers or bloggers (22% vs. 15%), a seven-point difference. Browsing in retail stores is common among both groups, though women are slightly more likely to cite it (47% vs. 44%).

Men, meanwhile, are more likely to use search engines to discover products (49% vs. 44%), the largest male-leading difference. They are also somewhat more likely to cite television or radio commercials (25% vs. 21%), out-of-home advertising (10% vs. 6%) and online shopping marketplaces (33% vs. 29%).

Elsewhere, differences are limited. Email newsletters or promotions are cited by equal shares of men and women (17%), while online and social media advertising, community recommendations and product reviews vary by only one or two percentage points.

Insight #3: Women are slightly more likely to belong to retail loyalty programmes than men

Nine in ten women (90%) say they currently belong to a retail rewards or loyalty programme, compared with 80% of men.

Men are also more likely to say they have never belonged to a retail loyalty programme (13% vs. 6%). Among those who have participated previously, 7% of men say they have since cancelled their membership, compared with 4% of women.

While British men and women share many shopping habits, the findings highlight meaningful differences in how retailers can engage different audiences. Women are generally more receptive to promotions and loyalty programmes and more likely to discover products through personal recommendations and influencers, while men show a stronger preference for premium and established brands and are more likely to discover products through search engines and traditional advertising.

Methodology:

YouGov Profiles is based on continuously collected data through rolling surveys, rather than a single limited questionnaire. Figures are drawn from responses collected between July 2025 and July 2026, using a 52-week dataset updated weekly. Data is nationally representative of adults (18+) in Great Britain and weighted by age, gender, region, education, and social grade.

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