Almost half of all chief female shoppers - those who do more than 60 percent of their household's grocery shopping -- said price-related offerings such as lowest everyday prices, best advertised specials, and store coupons were most important to them in deciding where to spend their grocery dollars, according to a new study from Baltimore-based marketing research firm Vertis Communications.

It's a different story for most men. Vertis' "2008 Customer Focus" found that while price-related offerings are important to approximately 30 percent of chief male shoppers, 41 percent of male shoppers aged 18-34 value convenience -- such as proximity to home and work -- more than any other factor.

"Recently, we revealed through our 2008 Customer Focus findings that 47 percent of adults feel advertising inserts best capture their attention over any other medium," said Scott Marden, director of marketing research for Vertis Communications.  "This new set of data regarding chief female shoppers is further evidence that marketers can ensure the largest return on investment by devoting dollars to solid advertising insert campaigns targeting male and female shoppers of varying ages."

According to the findings, 48 percent of women aged 35 to 49 who do more than 60 percent of the grocery shopping value these offerings, as do 47 percent of chief female shoppers aged 50 and older, and 46 percent of chief women shoppers age 18-34. 

Additionally the study found that 22 percent of Hispanic household decision makers prefer super-sized grocery outlets over any other super discount, wholesale, or regular discount store, compared to just 15 percent of non-Hispanic household decision makers. 

Selection and quality ranked third behind price and convenience for almost all age groups. Also, the best quality food overall was important to only 1 percent of total adults.

Customer Focus is Vertis Communications' proprietary annual study tracking consumer behavior across a wide variety of industry segments - retail, grocery, home improvement, fashion, home electronics, sporting goods, furniture, technology, auto aftermarket, and media (including advertising inserts, direct marketing, and the Internet).