The narrowing of the gender gap in grocery shopping is just one of recent changes tracked by VideoMining Grocery Shopper Impact MegaStudy.

Women now account for just 51% of grocery store shoppers. However, women still buy more items and spend more than men – on average $2.73 per shopping trip more.

Among the most compelling findings from the survey is the growing trend of customers shopping only in the perimeter of the store, says Richard Hirata, senior vice president of Shopper Science for VideoMining, a company providing in-store behavior analytics services for Consumer Packaged Goods manufacturers and retailers

“While data from 2012 showed that 12% of shoppers limited themselves to the perimeter, that number has grown to 20% today – meaning one in five shoppers don’t shop center store at all,” Hirata observes.

The survey also reveals that 68% of grocery customers are making small trips to the stores, with shoppers buying only 10 items or fewer. This means that manufacturers have a limited opportunity to make it into the basket during the majority of shopping trips, VideoMining points out.

“Between small trips, perimeter-only shoppers and changing shopper demographics, brands must now be increasingly precise in targeting marketing messages and merchandising solutions to reach and convert these harder-to-reach shoppers,” it says.

The study also saw evidence supporting the widespread obervation that more people are doing their grocery shopping in convenience stores, which is particularly true of younger shoppers.

Millennials now make up 42% of all convenience store buyers and are 40% more likely to make a convenience store-driven trip by snacking, VideoMining reports.