Statistical Bulletin Trn/2005/2
Scottish Household Survey Travel Diary results for 2003
11.1 Table 15 shows the proportion of shopping journeys that were the main household food shopping, for smaller-scale food shopping, or for non-food shopping. 31% of all shopping journeys were for the main food, 30% for smaller amounts of food, and 40% for non-food items. A higher proportion of men's shopping journeys were for non-food items (44% of men's shopping journeys, compared with 37% of women's) and a smaller proportion were for the main food shopping (26% of men's, compared with 33% of women's).
11.2 There was considerable variation in the type of shopping journey made with age. Over half the shopping journeys made by 16-29 year olds were for non-food items, compared with 38-43% of shopping journeys made by 30-69 year olds and 27-32% by those aged 70 and over. Less than a quarter of shopping journeys made by 16-29 year olds were for the main food shopping, compared with approximately a third in all the other age groups. 41% of shopping journeys by those aged 80 and above were for smaller amounts of food, compared with 25-32% in the other age groups.
11.3 51% of shopping journeys on foot were for smaller amounts of food, compared with 38% of shopping journeys by bus and 22% of shopping journeys by car. A higher proportion of shopping journeys in rural areas and "remote" small towns were for the main food shopping (35-43%) compared with urban areas and "accessible" small towns (27-31%). Shopping for non-food items accounted for the highest proportion of shopping journeys in "other" urban areas and "accessible" small towns / rural areas (42-45%, compared with 37% in large urban areas and 29-30% in "remote" areas).
11.4 Table 16 shows that over three quarters of main food shopping journeys were made by car. Almost half of shopping journeys for smaller amounts of food were made by car, and a third on foot. 70% of non-food shopping journeys were made by car. For shopping journeys by car reported by the driver, more than half the journeys for the main food shopping and for non-food shopping were made with at least one passenger. Three-fifths of shopping journeys for smaller amounts of food were made by the driver alone.
11.5 Thursday, Friday and Saturday were the most common days for the main food shopping, with 19-20% of main food shopping journeys made on each of those days, and only 10-11% on each of the other 4 days. Shopping for smaller amounts of food was spread more evenly throughout the week, with 13-18% of such trips made on every day except Sunday (9%). 26% of non-food shopping journeys were made on a Saturday, and 11-14% on each of the other 6 days.