Data: figures with source and method, ready to cite. Interpretation and advice are in the Knowledge section.
Who decides on everyday shopping in Polish homes: CBOS data by age
In most Polish homes, spending on food and cleaning products is decided jointly. After the age of 65, the woman alone decides as often as the couple does. Figures from a CBOS survey of July 2026, together with what cannot be read from them.
Ordinary spending, such as on food and cleaning products, is decided jointly by the woman and the man in 61 percent of Polish households, by the woman alone in 35 percent and by the man alone in 5 percent. Among respondents over 65, 49 percent name the woman alone and 46 percent joint decisions. In the 45–54 and 55–64 groups, 34 percent each name the woman. The data come from a survey by CBOS (Public Opinion Research Centre, Poland) carried out on 2–12 July 2026 on a representative sample of 938 adult residents of Poland. The question was put to people from households with at least two adults.
Who decides on spending on food and household chemicals in a Polish home?
In most homes, both partners. CBOS asked: “Who usually decides on ordinary expenses in your household, for example on food and cleaning products?”. The answer “it varies or jointly” was chosen by 61 percent of respondents, the woman alone by 35 percent and the man alone by 5 percent.
Compared with larger expenses, the share of the woman alone is almost three times higher here. In the same survey, the woman alone decides on buying a washing machine or a television in 13 percent of homes, the man in 9 percent, and 78 percent decide jointly.
womanmanit varies or jointly
Values in percent, in the order of the legend. A row may differ from 100 by one point due to rounding. Source: CBOS, July 2026, full figures in the table below.
| Respondent group | Woman | Man | It varies or jointly | Number of respondents | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| All | 35% | 5% | 61% | 793 | CBOS, July 2026 |
| 45–54 | 34% | 2% | 64% | 157 | CBOS, July 2026 |
| 55–64 | 34% | 8% | 57% | 113 | CBOS, July 2026 |
| 65 and over | 49% | 4% | 46% | 174 | CBOS, July 2026 |
| Women answering | 43% | 2% | 55% | 402 | CBOS, July 2026 |
| Men answering | 26% | 7% | 67% | 391 | CBOS, July 2026 |
The rows come from annex table 16 of CBOS report No. 93/2026. In the questionnaire, the category “woman” covers the respondent herself, a wife, partner, mother, sister and other female relative, and the category “man” the corresponding men in the family.
After 65, is it the woman who decides on shopping?
That is what almost half of respondents in this age group say. The woman alone accounts for 49 percent of answers, joint decisions for 46 percent, the man alone for 4 percent. In the younger groups, joint decisions clearly prevail: 64 percent in the 45–54 group and 57 percent in the 55–64 group.
The author of the report says this directly: people aged 65 and over share decisions on ordinary and larger expenses less often than younger people, and more often the deciding voice belongs to women. For larger expenses, the woman alone appears in 22 percent of answers in this group; for ordinary ones, in 49 percent.
In the CBOS survey of July 2025, described in the dataset on larger expenses, the same age group gave 25 percent of answers naming the woman. That question was worded differently and also covered people living alone, so we do not read the two results as a change over one year.
of homes where both partners decide on spending on food and cleaning products, CBOS
of respondents over 65 name the woman as the person who decides
of respondents aged 55–64 say the man does the everyday shopping
Who does the shopping in homes of people over fifty?
Not always the same person who decides. CBOS asked separately who usually does the everyday shopping. Overall, 57 percent of respondents say it varies or is done jointly, 28 percent say the woman, 16 percent the man.
The biggest gap between doing the shopping and deciding on it appears in the 55–64 group. There, 22 percent of respondents name the man as the person who does the everyday shopping, and 8 percent as the person who decides on ordinary expenses. In the 45–54 group it is 13 versus 2 percent, and after 65, 16 versus 4 percent.
| Respondent group | Woman | Man | It varies or jointly | Number of respondents | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| All | 28% | 16% | 57% | 793 | CBOS, July 2026 |
| 45–54 | 33% | 13% | 54% | 158 | CBOS, July 2026 |
| 55–64 | 24% | 22% | 54% | 113 | CBOS, July 2026 |
| 65 and over | 33% | 16% | 52% | 173 | CBOS, July 2026 |
The rows come from annex table 7 of the same report.
Who decides what's for dinner?
This is the only decision in the survey where the woman alone is ahead of joint arrangements: 51 percent versus 44 percent overall. After 65, 61 percent of respondents name the woman, in the 45–54 group 57 percent, in the 55–64 group 49 percent.
How has this changed since 2004?
Decisions on everyday spending are made jointly more and more often. In 2013, 46 percent of respondents named the woman alone, in 2018 38 percent, in 2026 35 percent. Joint decisions rose over this period from 47 to 56 and then to 61 percent.
For doing the shopping itself, the change is bigger and goes further back. In 2004 the woman alone did the everyday shopping in 59 percent of homes, in 2018 in 36 percent, in 2026 in 28 percent. The share of homes where shopping is done jointly or in turns rose from 29 to 52 and then to 57 percent.
All CBOS values come from one survey: „Aktualne problemy i wydarzenia” [“Current problems and events”] (435), 2–12 July 2026, a named sample of adult residents of Poland drawn from the PESEL national population register, 938 interviews in three modes chosen by the respondent (face-to-face, telephone and online). The questions about duties and decisions were put only to people from households with at least two adults. The annex tables give a base of 793 people for them.
These are statements about one's own home, not observation of purchases. The question refers to “ordinary expenses, for example on food and cleaning products”, so it describes who settles the budget for everyday shopping. The survey says nothing about who chooses a particular brand of yoghurt. Age in the tables is the age of the person who answered, not of all household members. The CBOS brackets do not add up to a 50+ group, which is why we do not give a result “for 50+” here.
The age subgroups range from 113 to 174 people, and the report does not publish a margin of error for them. Differences of a few points between neighbouring groups are not certain. The author of the report describes the difference between the 65+ group and younger people as an effect of age. It should also be remembered that women and men describe the same home differently: women name the woman in 43 percent of cases, men in 26 percent.
Because the sample contains no single-person households, the answer “woman” in the 65+ group does not describe a woman who lives alone. It may, however, describe a daughter or daughter-in-law in a multi-generational home, because the questionnaire counts her as an “other female relative”. The report's tables do not separate these cases.
What does this change in a campaign for everyday products aimed at people over 50?
This part is our interpretation. The survey ends with the figures above.
In homes of people under 65, the basket is usually discussed by two people, and in the 55–64 group the man carries that basket more often than he decides on it. The packaging and the shelf therefore often reach someone who carries out decisions rather than makes them. A message meant to work in the shop has to be clear to that person too.
After 65 the pattern is different. In almost half of homes the woman decides on the budget for food and household chemicals, and in six out of ten she decides on dinner. The shopping list comes from the menu, so for food products the second question is closer to the shelf than the first. We have already described the 60+ group from the money side: according to YouGov, it accounts for about 25 percent of FMCG spending in Poland (one in four złoty). The age boundaries in the two surveys are different, so we do not multiply these figures together. Together they say this much: in the group that spends a large part of the money in FMCG, the woman alone decides on the everyday basket roughly as often as the couple does.
Sources
Fundacja Centrum Badania Opinii Społecznej [Public Opinion Research Centre Foundation, CBOS], Komunikat z badań nr 93/2026 „O podziale obowiązków domowych” [Research report No. 93/2026, “On the division of household duties”], prepared by Małgorzata Omyła-Rudzka, September 2026, figures 1, 2, 5 and 6 and annex tables 7, 16, 17 and 18 - cbos.pl
YouGov, „Silver – generacja przyszłości” [“Silver – the generation of the future”] (YouGov Shopper), published 14 September 2026; the publisher did not give the sample size or the data collection period - yougov.com
We share this dataset under the CC BY 4.0 licence. Please cite it as: silver-marketing.pl, Silver TV, with a link to this page. For the figures on decisions in households, the original publisher is CBOS, and it is worth citing it directly.
Quick answers
Who decides on everyday shopping in Polish households?
Most often both partners. According to CBOS in July 2026, ordinary spending, for example on food and cleaning products, is decided jointly in 61 percent of households, by the woman alone in 35 percent and by the man alone in 5 percent.
Do people over 65 decide on shopping differently from younger people?
Yes. In this group, 49 percent of respondents name the woman alone as the person who decides on ordinary expenses, and 46 percent name joint decisions. In the 45–54 and 55–64 groups joint decisions clearly prevail.
Is the person who does the shopping the same one who decides on it?
Not always. In the 55–64 group, 22 percent of respondents say the man does the everyday shopping, but only 8 percent say the man decides on ordinary expenses.
Is there a result for the whole 50+ group?
No. CBOS gives the brackets 45–54, 55–64 and 65 and over. Building a result for the 50+ group from them would require individual-level data, which the report does not publish.
silver-marketing.pl is published by Silver TV — internet television for viewers aged 50+ in Poland. On the channel's website we describe how we run campaigns with brands that want to talk to this audience.
Silver TV for partners