Shopping list use in the United States

Abstract

ABSTRACT Shopping lists are regularly used by most U.S. consumers when they visit supermarkets. Having a list tends to influence shopper behaviors. Industry surveys suggest that demographics can predict who uses lists. However, these conclusions were usually based on simple correlations. Few academic studies, and none in more than 20 years, have used multivariate analysis to profile frequent shopping list users with both demographics and attitude measures. The industry and existing academic studies did not provide a complete profile of list users. Six studies, four store intercept surveys in rural U.S. communities (N = 965) and two national internet panel surveys (N = 1328), were used to test relationships between demographic and attitude measures and list use. None of the demographics were consistently associated with list use. Privacy concerns and impulsivity were important, while region, environmental attitudes, and a proxy measure for risk preferences (birth order) were not consistently significant. The resulting profile may help manufacturers, retailers, and educators better understand this behavior.