The heterogeneity of shoppers’ supermarket behaviors based on the use of carrying equipment

Abstract

Research on in-store behavior has largely focused on shoppers with carts. In a study involving 15 stores and a total of 3540 shoppers, we document that only 20 percent of shoppers actually use shopping carts, while 28 percent use baskets and 51 percent use no carrying equipment. To better understand the role of carrying equipment, we collected data in a second study from 635 complete shopping trips using behavioral tracking technology and systematic sampling. We show that there is important heterogeneity in in-store behavior related to equipment and that carrying equipment is a suitable variable for segmenting shoppers. It is an objective and observable measure that consistently explains the variance in travel distance, shopping duration, store area coverage, walking speed, basket size, and shopper efficiency. We also find non-equipment trips to be least efficient, despite their popularity. The findings have implications for both research and retail practices.