Shopping off the list
I am a list person. I make grocery lists, even if it just contains a few items, because I have a tendency to forget even the simple stuff like milk if it’s not written down.
Now there is a new study, published in the Journal of Consumer Research, that shows that making lists actually leads to more impulse buying. A Duke University study has shown that when we make lists based on memory, we tend to shop off the list, making less-than-great choices.
“We find that consumers who must generate options from memory are more likely to select fun, hedonistic, and sinful options over sensible options or ‘appropriate’ options,” Yuval Rottenstreich of Duke University said in a statement.
Here’s my take on this.
I have always told people that list-making is a good thing. It keeps us from forgetting, and is supposed to keep us from blowing the budget on unnecessary items. I will admit it, though. I do shop off the list frequently. I use both “memory-based” and “stimulus-based” decision-making – I buy both what I have on the list as well as things I see in the store. Is there anything wrong with that? Okay, if what you have on the list is milk, eggs and bread to feed your kids and you end up buying Kool-aid, cookies and potato chips instead, they may have a point. Like anything, I think it has more to do with the person making the list and their impulse control than the list-making itself.
Lists, Grocery Shopping, Making Grocery Lists
May 12th, 2007 at 7:58 pm
Hi Polly.
I’d seen similar post about this research. In this study people made the shopping list but went shopping without the list. This research is more a study of “List in memory vs. List on hand.” I think the basic idea is that if you make a list, don’t go shopping without it.
Well~ I am also a list person. My problem is that the list usually got lost on the way to the store! Finally my hubby made me the program to access the shopping list from cell phone! Happy Mother’s Day present!