Shopping list explained

A shopping list is a list of items needed to be purchased by a shopper. Consumers often compile a shopping list of groceries to purchase on the next visit to the grocery store (a grocery list). There are surviving examples of Roman^[1] and Bible-era^[2] shopping lists.

The shopping list itself may be simply a scrap piece of paper or something more elaborate. There are pads with magnets for keeping an incremental list available at the home, typically on the refrigerator, but any magnetic clip with scraps of paper can be used to achieve the same result. There is even a specific device that dispenses a strip of paper from a roll for use in a shopping list. Some shopping carts come with a small clipboard to fit shopping lists on.

Psychology

Use of shopping lists may be correlated to personality types. There are "demographic differences between list and non list shoppers; the former are more likely to be female, while the latter are more likely to be childless."^[3] Remembering a shopping list is a standard experiment in psychology.^[4] Shopping with a list is a commonly employed behavioral weight loss guideline designed to reduce food purchases and therefore food consumption. Studies are divided on the effectiveness of this technique.^{[5] [6]}

Some studies show approximately 40% of grocery shoppers use shopping lists,^[7] while other studies show 61–67% use lists.^[8] Of the items listed, 80% were purchased. However, listed items only accounted for 40% of total items purchased.^[9] Use of shopping lists clearly impact shopping behaviour:^[10] "Written shopping lists significantly reduce average expenditure."^[11]

Incremental lists

The list may be compiled immediately before the shopping trip or incrementally as shopping needs arise throughout the week. Incremental lists typically have no structure and new items are added to the bottom of the list as they come up. If the list is compiled immediately before use, it can be organized by store layout (e.g. frozen foods are grouped together on the list) to minimize time in the store. Preprinted lists can be similarly organized.

See also

• Checklist, a job aid used for repetitive tasks or procedures
• To do list, a list or "backlog" of pending tasks

Notes and References

1. Web site: Roman shopping list deciphered. 5 March 2001. ABC News . 18 June 2018.
2. Web site: Ancient shopping lists point to widespread Bible-era literacy . O'Grady, Cathleen. 2016-04-15. Ars Technica. 2016-04-15.
3. Thomas, W., & Garland, R. . Grocery shopping: Why take a list to the supermarket? . ANZMAC98 Conference . 2603–17 . University of Otago . November–December 1998 . Dunedin, NZ . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20070702054716/http://smib.vuw.ac.nz:8081/www/ANZMAC1998/Cd_rom/Thomas102.pdf . July 2, 2007 .
4. Giuliana Mazzoni . Remembering the Grocery Shopping List: a Study on Metacognitive Biases . Appl Cogn Psychol . 11 . 3 . 253–67 . 1997. 10.1002/(sici)1099-0720(199706)11:3<253::aid-acp454>3.0.co;2-0.
5. Beneke WM . Davis CH . Relationship of hunger, use of a shopping list and obesity to food purchases . Int J Obes . 9 . 6 . 391–9 . 1985 . 3830932 .
6. Beneke WM . Davis CH . Vander Tuig JG . Effects of a behavioral weight-loss program food purchases: instructions to shop with a list . Int J Obes . 12 . 4 . 335–42 . 1988 . 3198311 .
7. Web site: thestar.com | The Star | Canada's largest daily. thestar.com. June 10, 2019.
8. http://smib.vuw.ac.nz:8081/www/ANZMAC1998/Cd_rom/Thomas102.pdf Art Thomas and Ron Garland, Grocery shopping: Why take a list to the supermarket?
9. Lauren G. Block . Vicki G. Morwitz . Shopping Lists as an External Memory Aid for Grocery Shopping: Influences on List Writing and List Fulfillment . Journal of Consumer Psychology . 8 . 4 . 343–75 . 1999 . 1480440 . 10.1207/s15327663jcp0804_01. 10.1.1.357.9751 .
10. Thomas, A . Garland, B R. . amp . Grocery shopping: list and non-list usage . Marketing Intelligence & Planning . 22 . 6 . 623–35 . 2004 . 10.1108/02634500410559015.
11. Art Thomas . Ron Garland . Supermarket shopping lists: their effect on consumer expenditure . International Journal of Retail & Distribution Management . 21 . 2 . 1993 .