The Influence of Shopping Carts on Customer Behavior in Grocery Stores

This study reports on a new procedure for tracking the in-store behavior of customers, observed in two grocery stores located in a metropolitan area of a capital city in Europe. Shopping paths were gathered utilizing disguised human observations recorded on a tablet computer, which enabled the colle...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Marketing (Munich) 2014-01, Vol.36 (3), p.165-175
Main Authors: Wagner, Udo, Ebster, Claus, Eske, Ulrike, Weitzl, Wolfgang
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Abhandlungen
Automobiles
Carts
Consumer behaviour
Consumers
Customers
Design
Grocery stores
Marketing
Parking
Retail stores
Retail trade
Shopping
Supermarkets
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Summary:This study reports on a new procedure for tracking the in-store behavior of customers, observed in two grocery stores located in a metropolitan area of a capital city in Europe. Shopping paths were gathered utilizing disguised human observations recorded on a tablet computer, which enabled the collection of both customer purchases and the locations where the shoppers stopped or parked their carts. The two stores differed with respect to their rather traditional and more modern layouts. This research focuses on the impact of store design on patrons’ shopping cart parking behavior. Customers navigated more freely and conveniently in the modern store. Essentially, it was found that shopping cart parking behavior mediates the relationship between in-store movement and purchase behavior. In particular, shoppers parking carts during their store visit tended to buy more. This effect was more pronounced in the modern, free-flow store layout. In addition, the study presents the typical patterns of shopping behavior in different store areas. The findings are relevant from both a managerial and a methodological perspective.
ISSN:0344-1369
DOI:10.15358/0344-1369_2014_3_165