The hidden agenda: emotions in grocery shopping

Abstract

In this paper, we demonstrate the complexity of consumer decision-making within the supermarket and use videographic techniques to gain greater insight into this. We propose that grocery shopping, often perceived as a routine behavior, can in fact, become quite complex. The broad pattern emerging from our study was that the less time the participant spent looking at the shelves, the less emotion displayed. Where there was longer time spent, there was also increasing physical interaction with the product and a greater display of mostly negative emotion. We suggest that this presents a conundrum for retailers. Does the lack of emotion indicate little or no commitment to the store and/or brand? Or are they so loyal there is no need for consumer engagement? This exploration suggests that further insight can be gained if the emphasis is on how the consumer interacts with their brands rather than assuming that all grocery decisions are predictive.

Keywords:

• grocery
• emotions
• videography
• brand loyalty
• consumer

Notes

1. Note that all names have been changed.

2. This forms part of the work which led to the award of the Nobel Prize in 2002 ‘for having integrated insights from psychological research into economic science, especially concerning human judgment and decision-making under uncertainty’ (The Nobel Foundation 2002), (Betts and Zinaida 2006).