Which? commissions BU researchers to explore supermarket shopping behaviour
In early summer 2018 consumer group Which? commissioned members of the Influences on Consumer Behaviour research group to conduct research into how supermarkets are influencing our shopping behaviours. Since much of our behaviour occurs in the subconscious, innovative research was called for to ensure that the real influences were captured.
The team led by Dr. Jeff Bray recruited a shopper to conduct a typical mid-week shop at a range of different kinds of grocery store. The shopper wore the latest SMI Mobile Eyetracking technology during each shopping visit enabling the capture and analysis of shopping habits and the visual cues in-store that were influencing which items or ranges grabbed attention, how the store was shopped and ultimately which products were selected. Each shop was supplemented by qualitative interviews with our shopper, who also joined the analysis of the footage to enable greater richness of understanding.
A summary of the research results has been published in Which? and can be read here.
