Health
About that Shopping List
Few things are as irritating as walking into the supermarket only to realize the shopping list is still on the kitchen table. Britain's Somerfield store says it has a solution -- providing a replacement list as you walk in the door.
Store officials conducted a study of the top 10 items on the "forgotten" list. "Having spoken to people, we realized it was the same old things that were constantly being forgotten," says spokesman Carole Baker. The list includes toilet paper, toothpaste, foil, dishwashing liquid, cooking oil, milk, pet food, light bults, laundry soap and tea or coffee.
Baker says one problem is shoppers minus their lists "are being distracted by more interesting things" -- which is why shopping baskets wind up loaded with items on Somerfield's second list: 10 top things we never forget. Topping this one is beer, followed by wine, potato chips, cookies, cakes, baked beans, pizzas, ice cream, chocolate, cheese, fruit and vegetables.
"People tend to forget the boring things," such as toilet paper and toothpaste, says consumer psychologist Sue Keane. "They may be essential, but they are not in the aisles which shoppers consider exciting" -- so they head for the frozen food area, for example, because it is "eye-catching, colorful and stimulating."
Store officials conducted a study of the top 10 items on the "forgotten" list. "Having spoken to people, we realized it was the same old things that were constantly being forgotten," says spokesman Carole Baker. The list includes toilet paper, toothpaste, foil, dishwashing liquid, cooking oil, milk, pet food, light bults, laundry soap and tea or coffee.
Baker says one problem is shoppers minus their lists "are being distracted by more interesting things" -- which is why shopping baskets wind up loaded with items on Somerfield's second list: 10 top things we never forget. Topping this one is beer, followed by wine, potato chips, cookies, cakes, baked beans, pizzas, ice cream, chocolate, cheese, fruit and vegetables.
"People tend to forget the boring things," such as toilet paper and toothpaste, says consumer psychologist Sue Keane. "They may be essential, but they are not in the aisles which shoppers consider exciting" -- so they head for the frozen food area, for example, because it is "eye-catching, colorful and stimulating."
