Observation: People in Supermarkets

Who knew that everything within a store has been strategically placed to catch your eye? People behave differently within a grocery store depending on what variables they come in with. I currently work in a grocery store with people coming in every minute varying from large groups to a party of one. I wondered why people came in groups or why they came alone. If they came in a group they were often family or it was filled with a few friends. Some people come alone because they possibly have nothing to cook for dinner so they stop by the grocery store to pick a few things to serve, or some people find grocery shopping a relaxing thing to bring relief off of a stressful day. If they are in groups they often are there to catch up and gossip, or there to hang out and grab a few things for the house.
Some people buy different things if they come into the store alone, or with others. For example, I saw that if a person was there alone they tend to buy the generic brand of cookies instead of buying the ‘Chips Ahoy!’ brand.. But if they were in a group they tended to buy the ‘Chips Ahoy!’ brand instead of the generic. Why? It seems as if the person buying the groceries alone is trying to save money, and within a group they appear to want to impress others, making them think the buyer has money to burn. If the person is alone shopping, the duration that they are in the store usually depends on what mood or situation they are in, but often they take their time. I’ll pass by a few customers and greet them saying the usual, “Hey, how are you?”, as they walk slowly through the aisle, enjoying all the colors of the products, stopping to look at products and going at their own pace. As explained in the above paragraph some come to shop to be able to get away from the stresses of life and shop to relax themselves. People buy more groceries than needed when they don’t carry a grocery list inside then when they do. I often see amounts of customers carrying a scrap of