How Do You Shop?

[Barbara L]

It's weird what kinds of thoughts go through one's mind when first waking up. Many mornings I wake up with a song in my head, and very often if I turn the radio on that song is playing! Anyway, that is not what I am writing about.

The thought in my head this morning was the order in which one goes through the grocery store. When doing your full grocery shopping (not just running in for one or two things) do you follow a certain order? Does the arrangement of the store determine how you shop or do you disregard the way it is set up?

I generally start in the produce section, admittedly because it is the first section as I enter the store. Then I go up the canned/packaged goods aisles, starting on one end and working my way down each. Then I get my meat, then dairy, and finally my frozen foods. James thinks I'm strange for doing that, since I have to kind of go around the perimeter of the store to get all the cold stuff. He says nothing will be in the cart long enough to worry about them warming up, but I just don't like getting my cold stuff until I have everything else.

So, how do you shop?

Barbara

 

[sattie]

Hi Barbara, Happy Thanksgiving!!!

First off I will say that I HATE shopping and avoid it at all costs except when it comes to grocery shopping. Any shopping apart from that is meaningful shopping, that is I know what I need to get, go in get it and leave!

Now for grocery shopping, I have two methods. 1st method is to comb the entire store, aisle by aisle usually starting with produce and ending with frozen goods. However one local grocery store is backwards in my opinion and it starts with frozen goods and ends with produce... am I going in the wrong way???? HA HA! I group my cold stuff together so it will stay cold. Like you Barbara, I try to save the cold stuff for last so that it does not have much time to thaw or lose temp.

The 2nd method I use for shoping is the quickie method. I don't do the entire shopping spree, but I do go through the entire store by either going down the main center asile and poking into each sub asile to get my goods. If there is not a center asile, I usually head to the back of the store and run down that asile and grab stuff that way.

The 1st method of shopping usually ends up in a $100 to $150 shopping trip, 2nd method usually gets me out under $75. But with far less goodies!!!

 

[Loprraine]

I start with the section closest to the "In" door. That's the cheese counter, bakery, fresh produce, fish. then meat. Then, I only go up and down the aisles if there's something on my list in them. I can be done in 15 minutes. OTOH, if I go to a new store, such as Harris Teeter's a few weeks ago, well, we probably spent an 1 1/2 hours going up and down every aisle, and some twice.

 

[Barbara L]

The 2nd method I use for shoping is the quickie method. I don't do the entire shopping spree, but I do go through the entire store by either going down the main center asile and poking into each sub asile to get my goods. If there is not a center asile, I usually head to the back of the store and run down that asile and grab stuff that way.

I do the quickie method too when I can. I usually don't need to go down every aisle and will just look down some aisles and then go on to the next. They are remodeling my main grocery store now though, and I have to go down all the aisles just to find where everything is. I hate when they do that!

Barbara

 

[sattie]

I hate that too Barbara... then they have the odacity to ask you as you are checking out, "Did you find everything ok???" Like if you were to say "no", what could they do to fix it? "NO, it only took me 15 minutes to find the friggin cooking oil!!!"

One store near by did not even remodel, I think they just moved everything around just to mess with us!!! LOL!

 

[jpmcgrew]

It's weird what kinds of thoughts go through one's mind when first waking up. Many mornings I wake up with a song in my head, and very often if I turn the radio on that song is playing! Anyway, that is not what I am writing about.

The thought in my head this morning was the order in which one goes through the grocery store. When doing your full grocery shopping (not just running in for one or two things) do you follow a certain order? Does the arrangement of the store determine how you shop or do you disregard the way it is set up?

I generally start in the produce section, admittedly because it is the first section as I enter the store. Then I go up the canned/packaged goods aisles, starting on one end and working my way down each. Then I get my meat, then dairy, and finally my frozen foods. James thinks I'm strange for doing
that, since I have to kind of go around the perimeter of the store to get all the cold stuff. He says nothing will be in the cart long enough to worry about them warming up, but I just don't like getting my cold stuff until I have everything else.

So, how do you shop?

Barbara

Thats what I do.I also make my list in the order Im going.All dairy in one group,vegies etc all catagorized.Alot of the time I leave cart at end of aisle and just walk down it to get what I want.

 

[auntdot]

Used to work in supermarkets as a kid and have been amazed how little the lay outs have changed over the years.

But when I think of it, why should a store change?

People want to feel comfortable. They recently changed a food chain in our area and it is very confusing to walk about. Have heard many complaints about the place just because of the layout.

And if folks don't feel comfortable, they don't go there.

Just my take on things.

 

[lulu]

Well, for a start I omit LOADS of aisles because I don't buy any preprepared food, any crisps/snacks etc and very rarely confectionary! I mainly buy tins and storecupboard stuff at the supermarket, but n the occasions I do a full week shop there I too start in produce. I write a shopping list but go wih a pen. I try to buy seasonally, which often means lessexpensively...bt sometimes special offers mean that I make a quick reshuffle to the list. So, after fresh produce, I go to meats, again, a special offer might change the menus for the week, that done I nip down the other aisles I might need and then get out QUICKLY!

I am really concious of bying the cold stuff last when I'm living in a city and using public transport: in the car it doesn't really matter to me.

 

[texasgirl]

I start at the same end everytime. I used to make my list by that also, but, now, I make it going by dairy, drinks, dinners, sides, laundry/dishes and then toiletries.

 

[Bilby]

I hate that too Barbara... then they have the odacity to ask you as you are checking out, "Did you find everything ok???" Like if you were to say "no", what could they do to fix it? "NO, it only took me 15 minutes to find the friggin cooking oil!!!"

Gee it would be a very brave store to ask its customers that over here!!!!!

I know that I should save the cold stuff till last but I often hate the backtracking so just do it in the order that I hit it. As to where I start, depends on where the entrance is, mostly though it is at the fruit and veg section. I normally try to do my canned foods first but I don't go down every aisle, only those I definitely want something from and those that have things that I occasionally want and so just scan for specials or new products. I then head to the meat section cos the bits I want go quickly and are limited supply. This puts me in the middle of the store so it varies as to whether I head to the fruit and veges or the frozen goods and dairy.

I don't as a rule do luxury shopping like clothes etc so I make the most of my grocery shopping. I work from a specials list and a needs list. Things aren't such a great standard where I shop locally but it is a fair hike to get to the better suburbs to get the better quality stuff. Now I find that my local store is getting rid of more of my favourite products cos Forrestfield has a narrow demographic which apparantly means narrow tastebuds too! Very depressing.

 

[Michael in FtW]

I start on Wednesday night by going over all the ads that come in the mail and then plan my menu for the week and make my list by catagories, and make a note if I want something from a particular store (and write down the price so I know the lowest advertised price for that item) - that way it doesn't matter which store I go to ... I'm organized even if they aren't!

Generally, because of the way the stores are laid out, I look at the produce first to see what they have that I want and can make a note if I'll have to get something frozen or canned - then move on to hard/heavy stuff (cans/boxes/bags/etc.). Then, frozen foods, meat, dairy, eggs, and back to produce and bakery/bread.

In the summer, if I'm going to more than 1 store or a store more than about 5 miles away, I put an ice chest in the trunk of my car with a couple of reusable ice packs.

For the past 13 years, when I lived on the west side town, I would make a circuit of 5 stores ... and I really shopped and knew which store had the best prices on which items. Central Market was out of the loop - so that was a special trip for special items - but it was still only a couple of miles away and worth the trip for fresh produce and meats I couldn't find anywhere else. Now that I've moved to the northeast part of town - I don't have 5 stores within a 3-miles radius ... it would be about 15-miles to make a circuit of the same stores (and the traffic is horrendious over here) ... so I just mainly shop at WalMart wihich is just about a mile away. I'll still go over to Central Market but not as ofter since it's a 45-mile round trip. But - the Asian market is on this side of town so I'm sure I'll be visiting it a little more often now that it's not a 30-mile round trip.

And, yeah, I'm a cheap old coot .... I figure in the cost of gas as part of the cost of the food ....

 

[Barbara L]

But when I think of it, why should a store change?

People want to feel comfortable. They recently changed a food chain in our area and it is very confusing to walk about. Have heard many complaints about the place just because of the layout.

And if folks don't feel comfortable, they don't go there.

My thoughts exactly! As I said, our local Food Lion is remodeling. They have decided to make everything look fancy, including putting a lot of the produce on these little carts. It is harder to find things now (not just in produce), because they seem to be more worried about aesthetics now than making things convenient for the consumers. Not surprisingly, they seem to have raised the prices of an awful lot of things as they moved them around.

Barbara

 

[Gossie]

I generally start in the produce section, admittedly because it is the first section as I enter the store. Then I go up the canned/packaged goods aisles, starting on one end and working my way down each. Then I get my meat, then dairy, and finally my frozen foods. James thinks I'm strange for doing that, since I have to kind of go around the perimeter of the store to get all the cold stuff. He says nothing will be in the cart long enough to worry about them warming up, but I just don't like getting my cold stuff until I have everything else.

James has obviously never been in a long line with ice cream melting all over other groceries.

 

[Barbara L]

James has obviously never been in a long line with ice cream melting all over other groceries.

LOL He also forgets that the food also has to make it home in the car (not bad in the winter but the summer can really be bad for frozen food in the trunk), and sometimes things can come up to keep us from getting home right away!

Barbara

 

[Gossie]

I worked in a grocery store too. There are two major reasons for moving certain items. One being which product bought the shelf space, and two, if something is not moving and they need to get it out of there w/o losing money.

That being said, it makes me mad when I've gone in there for one or two items, knowing exactly where they are, and they changed them to different aisles, and what would have taken five minutes, takes close to half an hour. Which bring to a third reason for moving stuff. If they move it around and you have to look for it, they figure you will pick up a couple of extra items that you wouldn't have even seen if you went in for just a quickie pickup (knowing exactly where you're headed). Isn't shopping fun? LOL

 

[Gossie]

LOL He also forgets that the food also has to make it home in the car (not bad in the winter but the summer can really be bad for frozen food in the trunk), and sometimes things can come up to keep us from getting home right away!

Speaking of that, about two weeks ago, I opened a package of frozen broccoli (name brand), and it smelled like vinegar. Either that is how they clean their broccoli and something happened in the rinse afterwards. Or someone was going to get frozen broccoli and at the register decided they weren't going to get it, and it sat and a employee put it back (thawed and refrozen). OR maybe I didn't get home in time to save it. LoL Whatever the case, not worth the gas money to back and replace it. Summer or winter, always good to do the meat shopping and dairy 2nd to last and the frozen foods last.

I love the 24 hour grocery stores, it's so peaceful shopping in the middle of the night, and groceries don't thaw. My DH has gotten so used to me saying, let's do the stuff on the OTHER side of the store and come back and get the meat last.

 

[Bilby]

Our Woolworths chain of stores has free maps out by the entrance so that you can find things quickly. Only trouble is they don't always name things in the obvious manner. Their aisle labels are shocking though, so you need a map to go in there.

 

[Gossie]

We used to have a Woolworths here, but it wasn't a grocery store. It was more of a five and dime.

 

[Bilby]

Woolies here is one of our big two grocery chains. They also have a discount store (Big W) and petrol stations (Caltex) as well as smaller businesses. Trade as Safeways in the East. I don't esp like them but they have better f&v than Coles or IGA so if i want something different or need specials, I'll head there. Going there tomorrow.

 

[Gossie]

We have IGA's around here, not as close as the others which are closer. Safeways in California.

A couple of our grocers have gas stations as well.