Consumer Behavior Field Study

Kendra Cunningham is a 26 year old single mother of one child. She works fulltime for the federal government and goes to school fulltime. With three full time responsibilities (work, school and being a mother) she is only able to go to one grocery store once a week. Since she is only able to grocery shop once a week and is limited with time she grocery shops at the local Super Wal-Mart. During the week Kendra is not able to shop and loves to spend her Saturdays relaxing and pampering herself. Sunday Morning is designated for grocery shopping for the household.

Super Wal-Mart in Laurel, MD has two main entrances in which one was closed during the early am hours. The parking lot had a few cars in it but not many. Kendra entered thru the grocery side entrance 7:00am Sunday morning. Entering the first set of automatic doors you see shopping carts. She had to go thru three shopping carts before she got one that moved smoothly without rattling. When entering the store you walk right into the produce items (fresh vegetables and fruits). During this time of the morning all produce are fully stocked and smell great. She did not want to start with the front of the store she traveled down the main isle all the way to the back. On the left side of the main isle were grocery items and on the right were personal household items (medicine, body wash, toothpaste etc). The main isle was cluttered with promotional items that were passed by without even taking a second look. During the shopping experience I did observe that she did purchases all brand items. The items that were purchased seemed to be weekly items that are routine purchases. She did not shop based on price or with coupons. Most items were easy fix items such as household snacks, cereal, instant potatoes, frozen vegetables, etc.

The overall appearance was ok but did seem cluttered at times with promotional items in the middle of the isle. Super Wal-Mart also had a warehouse feel with a combination of a department store which also can be a little bit unwelcoming and not cozy. The store was fully staffed but the employees didn’t seem very inviting and welcoming. Kendra was an in and out person; she knew what she was coming for and got