Study shows that customers spend less with classic shopping carts because they use different muscles

“It is shocking to know that even a small change in the placement of the knobs can have a significant impact on customer spending,” said Zakaria Estes, professor of marketing at City University Bays School of Business and study leader.

“While Covid drove Black Friday sales significantly in 2020, we can now expect to overtake stores this weekend as consumers look forward to holiday shopping. But merchants seem to be missing out on an opportunity if they want to boost their sales even more.”

After a dip in in-store sales in 2020, Black Friday sales in the UK are now expected to increase by 7.3 per cent year on year, with in-store spending of more than €4 billion. Sales over the entire weekend are expected to exceed 10 billion, a record.

“Conversely, the results of the study could also be very beneficial for consumers because Christmas is just around the corner. If they want to keep their shopping trips to a minimum and buy all their gifts at once, they can work on their biceps to get things done. However, If they want to keep their outlays to a minimum, traditional shopping carts can act as a welcome and unexpected factor to keep unnecessary purchases out of the cart,” Estes said.

The study by Professor Estes and Mathias Streicher, professor in the Department of Management and Marketing at the University of Innsbruck, was published in Marketing Magazine. This article is based on a press release issued by City University London.