New trolleys won’t get a handle on spending

Changing hand position while pushing leads shoppers to spend 25pc more, research finds

‘The handles literally cause us to flex our shopping muscles’

‘Making a small change to the position of handles can have such a large impact on shoppers’ spending’

IT IS usually the offers at supermarket checkouts that lead to unplanned purchases.

But now shopping trolleys could influence our buying decisions.

A study has found that removing the horizontal bar used to push a trolley and adding handles like a wheelbarrow’s could increase retailers’ sales by around 25 per cent.

Researchers from City, University of London and the University of Innsbruck, in Austria, have tested a new design based on the psychology study.

They say their research proves that “triceps activation is associated with rejecting things we don’t like – for example, when we push or hold something away from us – while biceps activation is associated with things we do like – for example, when we pull or hold something close to our body”.

Of 2,359 shoppers surveyed, those using the new trolley bought more products and spent over 25 per cent more than with the standard design – £22 and £29, respectively.

The findings indicate that retailers could boost their profits by providing trolleys with parallel handles, while consumers are likely to exercise more control over their spending if they use the standard design.

The researchers have been in talks with supermarket chains in Austria and the United States about the new design.

Mathias Streicher, assistant professor in strategic management, marketing and tourism at the University of Innsbruck, who patented the design, spoke to manufacturers Wanzl and Systec and Austrian retailer Mpreis, “all of whom have expressed interest”, he said.

However, US chain Walmart was concerned about disability regulations, he added. “But if the parallel handles were combined with the horizontal handlebar, it would be fine on that,” Prof Streicher said.

The Black Friday weekend – yesterday, today and tomorrow – is one of the busiest in the retail calendar, and sales were forecast to break records and surpass £9billion. Figures show that UK consumers account for more than 10 per cent of global online searches over the three days.

This year’s sales are expected to grow by 7.3 per cent, with an estimated £3.4billion likely to be spent in shops, experts say. Study co-author Zachary

Estes, professor of marketing at City’s Bayes Business School, added: “It is shocking to find that making a small change to the position of handles can have such a large impact on shoppers’ spending.

“Indeed, the handles literally cause us to flex our shopping muscles. While Covid-19 heavily affected Black Friday sales in 2020, we can expect stores to be overrun with consumers stocking up ahead of the festive season this coming weekend, yet it appears retailers are missing a trick if they are to boost their sales even further.”

He added: “Conversely, the results of this study may be very useful for consumers, with Christmas just around the corner.

“If shoppers want to minimise their shopping trips and buy their gifts in one go, they can flex their biceps to pull things into their cart. If they wish to minimise spending, standard shopping carts may act as a welcome and unexpected restraint to keep unnecessary purchases out of the cart.”