Wegmans’ newest store in Virginia is located at Hilltop Shopping Center in Alexandria. Normally a busy and crowded grocery store, it is noticeably filled with determined shoppers who are picking up food, snacks and necessities in advance of Hurricane Jouquain. Wegmans was my choice because grocery stores are traditionally busy and crowded in advance of storms. Because I was interested in observing not only what type of shoppers came, but what these shoppers bought. Consequentially, I expected to see lots of people, many mothers, professional men, and women and some children. My purpose was to see how shoppers reacted with a forecast of flooding and how they prepared for the event.
What I witnessed was an orderly shopping experience for all and a quick pace demonstrated by the shoppers. For the most part, customers did not bring a list, they knew what they wanted and they shopped deliberately. They compared prices, knew the size and color that they wanted and chose the items fairly quickly. Nearly everyone seemed to be familiar with the…show more content… They moved with a purpose and they moved from section to section. The checkouts were busy but they moved quickly. People do not really talk to other shoppers and a few looked at me with a raised eyebrow. I told them I was observing. A few asked if I worked for Wegmans. I found it interesting that even though people did not have lists for the most part, they knew exactly what they came in to buy. They bought for a day or two because most people used a small cart. There was a little bit of everything in most carts. Some carts, though, had just wine and/or beer, chips and some deserts. I learned that everyone copes with bad weather and being housebound in different ways. A cart says a lot about a shopper and their family. It tells me if they are snackers, big eaters, serious cooks or have a sweet tooth. Cart contents also told me if the shopper was healthy or not,