Insights from visual search science help us better understand why finding a product can be challenging, even when shoppers have a general idea of where it's supposed to be. These insights also clarify how in-store navigation can help.
Grocery shopping largely involves visual search tasks. Shoppers search for a specific target (a product on a shopping list) among numerous distractions (all the other products in the store). Visual search science shows that as the number of distractors increases, finding the target becomes more difficult and time-consuming. This explains why grocery stores, with tens of thousands of different products, can be challenging places to locate specific items.
Surprisingly, we see grocery shoppers spending a considerable amount of time searching, both when they’re in the right place and when they’re in the wrong place. This aligns with findings from visual search science, which indicate that when the target is not present, people spend more time checking and rechecking to ensure that the target is truly not there.
But even when shoppers are in the right aisle and in front of the correct shelf, they sometimes fail to locate the product due to the large number of distractors. Their search may not be effective because they still have doubts about whether they’re in the right place. In-store navigation help in such situations. Once shoppers receive guidance on where to find a product, confirmation bias sets in, and they subconsciously prioritize information that aligns with the guidance. Shoppers become more attuned to signs, displays, and product placements in the suggested location. This selective attention helps confirm the initial belief about the product’s location. It’s as if the brain is saying, "I’ve been told that the product is here, so I'll focus on finding it here.” This mental filter reduces distractions and increases the likelihood of quickly spotting the desired item.
