A Theory of Grocery Shopping

A timely and unique study of the theories behind food shopping, based on textual analysis and interviews, which reveals how different organisations shape our thinking and behaviour when shopping for a household.

Tackling a neglected part of the story of how food reaches our tables, A Theory of Grocery Shopping links the lived experience of shoppers and retail managers with information from nutritionists, governments, journalists and marketers to provide new insights into the contradictory messages shaping the way we shop for food.

Grocery shopping is an often ignored part of the story of how food ultimately gets to our pantry shelves and tables.

A Theory of Grocery Shopping explores the social organization of grocery shopping by linking the lived experience of grocery shoppers and retail managers in the US with information transmitted by nutritionists, government employees, financial advisors, journalists, health care providers and marketers, who influence the way we think about and perform the work of shopping for a household's food.

The author provides insight into the contradictory messages that shape how consumers provision their households, and details how consumers respond to these messages. The book challenges the consumer choice model that places responsibility on the shopper for making the "right" choice at the grocery store, thereby ignoring the larger social forces at work, which determine what products are available and how they get to the shelves.