Of these shoppers who purchase off-list items, 66% say the reason was a sale or promotion, 30% say they found a coupon, and 23% say they simply wanted to pamper themselves.

"Our data shows that 61% of off-list shoppers purchase an additional 1-3 items," said Craig Elston, senior vice president, Integer. "This shows that if you reach a particular shopper at the right moment with the right message, for example--using in-store signage to play into their desire to pamper themselves-- it can end with that item being added to their basket."

When it comes to list-making, 61% of shoppers are influenced primarily by the brand of product they currently use; 57% report that coupons influence their list; and 56% say store ads or circulars influence their list. However, when shoppers are making lists, they typically do not write down brand names of a product, they write the product type. This means that although they may have their brand of choice in mind, there are factors that can influence a shopper to select one brand of a product over the other, telling marketers they need not worry that a shopping list excludes certain brands or creates a barrier to purchase.

Data for The Checkout comes from a national survey conducted by Integer and M/A/R/C where consumers are asked about their shopping attitudes, shopping behaviors, and economic outlook.

 From the April 17, 2012, Prepared Foods’ Daily News