BTS Shopping Lists, How Effective Are They?

It's back to school time and that means shopping lists were in full effect the past few weeks to ensure you got all the necessary supplies. These lists are essential when it comes to planning and organizing for back to school shopping. According to the latest CheckOut issue focused on back to school, 62% of shoppers start planning their shopping at least a month in advance.

But how effective is it when you go in store? Sure, you have a list of what you need but do these lists help you navigate the store? Find your supplies within the section? The stresses of navigation and selection are real when it comes to back to school shopping. In fact, The CheckOut also reported that the top priority for 47% of shoppers is to spend the least amount of time shopping for back to school. Is there an opportunity for back to school shopping lists to be more helpful IN the store too? Can back to school learn from other list based shopping events?

I only ask because I have recently been shopping wedding and baby registers. Looking through lists and lists of things to plan what to buy was difficult enough. But when I went in store I realized the shopping experience can be different. Many stores employ the scavenger hunt technique letting the shopper sort through each aisle to find their selections from the SKU list. But some gave me (and other shoppers) a little help. By listing out the department and relative location of the items, the registry list instantly became more manageable. I was able to enjoy the decision making process and actually ended up buying more.

Can retailers adopt this model for back to school to drive more sales in a time when shoppers are looking to save? Can we find ways for lists to add more value in store?

Photo Source: Integer ShopPic^TM