Can shopping on an empty stomach fuel impulse buys? Here’s the true cost of going to Tesco when hungry
“NEVER go shopping on an empty stomach”, according to the saying – but are you really more likely to splurge on calorific foods or spend more if you are hungry?
Food is the most popular impulse buy, research shows, making up 55 per cent of all snap-decision purchases.
While promotions account for half of this, instant gratification is the motivation behind 40 per cent – meaning shopping while hungry really can make all the difference.
Here Julie Cook, 46, puts the theory to the test.
She shops for breakfast, lunch and dinner, drinks and snacks when ravenous and when she is full up.
She tots up the cost and calories, with staggering results.
SHOPPING WHEN FULL UP
SPENT: £21.39
CALORIES: 1,669
I WENT shopping for the next day’s food just after I’d had a big lunch.
I found I had an almost military attitude to getting in and out of the store.
I planned out what I wanted for the next day and shopped strategically.
A study from the University of Dundee found that when you are hungry you are more biased towards the here and now, and struggle to delay gratification.
The researchers offered study participants an immediate reward of £20 cash or double that amount in future.
The hungry participants were more likely to take the instant reward.
I found a similar pattern when shopping.
When I was full up I thought about the long-term gains of spending less and eating healthier.
BREAKFAST
- Kingsmill half and half loaf, £1.30
- Serving – two slices 206 cals
- Vitalite spread, £2
- Serving – 50 cals
SNACKS
- Blueberries, £2.10
- Serving – 142 cals
- Corn thins, 59p
- Serving – 6 thins, 138 cals
- Yoghurts, £1.20
- Serving – two pots, 139 cals in total
LUNCH
- Homemade soup using the following:
- Peppers mix, £1.79; onion, 14p; tomato puree, 59p; stock cube (from store cupboard)
- Serving – 240 cals
- Bread from Kingsmill loaf
- Serving – two slices, 206 cals
DINNER
- Rocket salad, £1
- Serving – 6.5 cals
- Tomatoes, £1.19
- Serving – 1 tomato, 14 cals
- Cucumber, 89p
- Serving – half, 75 cals
- Salmon, £4.85
- Serving – one fillet, 209 cals
- Watermelon, £3
- Serving – quarter, 37.5 cals
DRINKS
- Sparkling water apple and raspberry, 75p (no cals)
- Evening: two slices toast, 206 cals
SHOPPING WHEN STARVING
SPENT: £26.15
CALORIES: 3,631
ON this day, I’d been out all morning on the school run and doing errands.
I went into the supermarket when I was starving and hadn’t even had breakfast.
I craved anything that was fast, instant and carb-ridden – the bright-coloured packages seemed to cry out to me more than usual.
But it wasn’t just the in-store promotions that got me – I really did crave the more fattening foods.
In 2013 a study found that you choose more calorific foods when you are hungry.
The team from Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, observed shoppers in a virtual study and in a real store.
In both scenarios, participants chose higher calorie items when less full.
Experts say this is because we have evolved to desire these foods after a fast as we crave energy.
This totally makes sense to me. I found myself shovelling desserts, sweets and pastry-heavy items into my basket – I don’t even particularly like pies, but chucked in Ginsters and chicken pie for dinner.
As soon as I left the shop I opened the Haribo, swilling some down with Tango.
I knew deep down that this instant fix would be followed by a sugar coma and dip in energy levels – but in that moment, I did not care.
BREAKFAST
- Nestle Kit Kat cereal, £2.50
- Serving – 1 portion, 252 cals
SNACKS
- Haribo marshmallows, £1.25
- Serving – 1 third bag, 100 cals
- Barratt Mini Flumps, £1.25 – 337 cals
LUNCH
- Ginsters 4-pack pasties, £3.75
- Serving – 2 pasties, 680 calories
- Dairy Milk trifle, £3
- Serving – 1 portion, 220 cals
DINNER
- Finest creamy chicken and garden veg pies, £5.50
- Serving – 1 pie, 636 cals
- Macaroni cheese, £3.25 – 567 cals
- Tiramisu 2 x 85g, £2
- Serving – 1 portion, 382 cals
EVENING
- Cadbury Giant Buttons, £1.65
- Serving – half a bag, 267 cals
DRINKS
- Tango orange original bottle, £2
- Serving – 1 litre, 190 cals
Julie’s verdict
WHEN I went shopping on an empty stomach, I ate 1,962 more calories than on the day I hit the supermarket when I was full – more than twice as many.
I also spent £4.76 more. I had fizzy pop, pasties and sugary sweets left over that meant I was eating unhealthily in the following days.
After the initial hit that I needed to banish the hunger once I had checked out, I didn’t really need or want the rest.
But I had bought it and, of course, didn’t want to waste it.
In future, I will always shop on a full stomach and take a list.
And what you should do instead
NUTRITIONIST Amanda Ursell says: “A clear list and full stomach help your brain ignore marketing tricks to tempt you.
“If diving into shops on your lunch break, or for dinner after work, grab a handful of nuts or even glug a glass of milk before setting off. These higher protein snacks dampen down hunger to keep your mind on healthy choices and off impulse snacks.
“Drink water before shopping. Being thirsty makes us tired, irritable, and snappy; all of which up the chances of throwing a sugar-rich snack into the basket to calm ourselves down.
“Hungry, thirsty children exert pester power. When shopping with kids, give them a filling snack and water before heading out to tame their nagging for crisps, cakes and biscuits.”