Why Do Female Shoppers Use More Plastic Bags

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Discussion This study was conducted to determine if in a natural setting, female grocery shoppers would use more bags than men. Additionally, this study was conducted to determine if shoppers with more plastic bags used a higher quantity of bags than shoppers with reusable bags. The first hypothesis approached significance and was consistent with the prediction. Different patterns were observed between the two sexes. It was found that female shoppers used more bags than male shoppers. Male shoppers used less bags than female shoppers did. Past research presented consistent results regarding sex of female driver (Kruger & Byker, 2009). The current study’s findings were yet another variation on this and support the gender stereotype that women buy more items when shopping than men do. One possibility that could explain this is that many of the female shoppers had children with them. Another possibility is that the study was conducted around Thanksgiving. The second hypothesis approached significance and was consistent with the prediction. Different patterns were observed between the types of bags. It was found that shoppers with plastic bags have a higher …show more content…

Consistent with past research, this study suggested that women used more bags when grocery shopping than men. Further research should be conducted on this topic. One suggestion would be to observe additional variables including the number of people the shopper has in his or her group while shopping and the race of the shopper. This study would then be able to determine if these variables have any influence on grocery shopping behavior. Another suggestion would be to conduct the observations at a grocery store that offered free reusable bags. This study would allow for more variation in the number of reusable bags observed during a naturalistic

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