Christmas food shop takes nearly two hours and three trips to the supermarket

SWNS

The big Christmas food shop takes nearly two hours – and three separate trips to the supermarket, research has revealed. A poll of 2,000 adults who celebrate Christmas found despite their best efforts, they will still end up forgetting something.  With many having had to dash out for milk (19 per cent), bread (15 per cent) and potatoes (12 per cent) at the last minute.  It also emerged almost half of Brits (47 per cent) find the in-person supermarket food shop over Christmas a stressful experience, with 18 per cent claiming they would prefer to scrub the bathroom floor.  Laura Harricks, Ocado chief customer officer, which commissioned the research, said: “It’s fascinating to see the results of the research and just how much of a difference it can make to seasonal stress levels.

Transcript

00:00Christmas, a wonderful time of year filled with joy and goodwill.

00:05However, Christmas food shopping, that's a whole different story.

00:10Ooh, just it's so busy.

00:13Having to negotiate people all the time with a trolley.

00:16But come on, just how stressful can it really be?

00:19To find out the true toll it can take, heart rate monitors have been strapped to a test group of 20 people.

00:25They're being tasked to do the same Christmas shop both online and in store.

00:29Their physiological responses will be tracked as they tick things off a typical Christmas shopping list.

00:34An additional pressure of a time and a budget limit has also been added.

00:38Stress detectors fitted, we release them into the wild.

00:42All of the shoppers have been given the same Christmas list to shop for.

00:46The task will be timed to see how long they take.

00:50Let's do it.

00:52I'm just in the shop, everyone's hustling, hustling.

00:54I can feel my heart going crazy.

00:57They are playing Christmas music, which isn't helping, I have to say.

01:03The contrast is striking.

01:05In the supermarket, we see elevated heart rates and signs of physical and emotional strain.

01:10Typical in high pressure environments.

01:13Online, however, participants displayed steady heart rates, suggesting a significantly calmer and more relaxed experience.

01:20More like what you might get when interacting with your pet.

01:24The data is in and science has spoken.

01:27But what does it all mean, Professor?

01:29Consistent with the heart rate data, the shoppers reported feeling extremely stressed and overwhelmed when shopping in store.

01:36For some of the participants, doing the shop in store saw their heart rates reach similar levels to if they were watching a horror film.

01:43Or even interviewing for a new job.

01:45I need a gin and tonic now after that shop.

01:48Well, as they say, the proof is well and truly in the pudding.

01:52Be kind to your heart rates and have a very Merry Christmas.

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