At ShopWell, we’re in the midst of ethnography and focus groups on shopping and how different audiences think about food. It’s great to watch, a product of IDEO and user-centric design. I’m curious how I fit in to these segments, so I took a camera and jotted down a few notes on what I was thinking on my last trip.

“What should I do for dinner? Could pick up a taco…but had one yesterday. Could get take out at Pomodoro…but not very healthy. Maybe pick up groceries. Which supermarket? Trader Joe’s is too far. Whole foods is right on 24th, near home. But the parking lot will be totally full. Maybe I’ll go out after all. Nah, I’ll just go.”

“Start with Strawberries, as usual. These look kinda random. They’re going to fall out all over the basket.”

“I’ll get these. Nice boxes, will fit in the basket nicely.”

“And raspberries, for cereal.”

“Not sure if I have blueberries at home, should I get more?”

“One soft avocado, one hard avocado. Am I eating too many of these?”

“One lemon, for broiling fish.”

“Limes? No, I’m sick of Corona.”

“I wish there was a way to keep these fresh. Seems I always cook half, and the other half goes bad.”

“I’ll get two this time, try to waste less.”

“Need to figure out more ways to cook potatos.”

“Wow, haven’t seen corn here in a long time. Guess it’s in season. I’ll grab two.”

“Think I have a butternut squash at home, will grab a couple of apples to make a mash.”

“Need plain yogurt for granola, a standard.”

” Need yogurt drink, as usual.”

“This looks less expensive than the granola I usually buy. But a pain to scoop it out. I’ll skip it.”

“Haven’t bought tortillas in a while. Need to find one in a resealable bag.”

“This should do me for the week.”

“Not sure what’s down this aisle. Should I go? Nah, too far.”

“Here’s my regular granola. Turns out it’s cheaper than the loose stuff. Weird.”

“Where’s that rice you don’t have to cook?”

“Not sure if I can even eat Tortilla Chips without beer, but here goes/”

“I have a ton of fish at home, but I don’t want to thaw it. I’ll grab a fresh one with spices.”

“I’m always starving when the fish runs out, maybe a pizza this time.”

“Or two…”

“And some Indian food, these are always good to have around.”

“This cheese is so fricking expensive. And so small. Actually, it feels nice to buy something so small and expensive, like a delicacy.”

“I wish this bread could keep for more than 2 days. Should I freeze it?”

“I never have enough snacks, maybe some dried fruit this time?”

“Always need some chocolate. Can’t remember if this one tastes good or bad.”

“Feeling a bit under the weather. Allergic to OJ, maybe grab grapefruit juice?”

$122 for two bags. Ridiculous. I’ve got to go to Trader Joe’s next time”

A Few Other Observations

• As usual, I carried a basket and shopped quickly for what I could fit in the basket
• I bought the usuals, 90% of what I bought are my standard items
• I didn’t look at a food label on a package or at any ingredients in detail
• I looked at individual prices regularly but never closely, they never really factored in