• by Sarah Mahoney  @mahoney_sarah, September 13, 2010

While researchers have been insisting that lists are in and impulse buys are out ever since the recession started, a new study from the NPD Groups sheds new light on just how committed consumers are to those behaviors. An amazing 94% prepare a written list before leaving the house, and 72% say they never or rarely deviate from it.

"No matter what stores and marketers tend to believe, consumers aren't walking into stores with a blank slate," Ann Hanson, executive director of product development and author of the report, tells Marketing Daily. "They have an agenda. And for marketers, that means it's all about how to get on the list."

For retailers, it's all about "helping consumers get what they want. About 70% of people shop multiple channels, and stores that can get creative—using list functions on their websites, developing list software, even providing ways she can send her list ahead of time and just pick up her groceries—have a better chance of taking those trips back."