5 Tips for Making Grocery Shopping Less Stressful

For Liora Seltzer, a professional organizer, parent coach, and founder of What U Keep, LLC, shopping with two kids in tow brought it on. For Ruth Camp, a mental health counselor, being crunched for time and fighting through large crowds caused it to surface. And for Nicole Bravo, a licensed marriage and family therapist, loud noises and too much activity on site made it rear its ugly head.

The mysterious “It” we’re talking about is stress while grocery shopping. And whether you’ve rushed into the store to grab some snacks for a study group or loaded up on a weekly shopping trip for the family, chances are, you’ve experienced it.

“Grocery stores are environments that tend to carry a lot of stimulation, with their bright lights, loud sounds, crowds of people, and busy parking lots. These types of environments can set off someone’s stress response and (or) make them more vulnerable to stress,” Bravo explains.

The store itself can be just the beginning. Decision fatigue, long lines, and of course, high prices can make a trip for food essentials intimidating and overwhelming. We’ll take a look at what makes grocery shopping so stressful, and more importantly, give you practical ways to lessen the stress of your trip up and down the aisles.

Why Grocery Shopping Is Stressful

Food delivery services like Amazon Fresh may be growing, but almost 3 out of 4 people still shop in a physical grocery store. While there’s a benefit to seeing the products in person, there’s no denying that braving the store can impact our emotional state.

“The stress of grocery shopping can cause mental fatigue, increase anxiety levels, and even lead to decision paralysis. In some cases, it can exacerbate feelings of frustration and helplessness, particularly if shopping is seen as a necessary but challenging task. Over time, repeated stressors can negatively impact mood and contribute to burnout or avoidance behaviors,” explains Camp.

Repeated stressors can include:

Too Many Options: A trip to the grocery store is all about making decisions. But too many choices can lead to decision fatigue, leave you drained, overwhelmed, and stressed. “When you go grocery shopping, you have to make hundreds of not thousands of decisions each time. You have to decide between brands, prices, flavors, remember what you’re making that week, would you already have at home, [and] what everyone who lives with you likes,” notes Seltzer.

Shock at high prices: None of us are strangers to inflation. But being in the store and realizing that you can’t buy a loaf of bread, a dozen eggs, and a case of bottled water for under $20 can be hard to swallow.

Being overwhelmed with crowds and long lines: “I felt very stressed the last time I went to a large, grocery superstore. I felt overstimulated by the size, noise, and crowds. Due to the size, I got lost looking for the items I needed, making this shopping experience much longer than I had the bandwidth for. I felt very overwhelmed at the end of the whole experience,” Bravo recalls. 

Fear of not getting needed items: Remember when you couldn’t find toilet paper in stock during the height of COVID? The stress of … well, not having toilet paper. That same stress can creep in when you can’t find other items on the shelves. Supplier issues and heavy demand can make you feel like you’re scurrying just to shop for basic needs.

The time crunch: You may have a short window before you have to get to class or pick up the kids. Trying to get it all done during that time can be nerve-wracking. “I will always remember a day when I was very stressed and going to the supermarket increased my stress. I had a planned schedule of how long I would spend at the supermarket, but in the end, it didn’t work out that way. The line was quite long and when it was my turn to pay, there was a problem at the cash register. I was upset and felt uncomfortable,” shares Aura De Los Santos, Clinical Psychologist at Therapybyaura.com.

Picking healthy items: Reading labels, comparing ingredients, and trying to find the healthiest food choices is a chore, and can add time, stress, and cost to your overall shopping experience.

Unfamiliar store layouts: Not knowing where to find certain items leaves you searching up and down the aisles. If you can’t find something, you have to hunt down a store employee to ask where you should go, which makes your shopping experience seem more stressful.

How to Eliminate Shopping Anxiety

Unless you want to eat out all the time, shopping is a must. Since you can’t get rid of the practice all together, consider implementing some tips that can help you have a calmer, smoother shopping experience.

Shop at Less Busy Times

Saturdays between 10am and 2pm are the most popular times to go to the grocery store. Late evenings after 8pm are less busy times to shop, with Tuesday evenings being the least crowded time. Consider changing your schedule to have less hustle and bustle when you’re shopping.

Plan Ahead

Planning ahead includes preparing for your shopping experience. That means anything from having a list complete with a budget, to deciding to shop when you know your store has restocked items and the shelves will be full. It can also mean donning noise-canceling headphones to keep the chatter and loud sounds from driving up your stress level.

Make Post-Shopping Food Prep Easier

“Oddly enough, people HATE cooking after they go grocery shopping because they use up so much energy! Buying prepared food at the grocery store, ordering food, or making sure you already know what you’re going to have for the next meal afterwards can be very helpful!” states Seltzer. Grabbing items from a store’s frozen section can equip you for those days you just don’t feel like cooking, and especially after shopping. Trader Joe’s offers many frozen healthy meal choices.   

Try Curbside Pickup

Another way to reduce stress is to “use curbside pickup or delivery services,” notes Camp. “Many stores now offer these services, allowing you to avoid the physical store entirely, which can save time and reduce stress.”

Ask for Help

A special or sale can still lead to confusing signage, or lack thereof. Ultimately, being willing to go to an employee and ask for help can cut down on your frustration and stress. Another way to ask for help is to ask a partner to help with the shopping, or if the kids are old enough, have them participate as well.

While thinking ahead and preparing yourself for the task at hand may not necessarily make grocery shopping something you enjoy, it can make it a less stressful experience for you.

“To manage the stress of grocery shopping, it’s helpful to plan ahead by creating a clear list, sticking to a budget, and timing the trip when stores are less crowded. Mindfulness techniques, such as taking deep breaths when feeling overwhelmed, can also help. Additionally, being patient with yourself and accepting that some things might not go as planned (like stock issues) can alleviate pressure,” Camp concludes.

Design Matters

You’ve shopped at a store for months and know the layout. Then they change the location of some items, add or remove displays, and suddenly you’re thrown in flux. Or you visit a store that’s not your usual and feel like nothing is where it’s supposed to be. The design of the grocery store impacts your entire experience.

“Not knowing the layout of a store means that you have to spend extra time and mental energy figuring out where items are located. This unfamiliarity can lead to frustration, especially when you’re in a rush or have a lot of items to purchase,” Camp explains. “[It can] create stress as it forces shoppers to spend more time searching and adds to the overall mental load.”

While it’s impossible to know the layout of every store you’ll visit, some places make it easier than others to intuitively know where your favorite snacks or needed items are located.

“Some grocery stores, like Trader Joe’s, are well-designed to reduce stress with simple, consistent layouts and well-labeled aisles. Other stores that feature wide, uncluttered aisles and clear signage can also help,” Camp adds. 

Larger stores can be convenient for finding lots of items but can cause you to feel lost and not know where to start.

“Grocery stores that are small to moderately sized can reduce stress for shoppers. You want stores with a simple layout to them, giving some variety in their products but not too much. I personally enjoy shopping at Trader Joe’s or Whole Foods,” says Bravo.

Other grocery store design elements that can make your shopping experience less stressful include aisles that are spacious and make it feel less crowded, signage that is clear and easy to read, self-checkout options to cut down on long lines, and placing related items together in a clear and logical way.