Passive information behaviors while grocery shopping

Information behavior addresses how individuals use information throughout the various contexts of their daily lives. Previous research in the field has explored passive information behaviors, but not addressed them in the quotidian aspects of life, such as grocery shopping. The current work fills this gap by addressing passive information behaviors throughout the grocery shopping process providing useful insights into how individuals interact with information in a new domain. Data was gathered through two empirical studies using qualitative methods emphasizing the lived experience of primary grocery shoppers. Findings show that information encountering, browsing and monitoring are prevalent in the grocery store and during the planning of a shopping trip demonstrating the information richness of grocery shopping.