RIP the supermarket ‘big shop’ – why we ditched the trolley for the basket

A new report says that people are more likely to buy meals on the way home from work or even visit twice a day to pick up ‘a few bits’

 Lidl and often … tastes have changed in how often we visit the supermarket. Photograph: Alamy

Wednesday 1 November 2017 10.58 EDTLast modified on Wednesday 1 November 2017 18.00 EDT

Name: The Big Shop.

Age: As old as the supermarket. So, about 60 years in the UK.

Appearance: Large. Weekly.

Oh, I love the big shop! An overflowing trolleyful of goods gathered for the 21 meals ahead! Good times! Then you, my friend, are part of a dying breed.

What? The big weekly shop is over. O-V-A-H.

What? How? Why? Can nobody afford to eat any more? Or have we all lost our appetites because of Trump’s face? Take it up with the annual Waitrose Food & Drink Report (which covers all supermarkets, before you ask).

I was going to ask. I know you were. So don’t. According to the report, customers are increasingly developing the habit of shopping little and often.

How little? How often? Apparently, one in 10 people buy what they are going to eat that night on the way home from work.

This is astonishing to me. Then brace yourself: two out of three Britons go to the supermarket more than once a day.

This is, indeed, even more astonishing. As the report puts it: “People treat supermarkets like giant walk-in fridges.”

Why is this happening? Partly as a result of people trying to cut down on food waste.

If you plan properly, there is no waste. I have a spreadsheet. I have a lot of spreadsheets. And I am retired. That explains how you can manage to be so organised. Those still in employment are better off grabbing something on the way home.

So, who are the people going twice a day? God knows. Retired people without spreadsheets, who forget stuff and have to go back? Students who don’t even draw up a list? Trolley and strip‑lighting fetishists? Parents of toddlers soothed only by the sight of small conveyor belts? Tinned rice-pudding addicts?

The trolley fetishists should be worried. Demand for them must be dwindling faster than the supply of pork chops in the clearance chiller. Indeed. A few years ago, the average supermarket opened with 200 big and 150 shallow trollies. Now, it is about 70 and 250, respectively. Liminal times, my friend. Liminal times.

Do say: “Pass me a basket – Sainsbury’s Taste the Difference Kashmiri chicken korma tonight!”

Don’t say: “No more trollies? But what will we fill our canals with now?”