5 Jun

Kroger Gives Kids Free Reign of the Grocery Store in a 1952 Experiment

What happens when you give a group of children ages 6-10 free reign of a grocery store? In 1952, Kroger (yes they’ve been around that long), ran an experiment to see what would happen. Would they go straight for sweets and sugary cereal? How much would they spend? Would chaos arise?

Life Magazine

Believe it or not, most of the children shopped for normal, unexciting household items like fresh produce, chicken and dog food. When asked why, this young man said, “I like dog food.”

Life Magazine

As you might expect, the boys were a little more carefree with their purchases than the girls. By today’s standards, the boys spent about $76 on average, more than $10 more than the girls average purchase at $64.