How long is too long to spend in a grocery store?

If you find yourselves crisscrossing the aisles for about half an hour, you’re in line with most shoppers across the country.

While most Canadians spend more than 20 minutes in a store, the average Canadian shopper spends 32 minutes per visit, according to a new Dalhousie University study. By comparison, Americans spend 43 minutes per visit, or 34 per cent more time than Canadians.

Canadians also make fewer grocery runs during the week than their American counterparts. While Canadians on average make 1.29 visits per week, shoppers in the U.S. visit grocery stores 1.6 times per week.

The study also found that self-checkouts are becoming increasingly popular, with 66 per cent of respondents saying they have made use of this cashier-less option.

Despite this trend toward automated checkouts, shoppers still see the value of customer service. The study found that 81.7 per cent of Canadians believe it’s important to be able to ask for help when grocery shopping.

Dalhousie’s study is based on a survey of 1,053 people across the country in October.