Shoppers are so scarred by inflation they’ve cemented new habits to save money—and discount retailers are the big winners

A shoppers stands in an aisle of fruits and vegetables and places an item in their bag. (Credit: Zou Zheng/Xinhua—Getty Images)

Walmart and Target shoppers are no longer lingering between aisles, looking wistfully at a bag of chips before placing it back on the shelf. Consumers have their grocery shopping routines down pat, and it’s a sign they’ve been beaten down by inflation over the past three-plus years.

Visitor dwell time, or the time spent perusing aisles to check off every item off a grocery list, has decreased at Walmart and Target over the past year, according to an August report from foot traffic data software firm Placer.ai. This suggests there’s less mission-driven shopping taking place, and instead, consumers are frequenting individual retailers for select items and deals they know will be within their budgets, R.J. Hottovy, head of analytical research at Placer.ai, told Fortune.