The express lane at your neighborhood supermarket isn’t so fast after all.
So many people funnel into the line to avoid the masses at the regular counter — making it longer and less efficient, according to Dan Meyer, a doctoral student in math education at Stanford University.
Each item takes about 2.8 seconds to scan, the math whiz said.
Five people with 10 items in the express line can be bagged and cashed out in about four minutes and 28 seconds.
A line of five customers with 20 items each runs about 4:56, a mere 28-second savings if both lines have the same number of buyers.
If there are more people in the express line, as often is the case, then that meager savings goes out the window.
Each customer adds about 48 seconds to the entire process, according to Meyer.
“When you add one person to the line, you’re adding 48 extra seconds to the line length . . . without even considering the items in her cart,” Meyer wrote.
Even if consumers knew the standard line was just as fast, Meyer said he’d still expect the 10-items-or-less crowd would still veer toward the express.