How you shop and what you buy at the grocery store can predict whether you pay your credit card bills on time, our new research shows.

As marketing professors, we wanted to learn about alternatives to traditional credit scores. So we teamed up with a multinational conglomerate that, among other things, runs a large supermarket chain and a credit card issuer.

By analyzing consumer-level data from those two business units, we were able to see how 30,089 individuals shop and manage their finances.

We found that people with more consistent grocery shopping habits are more likely to pay their credit card bills on time. These are people who tend to shop on the same day of the week, spend about the same amount each month, buy similar items across trips and take advantage of deals regularly.

We also found that what people buy predicts how they manage their finances. For example, shoppers who frequently purchase cigarettes or energy drinks are more likely to miss credit card payments. Those who often buy fresh milk or salad dressing tend to be more diligent about paying their bills.

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