How to tell you're in an Israeli market

There is an Tel-Aviv equivalent to the immortal 7-11 chain, it is called AM-PM (not the same as AM-PM in th US which is a gas station/convenience store with horrible junk food), it is open 24/7 even on Jewish holidays and I am extremely lucky to live a block away from one, although you can;t really NOT live a block away from one in Tel Aviv as they are as ubiquitous as Starbucks in any major American city.

I walked in the other day to get some Coke Zero and milk (you know, the bare essentials), and realized a very telling difference between Israeli and American shopping.

Let me set the scene: as I walked around the store, got my Coke and my milk, I headed back to the cash register (which had no line) and wanted to place my items on the checkout counter, when lo and behold I realized there was no room to put my stuff on. The reason being that there was a seemingly orphan pile of groceries already on the checkout counter with an AM:PM member card placed on one of the items.

It turns out the items belonged to a man who was still doing his shopping but would get an item and bring it back to the checkout counter and then go out and get the next one.
Why would he do this, I ask you?
was it:
a) there were no little baskets left to carry his things in?
b) he kept thinking he was done shopping but then kept remembering something else?
c) he wanted to solidify his place as first in line even though he was not done shopping, in hopes of saving time and not being the victim of some poor schmuk getting in line before him and checking out with their own groceries, even if he himself had not finished getting his own yet, because then he would be percieved as being a sucker.

My Israeli readers will immediately know the answer to this one.
It is C, of course.
I realize that to an American this would seem like very curious behavior. But to an Israeli reading this I am sure it makes perfect sense.
Thoughts?