Every large company these days has a research panel which tries to find ways to get you to spend more money at their stores. Grocery stores are some of the most carefully arranged stores around. Grocery companies use all kinds of ploys to get you to spend more and buy items that you were not intending on purchasing. It’s best to know a few of their tricks so that you don’t blindly fall victim to them.
They place higher-priced items at eye-level. When you are in a hurry, you may grab the first item that you see. You may not notice that the brand that’s the best bargain (or the store brand) is on the bottom or top shelf. Even more tricky, favorites of children are placed at their eye level. Next time you are at the grocery store with a kid, keep this in mind and see if it’s true. The time after that, leave the kid at home.
Notice where the basics are. As you may have already observed, basic items like milk and eggs are located at the very back of the store. And what’s in the center and front of the store? Junk food and seasonal items that you might buy on a whim. Consider a time when you took a quick trip to the grocery store to buy just a couple of things. After journeying through aisles upon isles of junk food and other items, where you able to stick to just what was on your list? I am reminded of my trip to the store just last week. I only needed about three things, milk being one of them. As I went down the center aisle towards the milk, my eye caught the Easter display. I realized that I had not gotten anything for my toddler for Easter yet, so I picked up a basket, some candy, and a toy. I ended up spending more time (and money!) in that aisle than I did in the rest of the store. Not that I regret getting my kid something for Easter, but it wasn’t a planned purchase.
Beware of eye-catching displays. Even if an item is on your list, don’t automatically grab for the brand that is on display. Just because an item is made to look as if it is a great bargain, make sure you determine if it really is.