Ever go to the supermarket for a couple little things and walk out with a dazed expression
and a trunk load of groceries you didn't need?
Well, there's a reason for that, as supermarkets are carefully designed to manipulate you into
buying what they want you to buy.
Here's a look at how grocery stores trick you into spending more.
"Let me help you."
"Oh, uh…"
"I'm only helping."
Larger carts
There are a number of ways supermarkets employ their empty-your-wallet magic at the register,
and one of them is the ever-increasing size of your shopping cart.
Marketing consultant Martin Lindstrom told Today,
"We did an experiment with that, and we actually doubled the size of the shopping cart… and
you buy 40 percent more.
In Whole Foods, the shopping carts over the last two years have doubled in size almost."
So how do you outsmart the store?
Stick to a list, and if you're only there for a few items — skip the cart altogether,
and carry your purchases in your arms.
Welcome to the maze
The whole supermarket is basically laid out like a giant trap designed to snare your wallet.
They start by placing the highest priced and most enticing items up front, to get you in
the mood for buying.
Those bright fruits and juicy green vegetables?
They're first in line so you'll feel better about yourself later on when you find yourself
in the cookie and potato chips aisle.
Once you're in the store, you may have trouble finding what you want, because grocery stores
seem to always be re-organizing their layout.
Some stores intentionally create a perplexing maze in order to get you looking at new products,
break your old buying habits, and not coincidentally spend more time in the store.
And then, when you finally get to the register, you're stuck in artificially long lines designed
to entice you to drop a dime on candy and magazines, not to mention games to keep your
kids occupied while you wait.
And if you ever wondered why there isn't a place up front for you to leave items you
no longer want, well, that's on purpose too - because it's such a hassle to get back out
of line and return something, most people will just buy it even after they've changed
their mind.
Precut produce
What's your time worth to you?
The grocery store is banking on it being worth a whole lot — so much in fact, that you'd
be willing to pay nearly double for your fresh fruits and veggies the store has precut for
you.
If you want to save yourself a lot of money, buy whole fruits and vegetables you can prepare
at your own leisure.
Learn to love the knife.
Circular logic
The store circular is loaded with all the best sale prices in the store, right?
"Zucchini, cucumbers…
I do like blueberries, then organic ones are on sale too, I always like Wednesday, because
it has the good stuff the King's Supers had."
Not so fast, though.
While there are usually some deals and specials to be found, supermarkets often advertise
full price items in those circulars because readers will just assume they're getting a
deal, making them more likely to buy things they would otherwise have skipped.
Now that's just sneaky!
Free samples
Stopping for a sample of that new flavor of Triscuit topped with that new edamame hummus
does a few things.
First, it slows you down in the aisle, and distracts you from the purpose of where you
were originally headed.
Friendly banter with the employee offering you the free taste establishes a relationship.
"Would you meet me behind the supermarket at midnight?
It's really important."
It's probably not even on sale, but many people will feel obligated to buy the item after
trying it.
Wet produce
Spraying the fresh produce with water means the store is doing their part to make sure
we go home with a fresher, cleaner product, right?
Wrong again.
It turns out that overly wet produce sometimes spoils even faster.
So why would the store do this?
For one, produce loses a lot of its hydration in shipping, and when an item is sold by weight,
every little ounce counts.
Second, we are visual creatures, and those dew drop speckled vegetables conjure a fresh
from the farm image we want to take home to our own kitchens.
Our tip: inspect your produce well, and shake out that extra water before adding it to your
cart.
Once home, dry it well and store it with paper towels to absorb excess moisture, and prolong
its fridge-life.
Stocking stuffers
It's not just the layout of the store that's designed to get you to buy.
Stores also know how to market on a shelf by shelf basis.
The bottom level is where the discount goods and store brands are typically shelved, because
you're least likely to look down there.
The next shelf up is at kid level, so it's packed with stuff your kids just have to have
right now, mommy!
Then there's the shelf at adult eye level, the bullseye zone, which is usually stocked
with high cost items, or big name brands that may have paid the store to be put front and
center.
And then there's the top shelf, where gourmet and specialty items are kept.
And that's not all.
They also pair complementary items next to each other, like chips and salsa, and then
spread those items across the store.
Those crackers that didn't even catch your eye when you were in the middle of the store?
They look a whole lot tastier when you see them next to the gourmet cheeses by the deli.
So don't be fooled.
Get in, get out, and get wise to grocery store tricks - before you bite off more than you
can chew.
"What's this place called?"
"This is, I believes, called 'Food Libraries.'"
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