How Discount Department Stores, Grocery Stores Get You to Spend More Money
If you find yourself consistently spending hundreds of dollars on groceries per month and not sticking to your intended budget, you may be a victim of supermarket psychology—manipulation tactics used by supermarkets to get shoppers to spend more money without them even realizing it. But don’t fret because you’re not alone and understanding these tactics will allow you a chance at regaining your control.
Supermarkets and discount departments stores begin marketing to their customers as soon as they walk in the door and into the decompression zone—the area within the first few feet of the store where customers often use to “decompress” and get adjusted to their surroundings. This area is meant to be a calm space for customers. Supermarkets will fill this space with bright flowers, fresh produce, and pungent scents from the bakery and prepared meals section causing customers to be enticed seconds after even entering the store.
Customers can also find shopping carts in the decompression zone, but not many realize that the size of the shopping is also apart of the supermarket’s manipulation strategies. Large shopping carts influence shoppers to spend more. The larger the shopping cart the more space you have for items and if your cart isn’t filled to the top, you start to believe that you aren’t really spending that much.
Once you fully make it into the store, you may find that the aisles are long and maze-like. Supermarkets are set up this way so that they influence your visit regardless of what you’ve come into the store for. They want to be sure that you find your way down each aisle.
When essential items like eggs and dairy are located in the back of the store, you are almost forced to find your way through the entire store—making several pit-stops along the way.
Free samples throughout the store encourages shoppers to purchase items they didn’t originally intend to buy. This method also encourages shoppers to discover a new item that will find it’s way into their shopping cart on future visits.
There is often only one entrance and exit at the front of the store and no side or back entrances and exits. Refer to department stores such as Macy’s where you will find a door for nearly every department—shoes, women’s clothing, men’s clothing, home appliances, jewelry, etc. This makes it easier for the customer to grab and go, which is why supermarkets generally refrain from these types of passageways.
The shelf set-up at supermarkets is a very strategic process. The most expensive items are at eye level on the middle shelves, store brands and generic alternatives are on the lower shelves, small and inexpensive items are on the top shelves. Stores care most about what shoppers are able to see. Therefore, placing the less expensive items out of the average shopper’s line of sight influences their shopping experience in favor of the supermarket.
End-of-aisle displays are another strategic shelving method used by supermarkets. Supermarkets often put products that companies pay them to display on the end caps. You may also find food pairs here. Examples of food pairs include bread, peanut butter, and jelly; or cake mix and frosting.
Bundle sales, such as 2 for $5, encourages shoppers to spend more for what they may not need. Succumbing to these types of deals is an unsustainable practice of the shopper as they will often not use the item before it’s expiration date. (Fun fact: if you read the fine print on the sale, you may find that you can purchase only one of the items for the sale price.)
Impulse buys at the checkout register is the supermarkets last chance to run up your bill. These are mostly small, senseless items for the shopper to pick up; but you may find some supermarkets that display items such as cakes and cookies to entice the buyer.
The supermarkets main intention is to keep you in the store and influence you to get distracted from what you came in there for. The longer you are in the store, the more you are likely to spend. By creating a grocery list in order of the layout of the store, you are more likely to spend within your budget. Planning to grocery shop weekly also encourages you to eat what you already have at home and not let items go to waste. But, the most important step is acknowledging these manipulative tactics by supermarkets and not succumbing to them.
