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Top 5 by Aleksandra Todorova (Author Archive)
Top 5ive Supermarket Tricks
"Surveys find that about 40% of what we actually buy [in the supermarket] are impulse items, products that were not on our list," says Phil Lempert, a supermarket industry expert.
How do the supermarkets do it? Here are five tricks of the trade:
1. Eye Candy
Most shoppers are fully aware that supermarkets deliberately put candy and magazines at the checkout counters, where they can easily tempt bored, cranky and hungry shoppers. But it doesn't stop there. Throughout the store, supermarkets strategically arrange products on the shelves in a way that makes you buy more.Take, for example, the cereal aisle - it's usually located directly across from the candy section. "It's a mother's greatest nightmare," Lempert says. "You'll find breakfast cereals on one side and candy on the other." Why? So kids can check out the candy while Mom is filling up the cart with cereal - a must-buy on most shopping trips. Likewise, sugary kids' cereals are always on the lower shelves, at a child's eye level and within reach of little arms.
What you can do: If possible, leave the children at home so you don't end up buying too much junk food. Otherwise, distract them. Kimberly Danger, founder of Mommysavers.com, usually "bribes" her two kids with lollipops while shopping. "It keeps them occupied and they're not distracted by the candy," she says.
2. End-Aisle Deception
Most folks assume that the items located at the end of the aisles (i.e. those items displayed as you do your U-turn into the next aisle) are chock full of sale items. Not necessarily. "People think that if it's out on that end it must be some kind of a special deal," says Jack Taylor, professor of retailing at Birmingham-Southern College in Birmingham, Ala. "More often than not, it isn't."Needless to say, food manufacturers are well aware of this. "That real estate is so valuable, companies actually pay the store to have their merchandise put there," Taylor says.
What you can do: Go through the aisles to search for better deals.
Also, read our story here to find out the best day to save at the grocery store, as well as other places.
3. Shelf Shuffles
Suddenly can't find your favorite jar of peanut butter? Supermarkets regularly move items throughout the store so shoppers walk around longer and buy more stuff, according to Lempert. The tactic also encourages consumers to try new products, which are typically put in the place where top-selling items are usually found.What you can do: Before trying that new brand, check the price to see if you're spending more than you would for your old favorite. If you are, take the time to track down what you were originally looking for. For those who like to buy organic foods, click here to see a video on how to buy organic without breaking the bank.
4. Cozy Cafés
Has your supermarket become so comfortable that you feel like you could practically spend the whole day there? That's exactly the plan. "Whenever a supermarket can keep you in the store longer, you'll spend more money," Lempert says. "We see more supermarkets putting in coffee shops to make the shopping experience longer."Another ploy: Playing slow music, which encourages you to move slowly as you walk through the aisles - and buy more stuff that you don't really need.
What you can do: Get your caffeine fix before you go shopping and try to get in and out of the supermarket as fast as you can.
5. Follow Your Nose
Notice how the mouthwatering smell of cookies greets you at the supermarket entrance? While supermarkets don't fabricate smells, according to Lempert, they do use smells to encourage more shopping. "The more the store can attract all our senses, the more we're going to buy," he says.Whole Foods supermarkets, for example, have chocolate-making stations in many of their stores. And don't think that putting the rotisserie chicken near the entrance is an accident. "It's one of the first things you see when you walk into the store wondering what to make for dinner," Danger says. Don't forget samples, either: those very conveniently trigger your appetite.
What you can do: Never enter the supermarket hungry.
Order Reprints
I agree with your comment at the very end. Grocery stores make me sick sometimes. Ahh.. the age of convenience. I went to a Mediterranean diet last year for a few months when I thought I had heart problems (I don't). Not only did I lose a lot of weight, but I haven't felt that good in years. I could breathe better, etc. I hope, budget permitting, I can go back to it this year (eating well isn't cheap, unfortunately).
I love hearing this first-hand experience. Med. Kiwi, you have a fantastic collection of recipes! And it's true, you do eat a lot of beans there, don't you. I really enjoyed this story about your husband: http://organicallycooked.blogspot.com/2008/11/nouveau-cuisine.html ...and the recipe too.
in crete, greece, where the mediterranean diet is said to have been created, people eat a lot of beans, despite living relatively unhealthy lifestyles, especially in modern times. the med diet is still surviving here, but it is doing so alongside newly developed habits such as eating meat in excess, eating mroe sweets than ever before, and drinking non-traditional alcoholic beverages (eg whiskey instead of the traditional raki/tsikoudia, or nescafe instead of mountain tea and greek/turkish coffee) the consumption of greens is still high, but young people are are now being raised on a more western diet than ever before, probably due to the change in lifestyle rather than a clear influence of western habits
I live in Sweden and I'd venture to say that Swedes live a long time because of good health care and not being morbidly obese because of exercise. But they eat some awful things here and compared to older Japanese people, most older swedes look bedraggled and worn out. Smoking isn't so common, so I'm guessing it's the massive amount of dairy and cured meats that they seem to eat. Very few Swedes I know eat legumes with any regularity.
I wonder what percentage of U.S. people eat the kind of food shown in the photo--would you imagine, maybe, 95%? That's what I would guess, but it's only a guess.
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