Your Grocery Store’s Layout Is Making You Spend More

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How many times have you gone to the grocery store for just a few things and ended up with a full cart in the checkout line? That’s exactly what the supermarket wants us to do and consumer expert Paco Underhill says two-thirds of what we buy at the grocery store we had no intention of buying. It turns out, every aspect of a store’s layout was designed to increase impulse shopping. But these tips from merchandising experts can help you avoid that and leave the supermarket with only the items you came in for.

• Flowers - They’re just inside the entrance to “enhance the image” of a store, according to Wendy Liebmann, founder and president of WSL Strategic Retail. They’re pretty, smell great and make us think “fresh,” so we add them to our cart.
• Produce - Just past the flowers, Liebmann says the fresh fruits and veggies are there to “create a tempting sensory experience” and show that “produce is fresh or else people won’t buy anything.”
• Bakery - The aroma of the bakery gets your salivary glands going, Underhill explains, and that makes you hungry, which makes you buy more.
• “Retail-tainment” - Those cooking demos, displays and free samples are there to slow you down and show off new products.
• Deli and coffee bar - They’re usually in the front and stores like them because if you’re hungry and can have lunch in the store, you’ll slow down when shopping and the longer you’re there, the more you spend.
• Cooking ingredients and canned goods - These are typically in the center aisles to draw customers deeper into the store, so they’re more likely to buy more along the way. To avoid that, stick to your list.
• Dairy products, eggs, meat and other staples - This stuff is also along the back of the store for the same reason - the farther you go into the store, the better the chances you’ll impulsively buy other things.

Source: Real Simple

Thought Starters:

• I’m a sucker for the bakery and the fresh flowers, so well played grocery stores!
• Who else starts off with a basket, thinking they only need a couple things, then has to switch to a cart when the basket is overflowing?
• Impulse buys are the reason it’s cheaper to pay extra for grocery delivery where you don’t have the opportunity to get anything extra!