I had never thought much about the logistics and intense marketing behind the supermarket business and all its subliminal aspects until one day, in a tremendous hurry, I dashed into my favorite market only to find it had been completely rearranged the previous night.
The harder I searched for the items I needed, the more frustrated I became. Finally, I went to the store manager to register my complaint. He told me that this is business as usual for a profit-conscious, modern-day supermarket.
It seems that a store of this size allocates a large portion of its advertising budget appealing to customers’ compulsive shopping habits. Its marketing relies heavily on customers making their buying decisions on the spot, not methodically before they walk through the doors. That means it is critical that every item on every shelf is placed strategically to capture the fascination of the consumer.
It’s a proven fact that the typical shopper quickly memorizes the layout of the store, knows exactly where to find the items needed, and becomes oblivious to everything else. But by turning the place upside down every year or so, the store can “introduce” its regular shoppers to thousands of products they might never have noticed if the store remained unchanged.
If that was the goal, it certainly worked. In my quest to find the regular stuff, I saw all kinds of things I'd never seen before.
Further, I’ve learned the average food shopper spends over an hour every week shuffling up and down the aisles of the all-American supermarket, snatching item after item, building an expensive tower-in-a-basket. At the end of the exercise, the score is tallied, and in most cases the supermarket is the clear winner. The ordinary shopper is as predictable as a rat following a trail of cheese right into a trap.
The most expensive and frivolous items are usually placed at eye level. Baking staples such as flour and sugar are commonly on low shelves or so high up you have to reach for them. Eye-catching displays with lights, bells and whistles usually promote junk-type and expensive items, even though they are piled up to appear to be on sale.
The center aisles typically house the prepared and brightly packaged, overprocessed food items. Either a hot deli or bakery in the store will be emitting heavenly smells to appeal to your senses and start those compulsive buying juices flowing. The perimeter of the store is the safe zone: produce, dairy and meat.
Have you ever wondered why the milk is always positioned at the farthest area to the back? If it was at the front, the harried father needing to pick up milk could dash in and out in a matter of seconds. By putting it at the farthest reach of the store, he’s compelled to walk all the way to the back, past all the tempting impulse items on the journey. Running in to pick up milk is a big compulsive purchase just waiting to happen.
You probably can’t avoid the supermarket completely, and it is difficult to remain completely true to your shopping list and financial plan in these kinds of stores. But you can enter the supermarket with extreme caution, fully aware of the many ways your compulsiveness is being tested.
And you can walk in with personal protection: a shopping list and only the amount of cash you intend to spend. Leave the credit cards and checkbook at home, and you will have given up all opportunity to to overspend!
