5 sneaky supermarket tricks and how to dodge them
People love to shop at supermarkets as they offer a wide range of products and run a variety of offers. However, supermarkets are also notorious for playing mind games with the customer and deploying tricks to get you to spend more. But if you are careful, you will not fall into their trap. Here are five ways you can avoid unnecessary buying.
While music might be a stress-busting activity for you, it is a money-earning tactic for supermarkets. Slow, classical music slows you down leading you to shop more. A study titled "Using Background Music to Affect the Behavior of Supermarket Shoppers" shows that sales increased by 40% in stores that played slow music. Beat them by putting on earphones and turning on your own playlist.
Supermarkets often keep the everyday essential items far away from each other so customers have to navigate through multiple aisles to reach them. This way you come across things you didn't plan on buying but get attracted to them and end up buying along the way. The best way to avoid impulse buying is to make a shopping list and stick to it.
Wholesale grocery stores and supermarkets try to sell the idea that buying in bulk will help you save a lot of money, but this is not actually true. A study done by a UK consumer association revealed that 10% of bulk offers proved costlier than single pieces. Get logical and question yourself if you actually need that many pieces of a product.
Placement of a product matters, so much so that supermarkets keep items they want to sell more of at eye level. People tend to buy what they lay their eyes on first, when in fact the cheaper items are actually hidden behind or on lower shelves. So bend down and do a little hunting. What you see first isn't always the best.
Shopping carts are extremely convenient. You can store everything in them, can hang your handbags to one of the hooks. Heck! You can even put your toddler in the little seat they have. But using a cart often leads to buying more, since there is a psychological need to fill it up. Use baskets instead to stop yourself from picking up more items.
