Sure, it can’t be that surprising that supermarkets have a few tricks up their sleeves to make us buy more or spend longer in the shop.
But a new report released by the UK Groceries Code Adjudicator has stuck their secrets under the microscope for all to see, and it’s an interesting outcome to say the least.
The report revealed that supermarkets have brands paying for their products to be featured on visible shelf-spaces, and brands are spending big bucks for particular placements, but there are a few other ways supermarkets like to influence your spending habits.
1. Stop and smell the flowers
When shops place flowers by the door, it’s not because they ran out of other space to put them. No, by placing sweet smelling flowers right at the entrance, they can activate your senses and make impulse buys more likely.
Grocery industry expert Phil Lempert told news.com.au that sticking flowers and bright colours by the door immediately puts shoppers in a good mood, puts them at ease and gets them reaching deeper into their pockets.
2. Layout
The layout of aisles encourages customers to move in a clockwise direction, and the reason is very deliberate.
Layouts which have been tested show that people spend more when walking clockwise than anticlockwise, according to a psychological paper from Andreas Konig.
3. Hidden essentials
Ever been stumped as to where the eggs or pasta packets are hiding? Yeah, that’s no accident.
Eggs, bread and milk are all interspersed with the more uncommon purchases you might be tempted to make, according to president of Retail-Concepts Mike Tesler.
“Stores typically put these items in the farthest reaches of the store to expose customers to the maximum amount of product on their ‘quick trip’ so they will impulsively buy other things,” he said.
4. Feel the rhythm
Mood music played in supermarkets can help to make you spend more and shop slower, particularly if the supermarket uses music with a beat slower than a heartbeat to put customers at ease.
5. Keep an eye on the kids
Kids like to reach out and grab things off the shelf, and supermarkets like it that way. Tesler said that products with kid appeal are placed on shelves at their eye-level so they can “reach out to a product” and throw it in the trolley without you noticing.
By the time you reach the exit, it’s probably easier just to buy the damn thing, right?
