The average American makes about 88 trips to the supermarket each year. It’s a powerful place filled with all the things that we need to restock our pantries and fridges with. And sometimes, we go in for just one or two things more often than we even realize.
Supermarkets try to target shoppers using a whole lot of consumer psychology and marketing ploys. There are so many ways that supermarkets get at your subconscious and trick you into buying that extra bag of chips or the new and not-so-healthy protein bar that claims to be natural and sugar free.
Take note of ways that supermarkets try to psych you into spending more and buying unhealthy foods. You want to get the most for your buck and save money rather than buy processed foods you don’t even need.
Placement of products is systematic yet sly.
Within the same aisle, there’s a wide range of products, varying from the best choices for your health to the worst. In that aisle, the leading brands and bright packages will be placed at eye level on center shelves. This aims to target shoppers quickly.
Those leading brands and bright packages will likely be the most heavily processed and packaged foods.
The layout is meant to be a maze that you have to maneuver.
For the days that you go into the supermarket knowing you only need a carton of eggs, a gallon of milk, and a box of pasta, it’s no coincidence that these popular items are placed far apart. This way, shoppers have to canvas the entire store in order to check off even a small list.
And while you’re perusing on the way to the dairy section, it’s not an accident that there are eye-catching deals for packaged foods on the end-caps of the isles to draw attention.
It’s also no coincidence that the bakery is often towards the front of the store.
When walking into a supermarket the incredible smells of freshly baked pastries and cookies bigger in size than the shopping cart wheels greet you. The aroma alone will have you drooling, especially if you walk in hungry.
Hungry or not, it’s tough to pass through the bakery without picking something up when it’s so aromatic.
Right past the bakery comes produce for those who try to shop healthy.
Just like when the gym is packed with ambition and resolution on January 2, the produce section aims to target those who have the mindset to start off strong.
Then, once you feel like a health champ for buying a few pieces of fruit, it’s easier to justify entering the subsequent aisles of packaged foods and snacks galore for a processed treat.
There’s no definition for “natural”.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is in charge of defining all of the terms on food labels. They’re the ones that say that “reduced fat” has to mean that there is 25% less fat in a product than its original counterpart.
But because it’s difficult to define a food product that’s natural because the food has realistically been processed in some way, the FDA has not developed a definition.
So when you see food labels that catch your eye claiming it’s “natural”, think twice and pick up fruit instead. There may not be a label that says so, but you can’t get much more natural than fruit straight from the earth.
Products that go well together are placed together.
Even if you’re doing the mindful and money-saving thing and sticking to a grocery list, supermarkets can make it hard to stick to that list. Let’s say you went in with the idea that you’ll get salsa to make a slow cooker salsa chicken recipe for dinner.
Normally, tortilla chips would be found on the snack aisle. However, you can also find them systematically placed next to the salsa, and you’re swayed to put them in your cart.
Aim not to get psyched out by the supermarket.
By making a grocery list before your trip, go into the store with the goal of sticking to it. Allow yourself to stray when it comes to certain foods like produce, and be weary of supermarket’s attempts to lure you into unhealthy choices.
Keep to your kiwis and hang tight to your tomatoes, don’t let the supermarket trick you into purchasing the chips and cookies you weren’t planning to buy.