Grocery Stores vs. Shoppers

In the mind of the consumers, grocery stores strive to provide the best service by organizing their products in an “easy to find” manner. They place their products where consumers can find them and offer competitive prices for their merchandise. They have items that are convenient for people to buy and just bring home to eat without any preparation. They have cheaper prices than a drive-through and a restaurant. While grocery stores usually do offer these benefits to consumers, they are also awfully sneaky in the way they place their items to try to make as much profit as possible.

Have you ever walked into a grocery store with a list of what to buy and then left the store with a cart full of items that you probably didn't need? I sure do. In fact, grocery stores prefer customers to over buy and they even have strategies to persuade their shoppers to buy more. Grocery stores can map a consumer’s path by placing common items that most families buy. By mapping a consumer’s path, they can strategically place other items so their shoppers will buy them. Other ways supermarkets are mapping a consumer’s buying pattern is through the use of store cards. Grocery stores can track what items are popular during which time and adjust prices accordingly. Consumers are slowly catching on to these tricks and tips; however, not everyone realizes the extra money they can save by avoiding the tricks.

I was at the grocery store a while ago and I just happened to be passing by the deli department. I was checking out the deli meats and the daily deals when a certain sign caught my eye. I saw a brightly colored tag on one of the milk sections which read “Managers Special”. I just happened to be needing milk so I walked over there only to see this “Manager’s Special” wasn’t a special at all. In fact, it was a huge rip off and kind of ridiculous. The price read $9.69 for a gallon of milk. $9.69!
                                   

Photo By Carrie Chen

Surprisingly enough, there were actually a few milk gallons missing from the shelf so shoppers might have actually bought one of these overpriced milks. While my experience with an extremely obvious knock off manager special isn’t very common, the idea that grocery stores raise their prices on items and claim them as a sale is reality.

Grocery stores can raise their prices on certain items and claim them as a sale. Consumers usually look for these sale tags and buy the sale tag items thinking they are getting a deal when they aren’t. Usually grocery stores don’t make it as obvious as my experience, but they can add 10 cents here and there and slapped a on sale tab on the item. While 10 cents isn’t a huge deal, 10 cents every week for a year for multiple items can add up.

Photo By The Sarcamist

Another way grocery stores can persuade consumers to spend more money is by placing items like candy, magazines and other miscellaneous items in places like the check out aisle. As a child I was a huge check out aisle candy grabber, especially those baby bottle pops, rings pops and Slim Jims. I honestly don't remember one day of my childhood where I didn't stare at one of the three listed while in the waiting aisle. While I could have probably just walked over the candy aisle to grab the treats for probably half the price, I just had to take it from the check out aisle shelves. These check out aisles don't just cater toward children. They also have miscellaneous items on their shelves that range from flash lights to jumper cables for adults. Shoppers probably wouldn't have gotten a random flashlight while walking around the store getting groceries, but by placing these items in plain sight for consumers when they are waiting, it is easy for them to just grab the item and buy it.

Photo by Erich Vieth

Don't forget those huge grocery carts! No one wants to walk around with only 5 items in a huge cart. However, walking around with a heavy milk jug in your hand isn't very pleasant either. By walking around with the huge shopping carts, people will buy more items just to feel like their cart is full.

Another way stores can trick shoppers into spending more money is by placing their cheaper items on the bottom of the shelf so consumers don't see it. When searching for items, don't forget to look above you and below you! The items that are at eye level are always the brand name products which are more expensive. The products that are on the top or bottom shelf are almost always the cheaper product. 

Lastly, don't buy convenience! It's easy to buy prepackaged apples that have been sliced and look nice, but supermarkets usually over price convenience items. For example, I was at Kroger a while back and I happen to come across peas in the deli section. A can of peas can easily be bought for under 1$. However, Kroger decides to put the peas in a tray and sell them for $6.99. 

Photo by Carrie Chen

It's easy to fall victim to the tricks grocery stores have and it's easy to grab items that you really don't need. However, if a shopper buys their groceries while aware of the the tricks each stores has, they can easily save a few dollars each trip. Every dollar counts for students, mothers, and even families.