We have all experienced this at some point in our lives. A
quick trip to the supermarket for some basic essentials turns out
to be longer and more expensive than expected as we end up buying
more than what we originally intended to.
It is not our fault, really.
Here’s how supermarkets are designed to make us buy more.
Want a loaf of bread? Here. A tray of eggs? There. A carton of
milk? At the end of the store. Essentials are spread across the
whole store, forcing you to walk more and to potentially pick up
more things along the way.
Observe this: Most stores have their dairy products at the far
end of the store. It’s no coincidence.
The individual cleanser are placed at eye level while the
discounted bundle is placed that the top row. That’s a whopping $9
difference!
Supermarkets placed what they wished you would buy at your eye
level. House brands or cheaper alternatives are often placed out of
your sight (extreme bottom or extreme top).
Observe this: Cartoon selection cereal are usually placed at
children’s eye level while diet cereal are usually at adult’s eye
level.
Your eyes are not playing tricks on you.
Many supermarkets use bulk purchase discount to trick us into
buying more than what we need. Once in a while, they make a mistake
by forgetting to remove an old price tag (just like the photo
above)
Here are some other examples.
If you are walking into Cold Storage and you see the Pokka Green
Tea, it states that it is on bulk purchase discount. However,
notice the difference if you were to compare it to other
stores.
So is Sheng SIong always the cheapest? Not necessarily. Sheng Siong
is selling CP Golden Crispy at a bundle price of $7.90 while NTUC
is selling it at a much cheaper price.
Sheng Siong NTUC
Cold Storage Pokka Green Tea 24 packs (Bulk
Purchase Special) $9.40 $9.60 $11.05 CP Golden Crispy 2 for $7.90
(300g x 2)
$1.32/100g
$10.20 (1kg)
$1.02/100g
$4.60 (300g)
Many supermarket make you move from right to left (or
anti-clockwise). This is because most of us are right handed, so we
can push or trolley using our left hand while picking up our stuffs
using our right hand.
It is not the end. While queuing at the checkout point, your child
may glance at the sweets and chocolates on offer at the exit
counter and make an impulse decision to just reach out for one.
Supermarkets are smart in that they know it is easier to target
children towards the end of a grocery shopping trip.
Let’s hope to be wiser the next time we visit the grocery
store!
source