This is how supermarket managers manipulate us so that we spend more than expected.
Minutes later we are in front of the person in charge of the box, and to the one who tells us the total amount, we think: “My goodness!”
Tricks that supermarkets use to make you spend more
Something similar to the above is what has happened to many of us when we have gone shopping. We do not plan much or we do not know the tricks that they have prepared for us to spend more than necessary.
But don’t worry, it’s happened to all of us. These businesses know how to get the most out of your pocket. They use different tricks to stimulate parts of our brain that lead us to buy in a less rational way than we would like.
Next we are going to discover how they do it in supermarkets and department stores so that you spend more money than you had planned to spend.
1. Commodities, at the bottom
It is a classic. Basic products, especially the most consumed foods such as milk, can appear with their entire repertoire on the last shelves of the establishment .
We have no choice but to cross the entire supermarket, so it is easy for us to get distracted by other items if we do not have our purchase very organized.
2. Commodities widely separated
If we have found milk, we are probably not close to eggs , bread or water.
It is a way of forcing us to walk through the different corridors before reaching what we need . In this way, they seek us to look at other products that, otherwise, we would not even have seen.
3. Change the location of the products
It is common, especially in large stores, for the different articles to be constantly changing areas .
Although it may seem that they have organized the store better from time to time, the truth is that it is a measure that they take regularly to be able to play with you. The game is that you find your favorite products (and of course, that you can wander more and therefore let yourself be seduced by other items that are not essential).
4. Eye-catching products next to checkouts
Using again as bait playing with the area where the product is located (one of the fundamental techniques in all its variants), we find highly expendable items next to the boxes.
Usually these are cheat products for sweet tooth (which do us no good), although sometimes there are also small toys for children, batteries or even socks.
What is sought is simple, and that is that while we wait for them to serve us, these products tell us: “Hey! I’m here, you need me and you know it.”
5. The music
Different studies have confirmed that happy and lively music, with a certain rhythm, encourages us to have a more carefree attitude and put items in the cart as we go. Let’s say that it is a way to get us out of our rational state and encourage a more emotional, immediate and impulsive purchase.
6. Shopping carts
Large shopping carts encourage us to fill them , because if they are that big, it seems strange to us to leave them half full. The advice in this case would be to use a small basket or cart if it is also available.
7. Visibility of the most expensive products
Supermarkets make the most expensive products more visible than others and at eye level . So, if you want to save, it is a good idea to take a look at the products that are not at eye level, on the upper or lower shelves. There are usually the products that are really cheaper.
8. Free samples
Free samples can seem like a waste of money for the brand, since it seems like they are giving away a product for free but it really has a cost. Now, studying the results, it has been seen that in some cases it is much more profitable than using other strategies to engage the customer.
Free samples encourage more consumers to try the product, and generate a certain loyalty in the short term, implying many sales in the long term. A loyalty that will not disappear when the price rises, since we will already be “hooked” on buying the product every time we go to the supermarket.
9. Customer card
All large stores have understood that this method is essential to build loyalty as part of their clientele . An account is created in which points and discounts are linked through your purchase.
It is a way that these businesses have found to make you come back, because if you do it you will accumulate more points or get small advantages that you would not have elsewhere. They make you loyal through these small prizes, and you feel that they are rewarding you, but what you really do is go shopping weekly at the same area.
10. Discounts and promotions
While free samples have been found to work better in some cases, the different forms of promotion are a classic consumer hook .
Many times they are opportunities, although they also play to confuse us or awaken our most primal instincts. You have to have as a reference the theoretical price that was initially there to be able to assess whether it is worth buying the product. And above all, assess whether we need the product.
In any case, they have as a common denominator to make the consumer feel that it is an opportunity that cannot be missed. There are different ways to carry out a promotion that we will see below.
10.1. Discount on the second unit
Not everyone understands at first the logic used in the discounts on the second unit (the first you pay in full!) and ends up paying more than expected.
10.2. temporary discounts
There are large stores that give us discounts that expire after a few days. His strategy is that we return for these products that are discounted, and in the process we will buy other things to increase his box.
10.3. Related color in the discount
Another example is the color used in discounts (usually red). our brain associates this color with a discounted product and, therefore, with an opportunity. But not always the reduced price is significant enough or even not even a discount.
10.4. Discounted Products Section
It exists in some establishments, and it is a section with large discounts. It is not common for there to be a very clear order and we can lose a lot of time there, but if we have time and patience we can find good discounts.
To the classic question “what do you do?” I always answer “basically I am a psychologist”. In fact, my academic training has revolved around the psychology of development, education and community, a field of study influenced my volunteer activities, as well as my first work experiences in personal services.