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How Supermarkets Trick You Into Spending More Money

Posted: 12/01/11 05:03 PM ET

Written by Shilo Urban

How many times have you made a quick stop by the grocery store for a couple of simple items like milk and bread, only to wander out in a daze almost an hour later with an entire basket full of random items, junk food and 2-for-1 deals?

Perhaps you walked in with a mission and a list, only to be dazzled and delighted by the delicious smells in the bakery, shiny towers of fruits and vegetables, free samples of tasty dishes and the incredible deals -- well, at least they looked like deals. But supermarkets are employing a wide variety of psychological tricks to encourage you to buy more than you need, which not even the most astute shopper can resist.

Discover the following tricks that supermarkets commonly use to entice shoppers to shell out, and you will be able to resist their sneaky methods and save your money for what you really want.

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Invented in the 1930s to help shoppers tote their purchases, shopping carts are often grabbed automatically on the way into the store -- and then filled along the way out. Don't absentmindedly go for a cart. Instead, choose a small handled basket, or only buy what you can carry in your arms, especially on those quick runs for one or two items.
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Written by Shilo Urban How many times have you made a quick stop by the grocery store for a couple of simple items like milk and bread, only to wander out in a daze almost an hour later with an entir...
Written by Shilo Urban How many times have you made a quick stop by the grocery store for a couple of simple items like milk and bread, only to wander out in a daze almost an hour later with an entir...
 
 
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
Ashish Srivastava
02:56 AM on 12/15/2011
would like to make three points

1. Don't agree with the misty produce interpretation. It really is to prolong the lives of the fruits and vegetables. It does add 'beauty' to them.. which is fine

2. Don't agree with long lines of queues as a way to stall the customers into making impulse purchase. The retailers want you out of there as soon as possible after you are done shopping because longer wait time at the queue means less cash flow per hour per cashier.

3. It is a good article on marketing 101. Eat well before going for shopping. That way you would be be doing less of impulse and 'dopamine' driven purchases.
03:44 PM on 12/05/2011
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
palealien
02:00 PM on 12/05/2011
Maybe so, but it seems to me dairy is at the rear due to the necessity of a large, back-stocked cold box.
12:34 AM on 12/05/2011
I hate my local Safeway, too bad its the only store that's close by. The thing that bothers me the most is when they have sale items yet they don't tell you what exactly is on sale. Lets say Yoplait yogurt, 10 cups for $7. You get 10 cups put when you pay, you realize that some flavors were charged at $1 an some at 70 cents. Its a hassle to complain because I've already done it a couple of times and it gets embarrassing. Someone needs to sue them with a class action law suit because I'm sure I'm not the only one who's gone through this. Safeway is one of the craftiest stores I've ever been at. Will avoid it any time I can.
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sabelmouse
i love to tumble , ask me why .
07:21 AM on 12/05/2011
tesco [ uk and eire ]does that sort of thing all the time. either they are very badly organised, wgich i doubt, or do it on purpose, which i believe.
it's plain cheating and must make them millions given the size of the chain and how often people don't pay attention if they're frassled and hurried.
thay do other things to like making the bigger packs more expensive per kilo and just not having the check out up to date on offers so they fail to take them into account.
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
cameron d
Good Guys Win
09:29 PM on 12/04/2011
If you have problems with any of these things you aren't very bright.
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
O K Ali
Wash your hands, seriously.
02:17 PM on 12/04/2011
Always eat a good meal before shopping, makes you less likely to impulse buy. I never turn down the free sample, but I have the power to refuse to actually buy it.
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sabelmouse
i love to tumble , ask me why .
07:22 AM on 12/05/2011
it's amazing what you want to buy if hungry , isn't it ?
12:43 PM on 12/04/2011
As a former Produce Department worker, I have to say you're way base off on your comment about misting. Without the added moisture, the items that are misted would last a fraction of the time that they do with it. Trust me, I've seen items wither and die very quickly without it. Fresh produce items that are not maintained in this way equal withered product. Withered product equals a loss in profits, which means stores have to raise the price of the item to compensate. When you see items being sprayed or misted it means fresher produce and better prices. Period. Nothing more or less.
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HUFFPOST COMMUNITY MODERATOR
mairs
10:57 PM on 12/03/2011
My local stores either got rid of the carry baskets completely or only have a few of them. It forces you to get a wheeled basket. It figures.
03:12 PM on 12/03/2011
The stores will do everything in their power to get u to spend. U should be doing everything in you power to save.
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TaurusRose
I.do.not.like.new.format
01:20 PM on 12/03/2011
The one thing here that REALLY pisses me off is stalling me in the checkout counter.
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IrieMoon
Don't blame me, I voted for Kodos.
12:23 PM on 12/05/2011
Contrary to what this article says, stores don't stall people on purpose.

If a store kept each check out line open all the time they'd lose money in paying their employees for standing around during the down times. Articles like this are simply claiming stores stall people in order to create an issue where there is none.
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TaurusRose
I.do.not.like.new.format
01:45 PM on 12/05/2011
And I claim to personally be held up in check out lines that wind around the store when only 2 cashiers are used. lines
05:32 AM on 12/03/2011
I have memorized all the aisles in the store I go to, and I write a list every time I go. I write my list in the order of the aisles so I don't have to walk back and forth. I start at one end and end at the other, checkout and I'm out the door. Also, never shop hungry, after you get off from work, and during rush hour. Shopping a day or two before a holiday isn't good either. Stores have all kinds of goodies out at holiday times and the impulse to spend is very tempting, especially when the store is crowded and you just want to leave so you grab anything.
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04:01 PM on 12/05/2011
Actually, I'm the opposite. If I store's crowded, I grab the 5-6 things on my list and scurry.
08:39 PM on 12/02/2011
used to be around here that items marked 10 for $10 or what ever price they charged, you didn't have to buy the 10 items in order to get the sale price. Now many stored make you buy the 10 items, and who wants 10 bags of salad mix or 10 of anything if you live alone and only use the item once in awhile. I presonally avoid these stores, even if I have to pay more. I don't like the stores to tell me how many of an item I have to buy in order to get the sale price.
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dad4lifesl
Educated White Heterosexual Male & a Proud Vet!
08:14 PM on 12/02/2011
These are the methods you are taught about in marketing 101, does a consumers lack of self discipline make it the fault of the markets?
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clearthinker2008
we need to respect each other
06:34 AM on 12/03/2011
"..does a consumers lack of self discipline make it the fault of the markets?"

No, and this isn't blaming the store. Stores are in the business to make profits and that's cool. This slideshow is a heads up to consumers because, dad4lifesl, not everyone takes marketing 101.

On another note, what's up with this instinct that some regular folks have to constantly defend big companies, they can do that themselves.
HUFFPOST SUPER USER
kcineinnoc
07:58 PM on 12/02/2011
Every week walmart changes everything around so you have to look for it in hopes that you will see something else on your hunt,but I fixed them & quit shopping there.
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
Audrey Ferragamo
If u stand 4 everything,u stand 4 nothing
03:19 PM on 12/04/2011
BOYCOTT WALMART!!!!!
07:38 PM on 12/02/2011
What ever is on "sale" don't buy it unless you need it. I buy in bulk only things that will keep for long periods of time. Like t tissue and paper towels.
HUFFPOST SUPER USER
svancotts
05:45 AM on 12/15/2011
I find that was my problem when I was using coupons regularly. I saw a bargain, and wanted to use the coupon. Did I need half of those products? No. I don't use any coupon for items that are not already on my list.