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A supermarket’s job is to make us spend more.
How often have you walked out of a supermarket with dozens more items than you intended to buy?
Supermarkets conduct extensive research on consumers and shopping habits and they know exactly how to get us to fill our shopping trolleys and empty our wallets.
It’s all aimed at impulse spending. Little wonder they’ve been referred to as “cathedrals of consumerism”.
The moment we step inside those electronically controlled doors we are being psychologically manipulated by perfectly honed marketing tools and at the mercy of tricks - both subtle and overt!
Stands are designed to catch our eye and the store layout is structured to maximise profit and define what products and brands we buy.
So how to beat the system?
1) Be aware of the tricks – the food smells that make you hungry, the eye level marketing, the placement of essentials at the back of the shop forcing you to walk past other produce which heightens the possibility of impulse buying, the sweets and magazines placed close to the registers and of course irrational pricing where items are charged at say $4.99 instead of $5.00 which is all about memory processing time.
2) Don’t let supermarket marketing steer your trolley – it’s all about adopting the right mindset. Replace "what's the cheapest way to get all the goodies I want?" With “what's the best value I can get on my $$ budget?”
3) Downgrade brands and buy the same for significantly less. Supermarkets have hypnotised us into spending more by moving us up the brand chain. In many instances downshifting from the premium brand, through the manufacturer’s brand, the supermarket’s own brand to the no frills brand will reveal very little difference in quality. Variations in packaging and labelling allow supermarkets to justify huge price variations. Often it’s all just a myth.
Have you worked out a way to avoid succumbing to supermarket psychology?
Supermarkets conduct extensive research on consumers and shopping habits and they know exactly how to get us to fill our shopping trolleys and empty our wallets.
It’s all aimed at impulse spending. Little wonder they’ve been referred to as “cathedrals of consumerism”.
The moment we step inside those electronically controlled doors we are being psychologically manipulated by perfectly honed marketing tools and at the mercy of tricks - both subtle and overt!
Stands are designed to catch our eye and the store layout is structured to maximise profit and define what products and brands we buy.
So how to beat the system?
1) Be aware of the tricks – the food smells that make you hungry, the eye level marketing, the placement of essentials at the back of the shop forcing you to walk past other produce which heightens the possibility of impulse buying, the sweets and magazines placed close to the registers and of course irrational pricing where items are charged at say $4.99 instead of $5.00 which is all about memory processing time.
2) Don’t let supermarket marketing steer your trolley – it’s all about adopting the right mindset. Replace "what's the cheapest way to get all the goodies I want?" With “what's the best value I can get on my $$ budget?”
3) Downgrade brands and buy the same for significantly less. Supermarkets have hypnotised us into spending more by moving us up the brand chain. In many instances downshifting from the premium brand, through the manufacturer’s brand, the supermarket’s own brand to the no frills brand will reveal very little difference in quality. Variations in packaging and labelling allow supermarkets to justify huge price variations. Often it’s all just a myth.
Have you worked out a way to avoid succumbing to supermarket psychology?
Tags: budgeting, psychology, shopping
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Natalie Bochenski on -
Making a list is always a good idea.
Checking that week's catalogue or specials is a good way of finding out if there's good deals on. But that doesn't justify "stocking up" if you're not going to use the products. I have had to chuck out stuff because it's gone out-of-date before I could use it.
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Permalink Reply by pat on -
i find eating before i shop helps keep the trolley down a bit. also not taking my husband and daughter with me saves a lot :)
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Permalink Reply by Ivan Moore on -
You hit the nail on the head Pat. When my wife and I go to the supermarket, we always and I mean always overspend. It's got to a point where I go one week and she goes the next week. Compare dockets to when we go together and we can guarantee $100.00 to $150.00 differance. Of course it's all her fault! (tongue firmly placed in cheek)
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Permalink Reply by J.P.T. on -
UMM!! I'm not quite sure but aren't they businesses trying to make money like a business should?
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Permalink Reply by Jill Fraser-FatCat journalist on -
Absolutely.. But it’s wise to remind ourselves that these businesses are using a lot of clever psychology to suck us in. Unless we’re aware of the tricks we’re easy fodder.
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Permalink Reply by JeffK on -
Too true, and this is the case with many businesses we deal with on a daily basis, particularly big ones. JPT, you're right that they're trying to make money, but what we need to do is to be smarter and not get taken in by them. I think this is the point here.
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Permalink Reply by Marie on -
Supermarkets should not be classed as a business because it's food etc that we have to have.
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Permalink Reply by jacquesk on -
If you have the discipline to stick to it the time honoured shopping list is a good idea. I very much agree with the comment about never shopping when you are hungry or thirsty. I do one big shop per fortnight but I realise that my single person household experience is way different from someone with children etc.
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Permalink Reply by Noeline on -
Over the past four months I have prepared a menu plan for each month, then created a shopping list from that plan. My grocery bill has dropped dramatically. Now shopping has a purpose and isn't random grabbing from the shelves with the thought - Oh this would be nice one night.
I have also told family members that when a product has almost run out to put it on the shopping list. If it's not on the list I can't buy it!! This way I know what to buy and always go shopping after eating so I'm not tempted by "little treats".
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Permalink Reply by Brent on -
We always have a grocery list too. Also, every Friday evening, I casually tell my partner how much our credit card balance is. (We live on the card - offsetting our mortgage) This always have an indirect impact on the grocery bill. Heh heh.. :)
On the topic of groceries, how much do you guys spend? We are a 2 person household and we spend between $80 - $160 a week. Is that a lot?
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Permalink Reply by Mrs. C. Jarvie on -
No, that is not a lot if you're purchasing fresh fruit and vegetables. We're a 2 person home and we spend about the same.
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Permalink Reply by Kbot on -
That's quite a range, but at either end it's not much. We're two and spend more like 200-250...
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