EN's strategies for outsmarting supermarket tactics

It's 5:30 pm. You make a quick stop at the market for just a few items. A half-hour later, you've spent $50 on a cartful of groceries you probably didn't need. Sound familiar?

Winding your way through supermarket aisles can be mind-boggling. Many stores stock over 35,000 items, and offerings change daily. Since the average shopper visits the market twice a week and spends more than $80 a week on groceries for the household, it helps to know some tricks of the trade, which aren't limited to supermarkets, by the way. Even health food stores use techniques to boost their bottom line.

Time = Money. From the minute you walk through the automated door to the minute you load those bags in your trunk or lug them home, you're subjected to a store's single-minded purpose: to sell, sell, sell. Even the layout of the store is carefully designed to maximize sales.

People go to the market most often to buy perishables: produce. milk, meat and fish. The typical supermarket purposely places these items around the perimeter of the store, so customers will pass by as much of the store as possible and be tempted to buy other products along the way. Produce usually greets you as you enter, because it looks enticing. The dairy case is often in the farthest comer from the door, making it hard to get a gallon of milk without seeing something else you think you need.

It's all designed to keep you in the store longer, because the more time you spend, the more money you spend. To encourage customers to stay longer, supermarkets may use soft lights, soothing music -- even carpeting. Some more progressive retailers have lounge areas, coffee bars or pizzerias, so shoppers can relax and get a bite to eat -- then keep shopping.

Location, Location, Location. Products themselves are strategically placed to attract attention and increase purchases. Companies pay for shelf space and for the privilege of the most prominent shelf location -- eye level. That's where you'll find familiar brand names with plenty of corporate dollars behind them, especially higher-priced, high-profit convenience foods.

Lesser known, less expensive brands -- though perhaps equal in quality and sometimes superior in nutrition -- are typically more difficult to reach. Staples -- those items everyone needs, like flour and oil -- are also located in less-than-desirable spots. That's because retailers know shoppers will buy them regardless of where they're placed.

Position is also determined by the target market for an item. For example, high-fiber adult cereals are often on middle or upper shelves -- eye-level for adults -- while sugary kids, cereals are on low shelves, perfectly situated for small ones to see and grab.

Savvy Shopping Skills. How to sidestep these subtle marketing ploys? Two tactics are time-honored: Make a shopping list and eat before going to the store. Both combat impulse purchases, typically the most overpriced, least healthful items in your grocery cart.

Retailers encourage impulse buying with a technique called "integrated merchandising" or "suggestive selling," where items are grouped together, such as apples with caramel sauce and sticks, or strawberries with angel food cake and whipped cream.

Another tactic: Always check the price, especially the unit price. It tells how much a product costs per ounce or pound. That saves you complicated math and makes it easy to compare the same product in different size packages. Surprise: Large sizes aren't always cheaper than small ones. If the difference is only pennies and there's a chance the food might go bad before you can finish a big box, then it's no bargain.

Also no bargain are those end-of-aisle displays. Don't assume these products are on sale. Usually, they're not. More likely they're there because the store is trying to get rid of them, to reduce its stock or because the product is close to its expiration date. (That's another good habit to get into -- checking the expiration date on everything you buy, not just milk.)

In short? Grocery shopping needn't be torture. A few smarts can save you time, money and temptation.

The Serious Business of Color

Color is no coincidence when it comes to food packaging. The average product has one-seventeenth of a second to attract your attention. And color is vital. Some say it can determine the success or failure of a food product.

Here's what colors mean to marketers:

* Red -- power, vitality and the desire to conquer

* Yellow -- warmth, happiness and bargains. The most visible of all colors, it makes packages look larger.

* Blue -- purity and cleanliness, feelings of serenity, prestige, confidence and knowledge.

* Green -- natural and healthful. (Once shunned for food.)

* White -- fresh and light. Associated with low-fat dairy products.

* Black -- elegance and sophistication.

Source: Food Technology, December 1996.

COPYRIGHT 1997 Belvoir Media Group, LLC
COPYRIGHT 2007 Gale Group